KW’s confidence

[ProudUte]

I am hearing from multiple sources that KW seems more confident than he ever has been.  It’s tough to tell in a public interview because he would never let on – how good the team may be.  However, those who are close to the program feel that he has never been so confident.

I would love to hear from OnlyU to see if he feels the same way.

 

[D T]

The key is keeping CR on the field this year…..We did a pretty good job of it last year.

[utefansince79]

Team needs to be level headed. Confidence is usually a good thing, but arrogance can get you in trouble.

 

 

[ProudUte]

Very true.

[Central Coast Ute]

He was pretty confident going into 2019 and that was a damn good team. My sense is, this team is better as long as Rising stays healthy. It should be a good year. We’ll see if USC lives up to their hype. They’re the only bump in the road I see. I doubt Bo Nix at Oregon is going to be a huge upgrade.

[Onlyu]

The confidence is 100% real…This is by far the deepest team he’s ever coached. We’ll see if the top level talent equals the 2019 team but we have quality depth at every position and won’t see much of a drop off as injuries happen. We didn’t have that depth in 2019. We had some incredible players but not across the board. Not many weaknesses in the 2 deep with this years team.

I agree with the comments above…Cam is the key. If there is a glaring deficiency it’s QB depth. Exciting talent behind him but young and inexperienced so not sure we know what we really have there yet. If Cam plays the whole year we win 11 games. If he goes down that number could quickly drop to 8.

DB’s can withstand an injury or two but probably not 3 or 4. And there is a drop off after JT and Clark but I think they’re both NFL guys. Fortunately we typically don’t see what we saw last year at that spot. Those guys usually last most of the year.

OL is deep, TE is deep, RB is deep, WR is deep (we’ll see about top level).

DL is deep, DE is deep, LB is deep, Safety is deep (but a little unknown) and CB is strong to the 5th or 6th spot. Stable system on both sides and a few surprising youngsters that will make their mark.

Gonna need to the ball to bounce our way a few times but if it does it could be an incredible year and Coach knows that.

[UrbanLiar]

Thanks as always OnlyU, but don’t underestimate a good special teams impact. I wish we had a great punter (maybe we do and we haven’t seen it yet). KW’s teams love to pin back their ears and punish an opponent after trapping them within their own 10 yard line. I hope our Spartan or more seasoned Sparky transfers will succeed.

[Onlyu]

For sure on the ST…not entirely sure what we have yet. Betting it won’t be as average as what we saw last year…average might be a stretch so I’m counting on significant improvement.

[James]

I also believe the confidence is 100% real. This team will be tough to deal with, on both sides of the ball. Health is paramount at all positions, even more so at QB. If Cam can keep himself healthy, then all bets are off. I strongly believe we can average 38-40 points per game. I also think we are going to see more designed runs/RPO’s for Cam this year, which makes this offense even more diverse and in certain situations indefensible because someone on offense will be unaccounted for. Way too many weapons at each position not to succeed. Mix in Ludwig’s schemes and experience and watch out! Might even see the Utes going for it often on 4th down depending on field position.

If we can get 1-2 defensive stops per half, then we will win a lot of games and most by a comfortable margin. I think we see a defense that is able to put more pressure on the QB this year as opposed to last. If so, we will win the turnover game. As with any magical season, we will need to catch a couple breaks along the way as there is always a game or two where things don’t go as planned and our Utes will have to dig deep to get themselves out of a hole. I think we have the leadership to do this.

Florida will be much improved and Coach Napier will have that team ready to play. Won’t be easy and if it is, then we know we are onto something special. UCLA will be better and a very tough road game, although we seem to play well at the Rose Bowl. USC will be much better but don’t think they will have the defense to prevent us from outscoring them. Also not 100% sold on Caleb Williams just yet. Sure he is talented but didn’t fare all that well against the better BIG 12 defenses. Watch out for a letdown game at WSU, tough place to play and Cam Ward will be very good. Despite last year’s success against Oregon, doesn’t mean squat this year, especially at Autzen stadium.

Our schedule is filled with tough games, but, this is a tough and talented team. One day, one week and one opponent at a time. Go Utes!

[Redblood]

He was confident at the beginning of last year too. Made me uncomfortable. And after the start  I was so confused as to why he saw it sonwrong. Then the finish proves he was right we just stated slow.