I fully expect Whitt to shut it down up 4 with four minutes left. There is no reason for him to change what has worked.
What I want to see is less of that scenario and more up 11 with four minutes left.
I fully expect Whitt to shut it down up 4 with four minutes left. There is no reason for him to change what has worked.
What I want to see is less of that scenario and more up 11 with four minutes left.
Utah,
I don't have a favorite at quarterback. I hope Huntley is a success, but I've tired of your tearing down of Williams. I won't disagree with you that he had some bad throws and made some bad decisions but let's not call Troy a failure. What is the play we remember most from the California game that led to the loss? I'd say Moss missing the hole that my couch potato body could have run through on the last play of the game. You've referenced Colorado and pinned the loss on terrible quarterback play. Troy struggled at times. I do remember him hitting Patrick in the hands in the end zone with one of the prettiest throws I've seen. Patrick dropped it. Our red zone failures at Colorado can be blamed equally on Joe Williams who had at least one red zone fumble. Hopefully, you get my point.
I think a player elected a team captain doesn't deserve to be excoriated like you have done to him today. Most likely, he'll be called on to make some plays this season - perhaps even lead the team throughout a game or two. I'll be confident that he can do that if the situation arises. In the meantime, go Tyler Huntley.
It's going to be interesting...
The players respect Troy enough to make him a captain, again, so it's not as though they don't think he's capable. If he was truly horrible, Bateman would be the 2, and Troy would be thinking about MBA school.
By all accounts, Taylor is somewhat of a QB guru who has re-invented the position, at least compared to the more traditional thinking. He may interchange these guys more quickly than we think, and it may not be that big of a deal.
Aaron Roderick was interviewed last night, and though I think it's impossible to do 100%, he's been pretty objective the last two weeks he's been on the radio. For example, last week he was praising Whitt for instilling toughness in the program that has led to our being respected, among other observations that bore no sign of being an angry ex-assistant. Roderick seems like a pretty level headed football analyst... but the way he left Utah, I'll add a couple of grains of salt to what he says. (Human nature, nothing against A-Rod)
Yesterday, A-Rod said he hasn't seen the last 40 practices, so Huntley may have made great strides in working out some of his deficiencies, and got to the point where he edged out Troy Williams... but Roderick also said he thought Williams is one of the 5 best QBs in the PAC-12. My sense is if you count up all the drops from last year, Troy's completion percentage is closer to 60%, and we probably win another game.
If the reports are true that Huntley had a great last 10 days of practice, that he has really been putting it all together, it may mean that the Taylor era will be a move upward.
Or it may mean Taylor's system is more flexible with the QBs than we're used to, and while Huntley has the hot hand now, he won't hesitate to put Williams in, if the situation dictates, and that kind of change isn't a big deal, doesn't signal a wholesale move away from one QB to another.
Hopefully Taylor doesn't start his stint at Utah with the traditional kind of QB controversy. We don't need that.
From his history of being an ex-NFL QB who was toiling away in mediocrity coaching HS ball before deciding to re-invent his approach to offense, picking the minds of the great ones (Walsh, Meyer, etc), I'm optimistic Taylor won't be stubborn if things aren't going well. Urban Meyer and his staff were quick to throw out some plays that worked well at Utah but got stuffed by the quicker defenses in the SEC. The triple-option was short-lived when UM went to Florida.
It's definitely going to be interesting...
Last edited by Ma'ake; 08-22-2017 at 07:47 AM.
“Children and dogs are as necessary to the welfare of the country as Wall Street and the railroads.” -- Harry S. Truman
"You never soar so high as when you stoop down to help a child or an animal." -- Jewish Proverb
"Three-time Pro Bowler Eric Weddle the most versatile, and maybe most intelligent, safety in the game." -- SI, 9/7/15, p. 107.
Can the Utes Overcome Their Doubters?
https://www.ksl.com/?sid=45509549&nid=635
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
ESPN ranks Utes fan base as the ‘happiest’ in Utah over BYU, Utah State
Well, of course.
We are only 7th in the PAC-12, however:
http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/sto...?sf108291927=1
Last edited by LA Ute; 08-22-2017 at 02:41 PM.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
One wonders, then, why Williams was not pulled in favor of Huntley, particularly after Troy was hurt.
It's not that I am "so enamored" by Troy. It's that starting an inexperienced True Soph over an experienced Senior to battled through injury to start all 13 games seems like a risk.
"It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant
Maybe I missed it, but I don't remember any big dust up when Roderick was let go. Did he say something behind closed doors or did I just miss something out in the open?
I like Roderick but all I know is the friendly "ah shucks" demeanor I heard on radio interviews and such.
I haven't heard any bad blood between Roderick and Utah. He is getting paid almost half a million dollars from Utah this year. His buddy Kalani, a Utah product, will give him a job next year.
ARod has no reason to be pissed at Utah.
Eh. He was 100lbs light and Ford is tearing it up in the OL.
You don't want to lose him, but he was a loooooooooooooooooooooooooong ways from ever playing.
Depth chart!
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what is an E receiver? what formations and where does he line up?
Interesting that Nacua is ahead of Fulks across the board at receiver.
Nacua has been incredible. I haven't seen Carrington play, but Nacua was our best receiver in the spring. Skinny kid, but if he stays healthy...watch out. So much natural talent.
I don't know if it was here or another site, but I was told that Nacua was the best WR in the state his SR year. Much better than the kid who went to Stanford, but his grades held him back.
Can't ever remember a year in which our ceiling and floor were so disparate. We could go 5-7. We could go 11-2. In between is 8-9 wins, but it's very hard to see us treading water with a QB change and the loss of 9 players to the draft. But maybe Huntley-Taylor is the combo that puts us over the top offensively, we're a top 10 team nationally in turnover margin and we avoid games where our kicker has to win it for us.
At the same time, I can see why Vegas has our season win total at 6.5. There's a lot that screams average about this year's team.
I'd lean towards 7 wins.
Our schedule is too hard and we have too many freshmen playing for us.
If we can get to 7-8 wins, we'd be a favorite to win the PAC-12 next year.