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Utah spring football notes, 4/11: Video highlights, news, and other links

A roundup of various Utah links from spring ball.

By Avinash Kunnath
Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Here are the spring video highlights from earlier this week courtesy of KSL.

Most of the offensive highlights seemed to be focused on getting the ball out into the flats to stretch the defense from side to side. There were a lot of crossing routes and short slant/post routes to try and get the defense into vulnerable positions. Travis Wilson also had the best deep throws of these highlights, corking out two deep shots (one for a touchdown) and also using his feet to move out of his initial drop and get better looks.

Kyle Whittingham chatted a little bit after practice, as did Kenneth Scott. Here are their press conference interviews.

Indeed, Whittingham definitely touched on how pleased he was with the progression of the screen game in his press conference quotes.

He said they hit on three or four of them in some of the crossover drills.

"The screens have been pretty ragged up until today," Whittingham said.

Scott is still recovering from an ankle injury. He is 100% right now but still isn't participating in live action to ensure that the ankle stays in full health until the beginning of the season. Currently it's Dominique Hatfield and Delshawn McCllelon who have emerged as starters on the latest depth chart, but that figures to be a very fluid situation. Matthew Piper of the Salt Lake Tribune chatted with Taylor Stubblefield about the wide receiver situation going forward.

"However, in the reps that he’s been getting, I love the way he competes," Stubblefield said, later adding, "I expect there to be changes [to the depth chart] once fall camp rolls along."

...

Hatfield leads the team this spring in explosive plays, Stubblefield said. The team charts catch percentages and missed assignments, he said, but if you have enough "explosives," it excuses some mistakes.

McClellon previously had not been on the depth chart, and while Stubblefield said that wasn’t intended as a motivational tactic, he said the only thing stopping McClellon from being "an extremely good player in this league" is himself. If he can sustain the mental toughness that he shows at times, watch out, Stubblefield said.

Gionni Paul is definitely out through the beginning of next season, with a return date somewhere in September or October.

To shore up depth at linebacker with Paul's injury, Utah has moved Marcus Sanders Williams to linebacker.

"I was a contact player on offense," he said. "I’m going to be a contact player on defense. I get to go against the offense and stuff, so I’ll still hit those guys."

...

"We moved him today, and we’ll see how he look these last four or five spring practices," Whittingham said. "He’s got the physical tools to become a linebacker, he just doesn’t have the experience there. He’s 220-plus pounds and about 6 feet tall so we’re hoping he can pick up some of the slack."

Jeremiah Poutasi talked about his move back to offensive tackle and the strength and conditioning he's undergone to get into tackle form.

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