FALL CAMP HAS ARRIVED, FOOTBALL IS ALMOST HERE OOOMMMGGG

Our long national nightmare is almost over - college football is about to start.

Finally.

The Utes kickoff their 2012 fall camp with a bit of optimism in the air, even though they've been hit by a string of injuries and suspensions the last few days.

You've got Jordan Wynn bragging that this offense could average 40-50 points per game (uh, about that...) and Kyle Whittingham doing his best to sell new coordinator Brian Johnson, whose experience as a coach is limited.

Still, you can't help but get excited. Every year, fall camp ushers in a sense of new hope. Whatever happened last season doesn't count and it's now about the next twelve games. Every team that laces up this camp will do so with a pretty unshakable confidence.

And why not? We haven't actually played a game. Every team is perfect and will remain that way for at least a few more weeks.

That's the beauty of fall camp.

Of course, it's more than just wide-eyed expectation. This is important. A good portion of the season will in fact come down to the conditioning and practicing of the next month or so. This is a key development time for the players, as they really haven't seen stiff action since spring.

Last year, it was a bit more uncertain. Wynn hadn't really thrown much and fall camp was devoted to getting him in game shape and his arm in throwing shape. You could see, early in that season before his injury, that while he looked healthy enough, his arm just wasn't up to the task of lobbing all game.

All indications point to that not being a problem this fall. Wynn has rehabbed his arm and is ready to go. So, there should be a far better throwing motion than what we saw last year. More importantly, hopefully he is as durable as they say he might be.

In fact, Wynn's throws looked pretty good back in April, so, here's to them looking even better today.

Utah holds its first of twenty preseason practices today at the Ute Baseball Field on Guardsman Way.

Get pumped...football is almost here.