Utah kicked off its first scrimmage making some key adjustments in the wake of offensive lineman Jason Boone's injury. Boone will miss the season after tearing his ACL, undoubtedly a blow to Utah's offensive line.
To compensate for this injury, Utah moved defensive tackle Zeke Tuinei-Wily behind Dustin Hensel on the offensive line. The battle for Boone's spot will be between junior Corey Seiuli and redshirt freshman Walter Watts. The two will battle it out during fall camp and the winner will take the spot at left tackle for the 2007 season. As for the scrimmage, it was cut from 80-plays to 50 as a result of Boone's injury.
Darryl Poston got things off to a solid start, as he had an impressive 44-yard run against the #1 defense. However the #2 offense failed to get it into the end zone and settled for a field goal.
The Utes had five scoring drives. however all but one ended in a field goal. The lone touchdown of the day was a 39-yard pass from Brian Johnson to Brian Hernandez. Hernandez led the team with five catches for 89 yards. Johnson ended the day on 11 of 22 passing for 154 yards.
On defense, Sean Smith had the lone interception of the scrimmage, while Coach Whittingham noted improvement in the secondary. Alex Puccinelli and Aaron Tonga had two sacks each, while both Neli A'asa and Koa Misi both recorded a sack.
All in all, it wasn't a bad outing for the Utes, but clearly Boone's injury sent shockwaves throughout the scrimmage.
The Utes will return to practice tomorrow at 8:50 in the morning on the Ute Baseball Field.