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We inch closer to the kickoff of the 2018 season, and the Utes had day two of fall camp today, and it sounds like it was a spirited, high intensity practice, which you want to see, especially early on in camp. I jumped around the Twitterverse to pull in some of the reactions to give you a feel of some of the chatter that happened today.
As always, Bill Riley, the voice of the Utes, was a great source of info with some of his tweets. He really pointed out some guys in the defensive secondary that stood out.
Play of the Day...
— Bill Riley (@espn700bill) August 3, 2018
Julian Blackmon breaking up a deep ball from Huntley to Mariner, just missed an INT. Great Individual effort and ball skills#Utes #CampKyle
Blackmon is a stud, and his development over the past couple of seasons is impressive. Riley also pointed out that Guidry had a nice day as well, which is great to hear, since he should have that nickel spot on lock after an impressive freshman campaign.
A pair of true freshman on defense had nice plays in 11 on 11..
— Bill Riley (@espn700bill) August 3, 2018
Nickel Back Malone Mataele and DE Blake Kuithe both had good moments on Day 2#Utes #CampKyle
It’s great to see some freshmen get some good exposure, and Riley noticed the two he mentioned in his tweet above. The one problem is that when the media see practice, it’s usually the last 10-20 minutes of practice, so the No. 1s have gotten most of their reps. When you start to get more traction on these new names is when the coaches start to mention them over and over again to the media. That’s really when the legend of Britain Covey started.
As for the defensive line, it sounds like the Utes are still trying to lock down who will be opposite of Bradlee Anae.
Tupai, Hamilton, Repp and Tafua are all battling for the DE spot opposite of Bradlee Anae. No separation yet per Morgan Scalley#Utes #CampKyle
— Bill Riley (@espn700bill) August 3, 2018
The nice thing with so many names in contention, as the season goes along they can deploy different units and keep guys fresh, which they’ve done for years.
3 Guys Who Caught My Eye on Day 2
— Bill Riley (@espn700bill) August 3, 2018
1. Julian Blackmon-Great Day in Coverage. Leading by example
2. Devin Brumfield-Freshman RB buried on the depth chart showed a couple nice bursts running the ball
3. Tyler Huntley-Very Vocal with backup QB's from sidelines. #Utes #CampKyle18
It’s also great that Riley noticed Huntley’s vocal leadership from the sidelines. That’s a great trait from QB1. He really should lead by not only his play, but by his voice as well. It will be interesting to see if he’s voted a captain in a few weeks.
Overall, the sentiment during the media period is that the defense really showed out. That’s not a big surprise considering it’s still just day two of camp. As we get going along and the offense finds its groove, we should see more back and forth days. With that said, without the media able to see the entire practice, they may have had some great moments earlier.