Everything Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said at his Monday presser to preview Oregon State
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham met with reporters on Monday for his game-week press conference to preview the upcoming game against Oregon State (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12).
The big news to come out of the afternoon was that tight end Brant Kuithe will miss the rest of the season. Whittingham talked about how that news changes things on offense. He also said they expect to get linebacker Mohamoud Diabate back this week after a multi-game absence.
Whittingham also began his presser with a note about the one-year anniversary of Aaron Lowe’s passing. The Utes also shared a message on social media earlier in the day.
One year without you.
We play for you. We love harder, we smile bigger and we work fiercely with the intention of getting 22% better each day.
Your life and legacy have made a lasting impact so big that it cannot be measured.
We love you, A Lowe, and we miss you. #22forever pic.twitter.com/FgkzMoKPNE
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 26, 2022
Here’s what Whittingham had to say, with video of the presser at the bottom.
Opening statement
“First off, this is the one-year anniversary of Aaron Lowe’s passing, and I just want to let Aaron’s family know how much they’re in our thoughts and prayers. We miss him and just want to make sure we acknowledge that. We always remember Aaron and Ty Jordan.
“That being said, talking about the game on Saturday. We handled our business down in Tempe. I thought we played well, both offensively and defensively. Special teams was so-so. In particular, on defense we played well, and in particular against the run. That was really an outstanding performance by our defense defending the run game. That really was the difference in the game, they couldn’t get anything going running the football. That makes offense very difficult when you can’t run the football.
“Offensively, I thought we were balanced, did a nice job mixing things up, had some big plays. Dalton Kincaid made some big plays. Cameron Rising was sharp. We only turned the ball over one time. We were plus-two in the turnover margin. When we’re plus two, it’s a 90%-plus chance of winning the game. So that was another big factor.
“The big downer from the game was (the injury to) Brant Kuithe. He’s lost for the season. That’s a big blow to our offense. He was a huge part of what we do offensively. But we’ll have to have guys step up and pick up the slack. It means an opportunity for Thomas Yassmin, Munir McClain, Logan Kendall. They’ve got to pick it up. And we’ll miss him. He’s a great leader. Great person. It breaks your heart to see something like that happen to a senior. The silver lining, if there is one, you get four games to redshirt. He did have a redshirt year. So if he chooses and wants the opportunity to come back next season, that’s available to him. But otherwise, it’s a tough blow to our team.
“Looking forward, we’ve got Oregon State coming to town. Outstanding football team, played SC right down to the wire a couple days ago. Jonathan Smith’s doing a great job up there. He’s really built that program back up the right way. We will have our hands full this week. It’ll be a great Pac-12 contest in Rice-Eccles. Kickoff at noon on Saturday.”
On how Kuithe’s injury impacts the offense
“With Brant Kuithe out, like I mentioned, we’re going to have to have some guys step up. Dalton Kincaid’s role becomes even bigger. He was already a big part of the offense as well. As I mentioned, Thomas Yassmin is really the guy that will take most of the reps that would be typically for Brant. Just gotta continue to move forward. Injuries are the most unfortunate part of this sport, and the part of my job that I like the least is seeing these young men get hurt. But like I said, just gotta move forward. We’ve got a lot of football left. We’ve got two-thirds of the season left. Gotta figure out how to continue to score points and move the ball.”
On what he saw in the USC-Oregon State game and if this year’s Oregon State team is similar to last year’s
“Lot of similarities. They’re a lot like us offensively. Balanced attack, employ the tight ends a bunch — they use multiple tight ends — play-action pass game off the run action. There’s a lot of characteristics for their offense that match up to our offense. But they’ve been running that scheme well for a few years now. It was a low-scoring game (against SC). I think the thing that really did them in was the turnovers. … That was really the difference in the game.”
On how he’d assess the team’s depth
“Good. We are deeper — we believe, I believe — than we’ve ever been since we’ve been in the Pac-12. That’s just been an ongoing process to build depth in the roster and talent throughout the 85-man scholarship roster. I think our walk-ons are more talented and better than they’ve been. You have to be able to have the next-man-up mentality. One positive this week is we should get Mo Diabate back this week, barring anything unforeseen going forward. If there’s no setbacks, then he’ll be available this week, which’ll be a big positive for us.”
On what’s next in Ja’Quinden Jackson’s progression as a running back
“Get the footwork and all the nuances of the running back position. As a quarterback, he obviously knows the offense inside and out. But specific to the running back position, he’s got to have all the details as far as the footwork, the blitz pickups, that type of thing. That’s what he’s going to work hard at. He only had two and a half days of practice last week, and ended up giving us some quality carries and scored a touchdown. We expect him to take another step forward this week, and as the weeks progress just continue to get better and better.”
