The Utah football team held their second scrimmage of the spring on Saturday, a week ahead of the annual Red-White Spring Game. With a lot of players vying for playing time, the chances for players to make an impact on the coaches before the summer is coming to an end.
Offense
With the defense pretty much being established, most people's eyes are on the quarterback battle. With Troy Williams missing the rest of spring due to injury, all the reps are being split between junior Brandon Cox, and freshman Tyler Huntley. It appears the reps have done Cox a world of good, because he was without a doubt the better of the two quarterbacks on Saturday. On all but maybe a couple of possessions Cox led the Utah offense to scores. He was constantly patient in the pocket, even when he was under fire, and delivered great passes down the field to keep the defense off balance. He was also very impressive with his legs, as he had a couple of touchdown runs as he would keep on either a zone read, or on a speed option read. Cox has made this QB much more interesting, because many people (myself included) have conceded the job to Williams.
Huntley was hit or miss a lot of the day. He shows flashes of brilliance, but the speed is still a problem for him. He throws the best deep ball of anybody, and has a great touch. He just needs to have the game slow down, but I love what's in store for this kid.
This practice was much more about moving the ball through the air, which was nice to see. Caleb Repp has some nice catches, as did Tyrone Smith. There were still some drops, which are annoying, but overall the pass game was solid, especially from Cox.
The biggest problem the offense had in the scrimmage was in the two-minute drill where the offense failed to perform at the same level as they did in other drills. This sentiment was echoed by head coach Kyle Whittingham and Cox.
Defense
The defense was beaten early on in the practice by the offense, but when the second half started, with a lot of two minute and goal line situations, the defense flexed their muscle quite a bit. The defensive line started to make things very difficult for the QBs, as they registered multiple sacks to put the offense behind the chains. Reggie Porter had one of the better plays of the day, as Demari Simpkins let a ball go through his hands, Porter was able to juggle the deflection and come down with the interception. Sharrieff Shah Jr was able to capitalize on one of Cox's only mistakes, as he was able to take an interception back for a score.
All-in-all, a very promising scrimmage. We saw some very good things from the offense, a lot of sets and aggressive play calls. While the defense eventually took over and did what they always do, and make plays.
Post-Scrimmage Interviews
Running Back Coach Dennis Erickson
Scrimmage Stats
Passing Cmp-Att-Int Yds Td
Brandon Cox 16-24-1 158 4
T. Huntley 10-23-1 65 1
Rushing No Net TD Long
B. Cox 8 6 1 13
J. Williams 5 16 2 8
T. McCormick 4 4 0 3
T. Huntley 4 -17 0 -3
J. Howard 2 2 0 2
T. Leha'uli 1 2 0 2
K. Fulks 1 2 0 2
T. Cooperwood 1 0 0 0
M. Manalo 1 -3 0 -3
Receiving No. Yds TD Long
T. Cooperwood 4 35 0 20
C. Repp 4 32 1 16
T. McCormick 3 27 1 14
C. Hekking 3 20 2 12
T. Smith 3 20 0 8
H. Handley 2 32 0 30
K. Hampel 2 20 0 14
S. Wilson 1 18 1 18
K. Young 1 13 0 13
M. Manalo 1 0 0 0
J. Williams 1 -3 0 -3