Takeaways From Kyle Whittingham’s Arizona State Week Press Conference

Oct 7, 2024, 1:01 PM | Updated: 1:06 pm

kyle-whittingham-addresses-media-2023...

The Utes' head coach addresses roster concerns heading into game week against the Gators. (Photo Cred: Kristen Murphy, Deseret News)

(Photo Cred: Kristen Murphy, Deseret News)

BY STEVE BARTLE

Utah Insider

SALT LAKE CITY – On Monday, Utah Football head coach Kyle Whittingham addressed members of the media for the Arizona State-week press conference of 2024.

Welcome back to 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊‼️

🆚: Arizona State
🏟️: Mountain America Stadium
⏰: 10.11.24 | 8:30PM MT
📺: ESPN
📻: ESPN 700 AM / 92.1 FM#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/2MBwnHc5UU

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 7, 2024

Coming off of a bye week, the Utes enter the week refreshed and begin their preparations for this weekend’s matchup against Arizona State.

To start the week, Whittingham met with the media as he always does. After the 15-minute presser, here are key takeaways from Utah’s head coach press conference.

All things Cam Rising’s injury status

Now approaching five weeks since his injury, Cam Rising is waiting on a ‘go ahead’ to return to action. Whittingham specified that the ‘go ahead’ comes from the medical staff.

“Without any other input, we’re all following the recommendations from the doctors,” he shared. “We’ll see what happens this week but there’s a chance, I can tell you that, it’s still early in the week. We’ll cross our fingers and hope for the best, as is Cam.”

Given Whittingham’s previous commentary on the injury, it feels like there has been a significant change that hasn’t been addressed publicly. Perhaps Rising’s finger has not progressed at the rate many thought it would. Maybe Rising had additional evaluations recently that revealed something not previously identified, which has changed the timeline for his return.

After a tough loss and bye week, Utah has their backs up against the wall. They've also entered a crucial stretch of the schedule, which all starts Friday night against the Sun Devils. #GoUtes https://t.co/vAbZeU6P7F

— Steve Bartle (@BartleKSLsports) October 7, 2024

Again, this is now approaching five weeks since the injury in week two against Baylor. With true freshman Isaac Wilson filling in, the Utes have gone 2-1 in his three starts and Whittingham addressed a question of whether there is a point they turn it over to him and the future.

“There is a point and I’m not going to pin us down to exact time but as things progress, then also where we’re at in the conference race, but it certainly could come to that point but we’re not there yet.”

A surprising acknowledgement but it seems there is a chance Rising may not return this season.

Strengths and weaknesses of the squad after further review

To this point of the season, few things have gone according to plan. Utah has been without its star quarterback in the last three contests. It’s forced others, individually and collectively, to step up in his absence.

The individual that has stepped up in the biggest way has been true freshman Isaac Wilson. There have been issues but overall, Whittingham seems encouraged from what he’s seen out of the true freshman.

“His entire game needs to continue to get tighter and better,” Whittingham said of his true freshman quarterback. “Cut down on the interceptions, first of all, but there’s not any one glaring area where could say ‘Boy he’s really lacking here.’ He’s just a freshman, a true freshman, there’s going to be mistakes made. The more reps he accrues, the less those mistakes show up, and we’re trending in the right direction, that’s really what we’re looking for.”

There have been moments of brilliance- like Micah Bernard’s three straight 100-yard performances. The defense has been stingy, limiting opponents to an average of just 15.0 points through five games.

At the same time, the Utes have been unable to find offensive consistency through five contests. There have been turnovers and an inability to score touchdowns in the red zone.

“We’re about 20% off of where need to be, it’s not like we’re absolutely horrible, we’re at 50% which isn’t good by any means but 70% is our target,” Whittingham said. “If we can be 70% in the red zone, which have been over the years, that’s good production. Cam would certainly- an experienced player like him, would be very adept in the red zone.”

8:30… at night😏

🆚 TCU
🏟️ Rice-Eccles Stadium
⏰ 10.19.24 | 8:30PM MT
📺 ESPN
📻 ESPN 700 AM / 92.1 FM#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/zPOxgQ9pad

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 7, 2024

Bye week came at just the right time for the Utes

Utah is 4-1 but it feels like it’s been a trying time for the team. The old cliche is that the bye came at the perfect time and it genuinely feels like that’s the case for this squad.

“Bye week came at a really good time for us, it gave us a chance to regroup a little bit and get some of the guys, where bumps and bruises have accumulated, healed up,” Whittingham shared.

A timely break in the schedule to recoup and rest after five tough contests. It’s also an opportunity to reset from an execution standpoint, perhaps even reconfigure some things schematically to better fit the strengths of this squad.

“Gives us a good opportunity to evaluate everything, there’s also a lot of recruiting going on, so it’s not just football,” he said. “Again, being able to self-evaluate and make personnel decisions going forward, all that type of stuff, bye week is a good time to get that done.”

The Sun Devils have Utah’s full attention

This week’s matchup against the Sun Devils kicks off a crucial stretch of the season that will reveal a lot about the buy-in factor of this Utah squad.

“It’s very crucial, we’ve got our backs against the wall in a lot of respects right now,” Whittingham stated. “We’ve got to get back on track, we did not play well against Arizona, you can be a good football team and not play well and get your butt handed to you.”

The Sun Devils are 4-1 and much improved from last season. They have an impressive ground game and that will be the biggest key to Utah’s chances for success against the Sun Devils.

“They’re a run-heavy team, well over 200 yards rushing per game,” “If we’re as non-effective as we were against Arizona, it’s going to be a long night. So that’s the big challenge to our defense is to step up and become know what we can be against the run.”