The Utes were in their traditional red helmets with shorts and shoulder pads on Tuesday for the first practice of their bye week before the Michigan game (Sept. 20 at 1:30 p.m. MT).
The workout was held in the Eccles Fieldhouse due to inclement weather in the area. Ball carriers and receivers were downed after being touched.
Utah broke down their offensive and defensive assignments in 7-on-7 and 1-on-1 lineman drills before moving to full-team live work.
Practice Highlights
The media availability period (final 20 minutes) started with 7-on-7 segments in the south end of the field house while the linemen shored up their responsibilities during 1-on-1 drills in the north end.
Practice moved to live work from the 50-yard line with the first and second units alternating for four series (two apiece). After practice, the Utes met with a local little league football team in the north end zone and a majority of the scout team players stayed after practice to get extra reps.
From Coach Whittingham
Sep 6, 2014; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes running back Devontae Booker (23) runs with the ball during the first half against the Fresno State Bulldogs at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
When asked if practice was any less intense because this was not a game week, he said there was a high level of urgency and a good amount of focus in today’s practice. He continued that the first two days of the bye week are over, but they have been productive with a good lift yesterday and a focused practice today.
Whittingham stated that there will be a light practice on Wednesday (Sept. 10), a team lift on Thursday (Sept. 11) and a practice on Friday (Sept. 12) before a weekend off for the players, while the coaches will travel to their assigned areas for recruiting.
Whittingham was excited that his players were so enthusiastic about the new all-white uniforms, but said he personally does not care much about uniforms. He said his players have been asking for white helmets for a couple of years now and the leadership council among the players decides the uniform combinations each week. • When asked about Utah’s next opponent, Whittingham noted that Michigan always has a lot of good players and this year is no different.
Post-Practice Impressions from the Ute Players
Junior quarterback Travis Wilson
“The offense has been executing really well so for and we have meshed together. [Michigan] plays a very physical defense with a lot of man-to-man coverage, but we’re used to that. We sill have to continue to concentrate on our execution. It’s going to be a great game [against Michigan] and a great experience to play in Michigan Stadium. It’s exciting to be able to compete against one of the traditional top teams in college football.”
