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SALT LAKE CITY — Alvis Whitted wasn't the traditional hire for Kyle Whittingham.
Whitted had the experience, the qualifications and the know-how to coach wide receivers at Utah, but there wasn't a natural connection or tie-in to the Utah football program that most coaches hired under Whittingham have had prior to joining Utah. In short, it was an outside-the-box hire.
When the wide receiver coach position was made vacant when Chad Bumphis accepted the same position at his alma mater, Mississippi State, after the 2022 season, Whitted, who had recently been with Wisconsin, expressed interest in the job. Whitted introduced himself to Whittingham at a Kansas City Chiefs-Las Vegas Raiders game, and the rest was history.
"I wanted to stay in coaching and he had an opening," Whitted said. "And the ball kind of rolled from there."
Whitted had been a casual observer of Utah football from his stint with UCLA in 2011 and later as a receivers coach with Colorado State when the Utes met up with the Rams in the Las Vegas Bowl in 2014. In both stints against Utah, he left with a favorable impression of the program's physicality and overall "toughness."
Whittingham hired Whitted in January, and the longtime receiver coach quickly went to work with the Utes. His biggest task was to transform a wide receiver room that needed to be revamped and include more talent.
"Everything is calculated, and we're going to try to improve the room," Whittingham said after the school's spring game in April. "We need to improve the room and the depth. Just because guys go out doesn't mean that that's a bad thing."
Utah lost a few players to the transfer portal as part of the reshuffle, and welcomed in veteran receivers Mycah Pittman (Florida State) and Emery Simmons (Indiana) to the room, in addition to freshmen Mikey Matthews and Daidren Zipperer. It was a push to solidify arguably Utah's biggest weakness remaining on the offensive side of the ball.
For Whitted, the best way to help his players get better on the field — outside of their natural talent — is to have an "attack mindset" and to be "intentional" in everything they do on or off the field. It's not just a singular moment in time, it's a pursuit to grow continually under offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig's schemes.
"Be as detailed as we possibly can so that we can go up on our job and help the other 10 around us become better and play good football," Whitted said. "But more importantly, just an attack mindset — in your routes, blocking, and then in every aspect knowing just being aligned, perfect alignment, be the best of our ability and just going out playing the best football we can."
It's still early in Whitted's tenure at Utah, but the early results have been favorable, according to the players he coaches. Whitted has given his position group the confidence it needs to succeed and improve upon the previous year from a coach who has played the position in the NFL and has the experience to help them see through the hurdles.
"Oh, it's amazing. Having that NFL experience, both playing as a player and as a coach, he just helps us understand things," receiver Devaughn Vele said. "Like the biggest thing that stands out to me is coverages. I already know the playbook like the back of my hand, but now it's one of those things, like the game slows down because now I understand the coverages, I know what the defense is doing, I understand where the zones and soft spots are now, and he helps me understand that.
"It's great having that veteran leadership and him having that NFL experience, as well. He knows how to talk to us, he knows how to handle different characteristics that each guy has — not everybody's gonna be the same. I'm grateful to have him as a coach."
But championships aren't won in the first week of the season, and the position group hasn't been tested on the field yet.
