Tuesday was a relatively uneventful day at Utah Football as preparations continue for Weber State, nine days away. Whittingham called it a physical day with a ton of hard work going on. Whittingham said one of the real points of emphasis this fall has been “red zone” execution and efficiency. He says it’s not about the plays you call inside the 20 yard line, it’s how you run them. Here are a few other tidbits from the Head Coach..
1. The position battles are mostly solidified, with the exception of a few offensive linemen trying to make the Top 8. It appears that Nick Ford and Orlando Umana remain neck and neck. Whittingham told me that he could foresee a possible rotation at Left Guard.
2. Whittingham said it was nice to see Mitch Wishnosky and Matt Gay garner preseason All American Honors, but that was based on last year. He said that nobody cares this year, it’s a blank slate.
3. Maddie Golden is the long snapper and is on scholarship. Whittingham says he hopes that position is now taken care of for 4 years.
4. Whittingham loves his linebackers right now. Hansen and Barton clearly the top two at the position, with Bernard, Thompson and Pirtle just behind them right now. Looking to the future Whittingham says Devin Lloyd, just a redshirt freshman, has a very bright future.
Huntley Ready To Roll
Utah QB Tyler Huntley enters the fall as the man for a second season and has looked the part for the last 3 weeks. Huntley’s coaches and teammates continue to sing his praises as a leader and decision maker running the offense. After Tuesday afternoon, it’s apparent that Huntley is tired of talking and ready to start playing some “real” football..
The Wide Receiver Pool Just Got Deeper
Late Monday night, Utah got it’s biggest recruiting commitment of the 2019 Class. Darren Jones, of Cajon High School in San Bernadino, California, made his pledge to Utah Football. Jones is a Top 300 player in the Class of 2019 and one of the top wide receivers in the West. The measurements on Jones and his football numbers are what really jump out at you. He is 6-8 and 190 pounds. Last season, he has 102 catches, 2094 yards and 28 touchdowns. Jones chose Utah over Florida, Oregon, Washington State and Texas A&M to name just a few. The biggest question right now for Jones is his test score. He has yet to qualify to play football at Utah.
The rest of the story for Utah and Jones is that his teammate at Cajon High School and the guy who get him the ball is also a major Utah recruiting target. Quarterback Jayden Daniels is one of the top duel threat QB’s in the country. Daniels is expected to visit Utah this fall.
Assuming he qualifies, Jones will join and make a very deep and talented wideout corps even more talented and deep. Utah has just one senior in it’s Top 10 WR’s right now, that’s Jamison Field. Here’s how next year would project by class…
Senior-Simpkins, Mariner
Junior- Covey, Thompson, Nacua, Johnson
Sophomore-Enis, Perriman, Boyd, Dixon
Freshman-Darren Jones