It was not difficult to interpret who won what Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham called the most crucial scrimmage during Spring Football this year. Utah’s offense got off to a fast start, and never looked back in what may be rounding into the weapon Utes fans have hoped to see since the team joined the PAC-12.
While quarterback Tyler Huntley showed a mastery of the offense going into his second season as the starter, it was Utah’s multiple threats at wide receiver that was most impressive.
Siaosi Mariner got the day started with a big catch to move the chains, but was quickly followed by catches from Demari Simpkins and Samson Nacua.
The breakout player on offense had to be redshirt freshman Jaylen Dixon, who caught a touchdown from each of Utah’s three scholarship quarterbacks on the day.
While the ability to get open from Dixon was impressive, perhaps the fact that all three quarterbacks for Utah were able to find him in Troy Taylor’s system should be most promising.
When Taylor took over as offensive coordinator at Utah last season, he compared his offense to an IPhone. It might look tricky at first, but once you learn a few shortcuts, it becomes a powerful and effective tool. The fact that each of Huntley, Jack Tuttle, and Jason Shelley were able to move the ball through the air on Utah’s vaunted, though somewhat shorthanded defense says a lot about the comfort within Taylor’s system.
As Utah fans have waited years to see their offense catch up to their PAC-12 foes, Troy Taylor appears to have found the right formula.