On the running back group
“Lot of guys. Jaylon Glover played good football on Saturday as well. Had some good carries. With Tavion (Thomas), Jaylon, now Ja’Quinden, and Micah (Bernard), those are the top four. Charlie Vincent would be the fifth guy right now. That’s who we’re working with is those guys. We still feel really good about that room. Losing Chris (Curry) was a blow, but we’ve got plenty of talent left in that room.”
On what Tavion Thomas can do to get back in Whittingham’s good graces
“Consistency on and off the field, I guess is the short version. Consistency and accountability on and off the field.”
On Thomas Yassmin’s next steps
“Assignment-sound. Eliminate mental mistakes. That’s the biggest issue right now, or has been the biggest issue. He was pretty darn good in the game on Saturday when he came in for Brant. But that’s been what’s held him back. Like we’ve said before, he started at ground zero when he got to us. He had no football experience. Everything has been a process for him, a learning process. He’s better now than he’s ever been. If he can eliminate the few errors that do show up on occasion, that’s what’s going to make him an even better player.”
On what Yassmin has that the staff likes
“He’s got size, speed, good hands. He’s athletic. He’s a prototypical tight end — 6-foot-5, 250. If you watch our kickoff team, he’s the first one down every single time. So that shows you the speed he has. He does have great hands. It’s just the football savvy, having never played, put him at a big disadvantage but he’s made up a lot of ground with that.”
On the offensive line
“I wouldn’t say growing pains, but I’d say they weren’t imposing their will like we feel they can in the game Saturday night. Especially in the first half. We picked up things in the third quarter and had a much better rushing production in the third quarter then we kind of backed off in the fourth quarter and just tried to get the game over with. But we have high expectations of those guys and we expect them to be dominant week in and week out. Whether that’s realistic or not, that’s our expectation.”
On how the defense has evolved, particularly the front seven
“The fundamentals and the technique have been getting better and better. Really the front has gotten better since the first game. … It was not good. The front has (improved), particularly inside — the tackles. We’ve pretty much established that Junior Tafuna and Aliki Vimahi are going to be the two guys that get the bulk of the reps. And those guys played exceptionally well on Saturday. Simote Pepa came in and gave us some good reps in relief of those guys. But that’s been the biggest key, is those tackles have settled in and really are doing a great job with their gap control, which lets the linebackers fit and flow. The defensive ends have been pretty solid all year controlling the edges. But the play of the D-tackles, the improved play of the D-tackles, has been the biggest difference.”
On what can be expected of Jackson given he’s changing positions midseason
“Well, if he didn’t have the fairly extensive running back background, that would be a different story. But he has a lot of experience as a running back. It’s been a few years, but he’s had that experience at the position and the workload as a full-time starter at that position. I don’t know if it’s like riding a bike, but certainly he’ll draw upon that. Giving him a full week of prep will be much more conducive to his success than throwing him in midweek last week.”
On the impact of Aaron Lowe and Ty Jordan on the program and him as a coach, a year later
“Huge impact on the program and myself. They’re in our thoughts daily. We have plenty of things throughout the building, reminders and tributes to those two young men. Aaron’s mom and Ty’s mom will be coming to a game here shortly, and we’ll honor them. They’ve had, and continue to have a big impact on our team and our program as a whole.”
On RJ Hubert and Cole Bishop
“Very good, the safety play overall has been very good. The two guys that back the safeties up are really good players. Clayton Isbell at the free spot is going to be real good when he gets himself completely up to speed schematically and figures out exactly what the position entails here. And Sione Vaki is really good behind Cole. But those guys as the starters… Cole is a special player. He had a sack, he had a pick, several tackles. I mean, he’s a guy that is a complete football player and can do it all. He’s only in his second year, a true sophomore. So what he’s doing as a true sophomore is pretty amazing.
“And then RJ, what a success story. To come back from those injuries that he’s had, he’s had several setbacks, but he just keeps after it. This is the payoff for him. Hopefully he can stay healthy the rest of the year and continue to have a good year.”
On if Bishop could be a linebacker type in the future
“He could. Time will tell. He’s pretty much stayed the same size since he’s been here. About 205 (pounds). … Whether Cole, his body starts to put on weight or not, he’ll be on the field somewhere and if he stays the dimensions he is, he’ll probably stay right where he’s at. If he gets bigger in the offseason, we’ll look at the possibility of sliding him forward.
On opponent kick returns
“Concerned. Very concerned because it showed up last year. It was not a problem until this past week. We’ve got to do a better job of coaching. We’re not rotating. What they call a ‘break’ return, when they start to the boundary and then break into the field, that’s the return that did the most damage. We’ve got to do a better job of rotating, staying in our lanes. We missed some tackles. It is a big concern and we’ve got to get that corrected.”