The football team appears to be exactly where they want to be after scrimmage number two. Both the offense and defense did some really nice things, with the offense being the clear winner of the first half of scrimmage and the defense winning the second half. The QB situation is beginning to look much more settled, with Brandon Cox really distancing himself from Huntley, although both QBs still split reps against the ones and the twos. Today was a pass-heavy offense, not a whole lot of running, as the running back situation seems to be already settled.
QBs
Brandon Cox- 17-25, 170 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT, 1 rushing TD
Cox had himself another fantastic scrimmage. He didn't put up as many yards as last week, but that had a lot to do with the fact that this week's scrimmage focused a lot more on situational work such as red zone and goal line offense. He looked poised and accurate on most of his throws, and really only threw one bad pass, which was intercepted by Sharrief Shah Jr and returned for a TD, the defensive highlight of the day. He also ran a lot more than we've seen in past practices, and showed that he is pretty good at running the read option as well. His highlight run came on a read option 12 yards out from the endzone, which he kept and ran in for the TD.
Tyler Huntley- 10-23, 67 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Huntley struggled a bit today with accuracy, he was also under nearly constant pressure and didn't have a lot of time to go through his progression on a lot of his throws. He was sacked many more times than Cox was and didn't have a chance to break off any runs. His highlight came on a nice swing pass to McCormick, which McCormick then took off with, outrunning defenders on his way to the endzone for a 15 yard TD. The interception came off a drop by Demari Simpkins which Reggie Porter was defending on. After the deflection, Porter showed quick thinking and good hands, grabbing the loose ball on his way down.
RBs
Joe Williams- 5 carries, 19 yards, 2 TDs, 1 catch, -3 yards
Williams didn't get a whole lot of touches today, I think the coaches feel pretty comfortable with their number 1 back and are focusing more on the passing offense. Williams' highlight was a 9 yard run up the middle for a TD. The offensive line blocked really well for him today. He also ran in a 2 yard TD in goal line offense work. He and Cox had trouble on one handoff, which was fumbled during the exchange, but Cox was able to dive on it before the defense got to it.
Troy McCormick- 4 carries, 3 yards, 3 catches, 23 yards, 1 TD
McCormick didn't get too many chances to carry the ball, and on his few touches, he was quickly bottled up at the line. He did have some nice catches, including the aforementioned 15 yard TD catch and run.
Tani Leha'Uli- 4 carries, 16 yards
Leha'Uli got a few more touches today, most of his work came when the 3s went against the 3s in the series of the scrimmage, when AJ Cecil was quarterbacking.
Jordan Howard- 5 carries, 19 yards
Howard is a new face, he is a JUCO transfer from Riverside CC in California. He also got most of his work against the 3s, although he did get a couple of carries vs the twos. I'm not sure what his story is, but I'd guess he was brought in for depth since Thomas McDonald isn't looking like hell qualify.
Also of note, Manalo only had one carry today for -3 yards, and one catch for no gain. He didn't get a lot of reps and appears to have taken the number 3 spot behind Williams and McCormick.
WRs
Tyrone Smith- 3 catches, 20 yards
Smith didn't get a lot of targets today, but I don't recall him having a drop either. He is mostly thrown to on shorter routes and didn't get open deep today that I can recall. He showed good hands on his targets, securing the ball even when a DB was all over him.
Tyler Cooperwood- 3 catches, 30 yards
Cooperwood had a nice day, his highlight was a 20 yard grab from Cox. They also used him on a WR sweep run which was quickly sniffed out and stopped by Evan Eggiman for no gain.
Repp: 4 catches, 32 yards, 1 TD
Repp continues to look good, he catches pretty much everything thrown at him. He had a nice 15 yard gain on a short route which he then took for some extra yardage, and showed good body control and technique on a 3 yard TD catch in red zone work where he completely boxed out the defender. He also had a fumble which was on a really nice play from Boobie Hobbs where Hobbs ripped the ball out of his hands. Sam Tevi seemingly came out of nowhere to jump on the ball before the defense could recover it.
Siaosi Wilson- 1 catch, 18 yards, 1 TD
Wilson had a highlight reel catch where he came open on a wheel route down the left sideline, caught the ball, and showed great body control to extend the ball and get the pylon as he was falling out of bounds. He very nearly had another TD grab on a slant route in the south endzone, but somehow the DB, Hobbs, I think, managed to break it up after Wilson had already caught it as they were falling down.
Kenric Young- 1 catch, 12 yards
Young had a quiet day, his lone catch came on a drag route which he snagged in stride and then outran some defenders to the sideline for a good 12 yard gain.
Monte Seabrook: 1 catch, 5 yards
Seabrook also had a quiet day, his only grab came on a 5 yard out. I doubt Seabrook will see much time at WR this year just because the group is very deep, but he showed that he could be a very good kick returner, as he had a nice return where he beat the coverage team around the corner and sped up to about the 35 yard line before being forced out of bounds. Dude has speed and moves for days and I wouldn't mind seeing him return a kickoff or two this season.
