Utah Utes College Football Pregame Quote, 08/26/2024

Excited to get the season started. It’s been a really good Fall camp leading into the season. We’re able to do a really good job staying healthy and getting everybody to the first game relatively unscathed. Excited to have Cameron Rising back. That’s obviously huge for our football team. He just brings a different feel to everything when he’s out there, so that’s been a big positive. Brant Kuithe, having him back as well has been big for us. We’ve got a lot things going for us. We feel like we’ve done a nice job in the off-season upgrading a lot of the positions and we feel like we’ve got a chance to be competitive, but we’ll find out. All that matters is what happens on the game field, so we’ll find out this Thursday night and get a good idea where we stand right now.”

On what he attributes his team’s success to in season openers:

I think it’s the mindset of our players. We’ve got a team that, every year, works very hard in practice, prepares the right way and this year is no exception. The biggest key is good players that are ready to play in the opener and every subsequent week. But I’d say the biggest factor is the way our guys work in Fall camp and focus and concentrate and get themselves ready to compete, right frame of mind.

On if he thinks starting the season on a Thursday helps the program gain exposure:

I don’t know what the ratings would say, but I know its been a habit of ours, especially when we open at home to play on Thursday night. A lot of that has to do with the holiday that following Monday, but it also is an advantage of sorts where we have a couple extra days to prepare for the second opponent. That plays into it as much as anything else. That’s just been something that’s been in place for a lot of years, and it’s worked for us.

On the running back room:

I feel good about it. Even though we don’t have a clear-cut RB1, it’s not the end of the world that we don’t have that. We have the two tiers of running backs like I mentioned toward the end of Fall camp. Micah Bernard, Jaylon Glover and Mike Mitchell have been in that first group and will see the vast majority of the playing time. You’ll also see Dijon Stanley get some touches during the game. Hunter Andrews has been a really good addition to the running back group and will add value. Charlie Vincent‚ÄîMr. Reliable‚Äîhe has been such a weapon for us on special teams. That is the room we’ve been working with; those six guys. That first tier has separated itself from the second tier, with the exception of Dijon having a package of plays that he’ll execute.

On energy coming into the Big 12 and this season as a whole:

Everyone was disappointed last year and we used that as motivation during the off-season to get bigger, stronger, more durable. Looking forward to being the team that we know we can be. Last year was a little off our pace and we had some things to work on. But that’s not that uncommon in college football. You go through years where you’re not as fortunate, injury-wise, as other teams. It’s just something you’ve got to deal with. But right now we’re in a good place. If we continue to keep the quarterback upright during the course of the season, that’s going to be a big plus for us.

On Dorian Singer:

First of all, he’s an exceptional football player. He does things out on the practice field that make you just go ‘wow’‚ĶHe’s got one of the best sets of hands we’ve had, ever, in our program. He catches everything‚Äîhe’s as sure-handed as they come. His body control on the contested ball up the field is second to none. His route-running; he’s got exceptional ability to bend and sink his hips, and get in and out of breaks. Right now he is our wide receiver No. 1; there’s no doubt about it. The throw game goes through him at this point in time. And it has since way back in Spring.

He’s a proven commodity‚ĶHe was a 1,000-yard receiver at Arizona. Got a little bit lost in the crowd at USC, with their unbelievable talent that they have across the board. But he’s going to be a big factor for us. Him and Cam (Rising) have really developed a great chemistry together.

On what’s important Thursday night, other than getting a win:

A clean football game; executing the way that we should execute. Limiting penalties. The whole mechanism of substitution, special teams functions. Everything in the whole operation needs to be clean. And that’s what we’re really looking for. No delay of games, minimize false starts, just those sloppy penalties that can show up particularly early in the season. We’d like to get off to a great start on all that stuff.