Here's the recap of Coach Whitt's interview for today.
- Coach is very happy with the captains selected. Says that Lowell and Filipo are great leaders on the defense, and the same can be said about Troy and Leka on offense. On special teams, the votes were a dead heat between Christian Drews and Mitch Wishnowsky, so they decided to name two special teams captains for the first time ever.
- Whitt reiterated that we can't read anything into Troy being named captain as it relates to whether or not he'll be the starter.
- Utah has just about finished up what they wanted to do in fall camp and they're just about ready to start preparing for North Dakota. The team needs to clean up some penalty problems on offense, but other than that they just need to stay healthy, make sure they're in condition, and polish some things up.
- The kicking game isn't where it needs to be. Still a battle between Johnston and Gay, said both did well in the first session but struggled in the second session.
- The secondary is still doing very well, they continue to improve. Chase Hansen should be back practicing within a week. Whittingham said Blackmon, Johnson, Hughes, Young, Ballard, Blair, Hobbs, Guidry, and Burgess have all had a very good camp and have separated.
- Derrick Vickers' deadline is tomorrow, so they'll know one way or the other tomorrow. He doesn't have a redshirt available like Lewis did, so his future with Utah is a little less clear if he doesn't make it this year.
- Whittingham says he doesn't think the QB battle will last much longer and they're about ready to name a starter. Will make a public announcement when the decision is made.
- Right now, Bapa Falemaka is getting the most reps at tight end until Siale and Harrison are back. Also said that the Jake Jackson move is going well and that he seems more natural at tight end than linebacker.
- The biggest responsibilities of the captains are setting the bar high and then demanding that everybody else lives up to those expectations. Doesn't just put the responsibility solely on the captains, but on the senior class as a whole.