TEs
The tight ends are normally lumped in with the receivers, but I feel they should get their own section after how they've performed these last couple of weeks. This is probably the deepest and most talented TE group the Utes have ever had. There are legitimately five guys who I would feel comfortable with having them play this fall. Some of them do everything really well and all of them are good pass catchers.
Harrison Handley- 2 catches, 43 yards
Handley was out of the pit and he made his presence known early, taking a nice throw on a shell rout from Cox for 30 yards on the second play of scrimmage. He also had another nice 13 yard grab on a shorter route over the middle.
Chad Hekking- 4 catches, 24 yards, 2 TDs
Hekking took advantage of his increased reps since Gonzalez was in the pit with a minor foot injury. He snagged a 13 yard TD from Cox on a post route down the middle and recorded another TD catch in goal line work from 3 yards out, also from Cox.
Ken Hampel- 2 catches, 25 yards
Hampel is easily the slowest of the group and has the acceleration of a snail, but he is so big and strong that he is actually a threat to catch passes down the middle, he has good hands and is incredibly hard to bring down. His highlight was a 19 yard catch from Huntley.
Defense
The defense was run off the field in the first half of practice, but in the second half, they settled down and locked the offense down. Overall they had a very good day, recording 3 INTS, 6 sacks, and several pass breakups and tackles for loss.
The linebackers continue to be the same old story. Barton looks good, he had a sack and is seemingly wherever the ball carrier is on every run play. Tauteoli had a pass breakup and looked good flying around to the ball carrier. I had my doubts about him, but he seems to be showing now that he's progressed enough to get plenty of reps this fall. Sharrief Shah Jr. had the defensive play of the day, picking off an errant Cox throw and returning it more than 50 yards for the TD. Jake Jackson also did some nice things, recording an INT and a pass breakup vs AJ Cecil and the 3s.
The line continues to look great. As a group, they recorded 5 of the defense's six sacks. Sacks were recorded by Hart, Fitts, Pita T. (2), and Dimick. They also got their hands up into passing lanes a lot, and batted down a couple of passes. They didn't have to defend the run a whole lot, but when they did, they did a good job, and the RBs were often having a hard time finding space in between the tackles. All of the defensive ends are getting to be really good at defending the edge against the run, and Chris Hart and Pita both appear to have made leaps and bounds of progress in their run defense.
The secondary had a really strong day, recording an INT and at least 5 pass breakups, although it's possible I missed one or two. The INT was recorded by Porter, as mentioned above, and Jason Thompson, Phillip Afia, Justin Thomas, Brian Allen, and Conner Charles all had pass breakups. Thomas's PBU should have been a pick, as he uncharacteristically dropped the ball while falling back defending a desperation heave from Huntley which went came to his area.
QBs
Brandon Cox- 17-25, 170 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT, 1 rushing TD
Cox had himself another fantastic scrimmage. He didn't put up as many yards as last week, but that had a lot to do with the fact that this week's scrimmage focused a lot more on situational work such as red zone and goal line offense. He looked poised and accurate on most of his throws, and really only threw one bad pass, which was intercepted by Sharrief Shah Jr and returned for a TD, the defensive highlight of the day. He also ran a lot more than we've seen in past practices, and showed that he is pretty good at running the read option as well. His highlight run came on a read option 12 yards out from the endzone, which he kept and ran in for the TD.
Tyler Huntley- 10-23, 67 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Huntley struggled a bit today with accuracy, he was also under nearly constant pressure and didn't have a lot of time to go through his progression on a lot of his throws. He was sacked many more times than Cox was and didn't have a chance to break off any runs. His highlight came on a nice swing pass to McCormick, which McCormick then took off with, outrunning defenders on his way to the endzone for a 15 yard TD. The interception came off a drop by Demari Simpkins which Reggie Porter was defending on. After the deflection, Porter showed quick thinking and good hands, grabbing the loose ball on his way down.
RBs
Joe Williams- 5 carries, 19 yards, 2 TDs, 1 catch, -3 yards
Williams didn't get a whole lot of touches today, I think the coaches feel pretty comfortable with their number 1 back and are focusing more on the passing offense. Williams' highlight was a 9 yard run up the middle for a TD. The offensive line blocked really well for him today. He also ran in a 2 yard TD in goal line offense work. He and Cox had trouble on one handoff, which was fumbled during the exchange, but Cox was able to dive on it before the defense got to it.
Troy McCormick- 4 carries, 3 yards, 3 catches, 23 yards, 1 TD
McCormick didn't get too many chances to carry the ball, and on his few touches, he was quickly bottled up at the line. He did have some nice catches, including the aforementioned 15 yard TD catch and run.
Tani Leha'Uli- 4 carries, 16 yards
Leha'Uli got a few more touches today, most of his work came when the 3s went against the 3s in the series of the scrimmage, when AJ Cecil was quarterbacking.
Jordan Howard- 5 carries, 19 yards
Howard is a new face, he is a JUCO transfer from Riverside CC in California. He also got most of his work against the 3s, although he did get a couple of carries vs the twos. I'm not sure what his story is, but I'd guess he was brought in for depth since Thomas McDonald isn't looking like hell qualify.
