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SALT LAKE CITY — The injury bug has bitten Utah hard — more so than any season head coach Kyle Whittingham has seen in his 40 years of coaching.
As Utah prepared for its final nonconference game against Weber State Saturday, it was easier to count the number of regular starters on the field than to list all the players on the two-deep roster missing from the game.
Utah gave some guys an off week to heal from bumps and bruises sustained over the course of fall camp and the first two games of the season, while others remain in full rehab to get back onto the field for the first time this season — most notably starting quarterback Cam Rising and starting tight end Brant Kuithe
Whittingham estimated that he's got about 15-16 players dealing with injuries that have sidelined them, three of which were added Saturday.
"Got to get healthy," Whittingham said, almost petitioning the fates for some help Saturday. "We've got 15 or 16 guys that can really help us win; they're not available. We've got to start getting them back, and we lost some more today. I've been coaching for 40 years, and I've never seen anything like this in that department, but it's next-man-up mentality. The guys that are getting their opportunities are making the most of them."
Most impacted by the injuries is Utah's offense, which has had to play a sort of quarterback carousel game (in spring and fall) before landing on redshirt freshman Nate Johnson to lead the team under center.
The Clovis, California, native has done well since taking over the reins — he threw for 193 yards and one touchdown on 13-of-21 passing, and added a rushing touchdown Saturday — but the Utah offense remains a shell of itself when Rising is leading the charge.
Outside of its rushing offense led by Ja'Quinden Jackson and Jaylon Glover, which ranks 40th in FBS with an average of 186.7 yards per game, Utah ranks near the bottom in scoring (89th), passing (115th) and total offense (87th).
"I've got to put more points on the board, it's Utah football offense," Johnson said Saturday. "Last year, we we're averaging a lot of points a game, so we've just got to be able to put more points on the board, get those assignments cleaned up."
The offense has had moments where it can move the ball with ease — take Johnson's 88-yard drive against Baylor in Week 2 — but the overall product has been vanilla. Some of that has been by design, and some the byproduct of Utah working through its depth to put out a product that can be successful on the field.
And yet, Utah is 3-0 for the first time since 2019.
There hasn't been any panic with Utah's coaching staff, but more of an appreciation of its depth while also looking with wishful eyes to the future — a future where Rising and Kuithe, as well as other key players, return to the field.
"I think we have a chance to be really good — if we get all our guys intact, we have chance to be really good, but right now we are just doing what we can," Whittingham said. "It's valuable reps from these guys that are getting experience — that will pay off down the road — the guys that are getting a chance to play right now that wouldn't have otherwise, and so just see the positive in it."
There comes a point where you have to judge Utah's offense by what it has, though, even while projecting to the future.
Utah has two wins over Power Five teams — one looks even better after Florida upset then-No. 11 Tennessee Saturday — but can a lackluster offense survive in the gauntlet that is the Pac-12 this season, especially if Rising and Kuithe remain out?
Whittingham said Monday that Utah will be forced to change its offensive scheme a bit to tailor the skill set and ability of Johnson, but he remains confident the offense can produce at a competitive level.
"It would be more of what you saw Saturday, more in that realm of QB run, play-action pass, things like that, but he'll continue to evolve as a quarterback, and the more he evolves, the more we can expand and put more on his plate," Whittingham said.
"The more confidence that coach (Andy) Ludwig has in him, which is building literally day-by-day, the more you'll see the offense open up and let Nate have more access to a greater number of plays," he added. "His menu, or whatever you want to call it, his playlist, was about half of what Cam Rising's would be. … It's expanded from that, and so it just keeps expanding and he'll get to the point, ultimately, and eventually where he has everything at his disposal."
Good news for Utah, though, is the defense remains one of the best in the country — the Utes are ranked 18th in total defense in the FBS — and will give the offensive side of the ball some latitude as it works to get healthy ... or live in its new reality with Johnson under center.
"We have a lot of confidence in that defense, and they've performed very well through three games," Whittingham said. "We're not going to have to score, hopefully most weeks, 40 points to win. The defense has done a nice job of keeping teams out of the end zone and points off the board. … We've got a lot of confidence in the defense, and that does play into how we're approaching offense."
