Notes from Whitt’s presser

[ProudUte]

Two really good defenses went at it on Saturday. There are different games to win a game and this one was a defensive game. We got off to a great start with the pick-6.

The offense was not great. We are working on rectifying things.

Special teams did well, especially the punting.

We did not fare so well at OSU last time. We will get prepared this week in practice.

He was asked if they could integrate a different QB into the system. His answer was yes, Cam.

Whitt says that he did not see what Nate posted on twitter. In fact, he never does any kind of social media. He said if Nate apologized – good for him.

How will you defend the run game and ignore the passing game. We have to play sound schemes that cannot be exploited. It’s really about the fundamentals. We need to be in the right spot at the right time.

He is appealing the targeting call, but he doubts that it will be overturned. He wants more clarity on the call.

We need to be more dominant and physical on the offensive line. The RB situation is musical chairs. We need more yards after contact. We need a more threatening pass game.

The call on too many players on the field was wrong because UCLA had a guy come on and off the field.

Tao will eventually play safety full-time for us. (He played some safety on Saturday.) He has the fastest 40-time.

Ellis has put on 25-30 pounds since he has been here and he is faster. He sees having his dad here as a coach as a plus. Whitt said it was a plus for him when he played.

Are there trends to having so many injuries? He said they are looking at it and they have not found anything specific yet.

Is there any advantage to playing on grass? Whitt says he prefers grass but he hasn’t studied the stats on this issue.

OSU is the same type of team they have been even with a new QB.

Glover is not a power back. He is durable. He has some improvement to make. He has the skills and we will keep working on him to improve.

They will still be splitting reps at QB this week in practice.

The tight-end group has not done as much as they would hoped. We need to utilize Yassmin more because he is such an athlete.

They will not expand the playbook yet for Nate.

We do not want to be predictable in the running game.

Landon King is a great athlete but is too small. He needs to gain weight.

OSU and Utah are a lot alike in recruiting, playing, schemes, etc.

Going for it on 4th and 4 was a go all the way. Unfortunately, we failed.

The punting was excellent. He was back-to-back Pac 12 special teams player of the week.

All of a sudden the world of college football is changing. He thinks that UCLA and Utah will eventually be back together again in the same conference. (This will make BYU CB fans very mad.)

[Tony (admin)]

I disagree that going for that 4th and 4 was a go. Not with such a great punter. Also, later in the game we were in about the same position and punted on 4th and 2ish.

[chinngiskhaan]

I don’t think Whitt goes with his gut on those plays.

[highlandute7]

I missed the targeting. Who was it called on?

[Utegator]

I cant recall who it was on, but it was a crown of the helmet to the chest of their QB. It was a D-lineman and in the second half, so we lose him for the first half of the Beavs game.

[RedRocks]

I didn’t realize targeting could be called on a hit that wasn’t against the head. So, it was news to me while watching the game.

[2008 National Champ]

Targeting rules

There are 3 indicators for targeting: launch, leading with the crown of the helmet, and forceable contact to the head or neck area. You only need one of the three for it to be called and there is still a lot of subjectivity in the application.

The Vimahi hit was absolutely targeting by definition but other conferences would probably have let it go. The PAC referees don’t allow any questionable contact while I’ve watched SEC games where it looks like an alley brawl but they don’t call anything unless someone gets hurt.

[The Miami Ute]

From the replays that I saw, Vimahi lowered his head but it certainly looked like his helmet didn’t make any contact with Moore’s body. It looked like he put his arms and shoulder into the hit. I could be wrong, of course.

[2008 National Champ]

head went right into the left side of Moore’s chest.

The flip side is that if he’d kept his head up, it would have been facemask to facemask and he would have still gotten a roughing the passer, potentially with targeting. Since he didn’t put his hands up to try to block the pass, there really was any way it wasn’t going to be called. Only thing you can do at that point as the defender is try to throw yourself to the side.

They were supposed to allow for intent, which in my mind should include proximity when the QB releases the ball, but you don’t get the benefit of the doubt from PAC refs. I’m thinking something like the layup rule in basketball where you get a step and a half so it’s not traveling. If the defender takes one step or less before making contact on the QB, then it’s not targeting.

[//r00t4Utes]

I said this during the review that if he kept his head up his face mask wouldn’t hit the QB’s face mask, which would’ve also been a penalty. So I joked that maybe he should’ve just went limp and played dead, but that wouldn’t work as his momentum would’ve rolled into the QB’s legs, which is also roughing the passer.

So yeah, guess jumping and hoping the QB doesn’t pump fake and now you’re out of position…. a no win situation as far a I could tell.

[The Miami Ute]

It was on Aliki Vimahi.

Aliki Vimahi

[utepilot]

Thank you for your notes

[The Miami Ute]

Thanks again for the readout. Reminds me of what I used to do for a living.