Utes kick off new era with successful start to camp

Utah began its first official camp as a BCS member Tuesday and by all accounts, it went fairly well. 

You can bet that move to the Pac-12 dominated the discussion at practice and though Kyle Whittingham admitted the players were excited about the move, he's certainly not allowing it to become a distraction. 

Whittingham, prior to camp kicking off, said the next few weeks will not be about the upcoming opposition and more about bettering the team as a whole. That's where they started Tuesday and that's where they'll finish at the end of April. 

Of course, the immediate changes we're seeing are on the offensive side of the ball. With the hiring of Norm Chow, the Utes have pretty much moved entirely away from the spread option and throughout the remainder of camp, that will be their number one focus as they install that new offense. 

Chow thought the first practice went well, all things considered. A change in offensive adjustment, especially when most this team has been taught something completely different, is not going to be easy. Chow, who spoke with the press, admitted as much. 

Utah, which operated often out of the shotgun, will move more under center and establish a power running game. That move is dramatic, since it requires adjustments in footwork by both the quarterback and running backs. 

For Jordan Wynn, that's all he pretty much could do at practice Tuesday. Since he continues to recover from injury, Wynn handled snaps but did not throw. Instead, Griff Robles and Tyler Shreve had the most reps. 

Overall, Utah begins the process of cramming. They've got a lot to learn and not much time to learn it in. Not since Urban Meyer's first spring camp in 2003 has Utah seen such a radical adjustment on the offensive side.

Day one, though, was a good start.