Tough to gauge anything from the spring game as so many players sit out and the coaches limit what both sides of the ball do. Personally, I would like to see Cooper Bateman get a legitimate shot to win the job.
Tough to gauge anything from the spring game as so many players sit out and the coaches limit what both sides of the ball do. Personally, I would like to see Cooper Bateman get a legitimate shot to win the job.
Seems like he's getting a shot. They keep giving him reps.Originally Posted by UTEopia
In practice he gets reps with the third team O against the third team D. He got the same reps today as a walk-on freshman QB.
Still, that's a chance to impress. It's not like our coaches are unaware that this guy was once very highly regarded. If he impresses, I'm sure they'll notice.
It's a tall order, though. Williams was good last year, he's way more experienced, and he was once an even higher rated prospect than Bateman.
ESPNs 3 Takeaways from Spring Ball:
So - RB will probably be fine.1. Running back Devonta’e Henry-Cole showed up well. He finished Saturday's game with two rushing touchdowns and 44 yards on 11 carries as well as four receptions for 23 yards. With the transition to Troy Taylor’s system, the offense will utilize the pass game a bit more, so the latter part of that stat line is especially important if Henry-Cole wants to be the featured back. With the offensive line playing for both teams, the coaches had a chance to gauge the progress of each back without wondering whether certain plays succeeded because Tackle X was blocking instead of Tackle Y. Henry-Cole likely will head into the fall competing with Zack Moss, who left the spring game early and was seen later with a sling on his right arm. Moss was the team’s second-leading rusher a season ago behind Joe Williams.
When I hear the coaches speak, I wonder what their level of faith is in Troy Williams. This will be interesting to watch through fall camp...2. There isn’t a clear-cut starter at quarterback yet. Though transfer Cooper Bateman (5-of-5, 53 yards, 1 touchdown) is clearly the third-string QB, he showed on Saturday that he’ll push incumbent Troy Williams (9-of-15, 73 yards) and Tyler Huntley (8-of-12, 65 yards, 1 interception) for the job. And yes, if you’ve followed Utah football of late, this is kind of an ongoing issue for the Utes. But in none of those seasons in which they completely relied on the run game to do most of the work did they have an offensive coordinator like Taylor, whose Eastern Washington team last season averaged 401 passing yards a game. This is an offense that will need an adept quarterback to get the chains moving, and so far, while there are candidates, no one seems to be a head above the rest. The summer should give each of these guys a chance to work more on fundamentals and dive further into the playbook -- Taylor was hoping to have 90-95 percent of his offense installed this season. Come fall, the sooner one of the quarterbacks stands out for Taylor, the better for the Utes.
I feel like Kyle has been pumping him up since he got here, so it's nice to see him getting some press here as well. Especially as we look to rebuild our secondary.3. Defensive back Julian Blackmon is a name to watch. Typically, coaches are either overly effusive after spring games (naming everyone down the depth chart as people who had nice showings) or vague with a standard response: “Lots of guys impressed, but no one stood out too much more than another.” Coach Kyle Whittingham and defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley were in the latter camp on Saturday when they spoke with reporters. But one name that both brought up after scrimmage was that of Blackmon. The sophomore finished with five tackles, including one for a loss, and two pass breakups. He also has shown leadership, which will be hugely important for a Utah secondary that lost so much talent and experience from its 2016 team.
“It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”
Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
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