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LOS ANGELES — As the preseason favorite to win the Pac-12 in 2022, Utah was the topic of a few questions from reporters at the annual media day event in Los Angeles Friday.
Not only is Utah the defending conference champions, but they're predicted to do it again with a similar roster. Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham believes it's a sign of respect for the program as it looks to increase its national brand. And many see his program as the model in the conference.
Here's a look at what some of the head coaches said about Utah on Friday.
Jedd Fisch, Arizona
"Well, first, they're the champions last year. It's pre-season. I think they should be picked ahead this time. They have a returning quarterback, which is always a huge part of your successes.
"I would also say coach Whittingham is the standard. He's the standard. He's 18 years at Utah as the head coach. He does it the right way. His teams play hard, they play tough. I have not been shy in talking about how I admire Utah's football program.
"You could see why they are who they are. We had a very good football game against them a year ago. I just admire the way they play all four quarters."
Karl Dorrell, Colorado
"I think Kyle is an outstanding coach. I've known Kyle since my UCLA days, we played against Utah. I think we split those games. We lost in Utah, and we beat 'em in our place.
"But he's an experienced, accomplished coach that knows what it takes to win. He's been doing it for a number of years. That's why he's still there. So I have a lot of respect for what they've done in this conference.
"Now being members of this conference, being in the position they are, they've done a tremendous job. I would say it's because there's continuity. There's obviously a guy at the helm that I have a tremendous amount of respect for. He's got a great staff, and they recruit. They do things right.
"I would give him, those are part of the reasons why they are who they are."
Jonathan Smith, Oregon State
"Well, they've always played a brand of physical football, been physical on defense. They challenge you consistently. They can run the ball. You mentioned Cam (Rising) already, adding him into the mix. Now in a pass game that's really, really effective, his ability to extend the play, not just throw it. I know their roster got a lot of returning players after a big-time season. I can see why they were picked to win the thing.
"They're highly respected. Kyle has done this thing at a high level for a long time. So they got a lot of good things for them. They're going to be really challenging."
David Shaw, Stanford
"A couple things. One, I'm looking forward to playing them since we didn't play them last year. There was a game that was played, we didn't show up and play it.
"Kyle has done an outstanding job, not just recruiting, right? So much gets talked about that. It's recruiting and developing and having an identity. I point to that for our team multiple times. You watch, what I love about their year last year, they didn't start off like gangbusters; it started off difficult. That's when you see the character of your football team. They didn't fold. They got better, came together. They threw Cameron in there. Cameron takes the next step, has an outstanding year. They're very deserving because when you're on top, somebody is going to knock you off.
"They have enough guys coming back. They're physical, they're athletic, they're explosive. They've got marquee guys on both sides of the ball. They've got a staff that knows who they are, and they play to their strengths. They're a tough team to beat.
"They absolutely deserve that bull's-eye that the other 11 teams now have on them. At the same time they play a style of football that we appreciate, that we try to embody as well. There have been many years where Utah and Stanford were the two most physical teams in the conference. Utah is the most physical team in the conference, and we're trying to get back there."