Also of note, Manalo only had one carry today for -3 yards, and one catch for no gain. He didn't get a lot of reps and appears to have taken the number 3 spot behind Williams and McCormick.
WRs
Tyrone Smith- 3 catches, 20 yards
Smith didn't get a lot of targets today, but I don't recall him having a drop either. He is mostly thrown to on shorter routes and didn't get open deep today that I can recall. He showed good hands on his targets, securing the ball even when a DB was all over him.
Tyler Cooperwood- 3 catches, 30 yards
Cooperwood had a nice day, his highlight was a 20 yard grab from Cox. They also used him on a WR sweep run which was quickly sniffed out and stopped by Evan Eggiman for no gain.
Repp: 4 catches, 32 yards, 1 TD
Repp continues to look good, he catches pretty much everything thrown at him. He had a nice 15 yard gain on a short route which he then took for some extra yardage, and showed good body control and technique on a 3 yard TD catch in red zone work where he completely boxed out the defender. He also had a fumble which was on a really nice play from Boobie Hobbs where Hobbs ripped the ball out of his hands. Sam Tevi seemingly came out of nowhere to jump on the ball before the defense could recover it.
Siaosi Wilson- 1 catch, 18 yards, 1 TD
Wilson had a highlight reel catch where he came open on a wheel route down the left sideline, caught the ball, and showed great body control to extend the ball and get the pylon as he was falling out of bounds. He very nearly had another TD grab on a slant route in the south endzone, but somehow the DB, Hobbs, I think, managed to break it up after Wilson had already caught it as they were falling down.
Kenric Young- 1 catch, 12 yards
Young had a quiet day, his lone catch came on a drag route which he snagged in stride and then outran some defenders to the sideline for a good 12 yard gain.
Monte Seabrook: 1 catch, 5 yards
Seabrook also had a quiet day, his only grab came on a 5 yard out. I doubt Seabrook will see much time at WR this year just because the group is very deep, but he showed that he could be a very good kick returner, as he had a nice return where he beat the coverage team around the corner and sped up to about the 35 yard line before being forced out of bounds. Dude has speed and moves for days and I wouldn't mind seeing him return a kickoff or two this season.
TEs
The tight ends are normally lumped in with the receivers, but I feel they should get their own section after how they've performed these last couple of weeks. This is probably the deepest and most talented TE group the Utes have ever had. There are legitimately five guys who I would feel comfortable with having them play this fall. Some of them do everything really well and all of them are good pass catchers.
Harrison Handley- 2 catches, 43 yards
Handley was out of the pit and he made his presence known early, taking a nice throw on a shell rout from Cox for 30 yards on the second play of scrimmage. He also had another nice 13 yard grab on a shorter route over the middle.
Chad Hekking- 4 catches, 24 yards, 2 TDs
Hekking took advantage of his increased reps since Gonzalez was in the pit with a minor foot injury. He snagged a 13 yard TD from Cox on a post route down the middle and recorded another TD catch in goal line work from 3 yards out, also from Cox.
Ken Hampel- 2 catches, 25 yards
Hampel is easily the slowest of the group and has the acceleration of a snail, but he is so big and strong that he is actually a threat to catch passes down the middle, he has good hands and is incredibly hard to bring down. His highlight was a 19 yard catch from Huntley.
Defense
The defense was run off the field in the first half of practice, but in the second half, they settled down and locked the offense down. Overall they had a very good day, recording 3 INTS, 6 sacks, and several pass breakups and tackles for loss.
The linebackers continue to be the same old story. Barton looks good, he had a sack and is seemingly wherever the ball carrier is on every run play. Tauteoli had a pass breakup and looked good flying around to the ball carrier. I had my doubts about him, but he seems to be showing now that he's progressed enough to get plenty of reps this fall. Sharrief Shah Jr. had the defensive play of the day, picking off an errant Cox throw and returning it more than 50 yards for the TD. Jake Jackson also did some nice things, recording an INT and a pass breakup vs AJ Cecil and the 3s.
The line continues to look great. As a group, they recorded 5 of the defense's six sacks. Sacks were recorded by Hart, Fitts, Pita T. (2), and Dimick. They also got their hands up into passing lanes a lot, and batted down a couple of passes. They didn't have to defend the run a whole lot, but when they did, they did a good job, and the RBs were often having a hard time finding space in between the tackles. All of the defensive ends are getting to be really good at defending the edge against the run, and Chris Hart and Pita both appear to have made leaps and bounds of progress in their run defense.
The secondary had a really strong day, recording an INT and at least 5 pass breakups, although it's possible I missed one or two. The INT was recorded by Porter, as mentioned above, and Jason Thompson, Phillip Afia, Justin Thomas, Brian Allen, and Conner Charles all had pass breakups. Thomas's PBU should have been a pick, as he uncharacteristically dropped the ball while falling back defending a desperation heave from Huntley which went came to his area.
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