SALT LAKE CITY — When the Big 12 announced on Aug. 13 that it would begin issuing availability reports, aka injury reports, for football beginning this season, local eyes turned to Kyle Whittingham.
The University of Utah head coach generally does not discuss injuries publicly, much to the ire of Utes fans in recent seasons, but the Big 12 is now going to force Whittingham to show his entire hand, right?
Well, not exactly.
Instead, fans are probably going to get madder.
We'll start this Utes mailbag right there.
Q: "Why does Whitt play these stupid games with the depth chart and injury reports?" @MarSomething_
Relax.
Jokes aside, here's the deal.
Whittingham's longstanding policy is that he will not discuss injuries with the media unless they are season-ending. That is absolutely his prerogative. He is not breaking any rules, and there is nothing that says he must talk about such things.
When I was covering Utah, I asked about injuries anyway, knowing he would almost never take the bait, because that's my job to ask questions. If he doesn't want to answer, that's his choice.
That said, I maintained for years that, if you asked about injuries, sometimes, if you listened very carefully, he may not give you a straight answer, but he would lead you down the right path so you could at least do your job effectively, but I digress.
The Big 12 instituting availability reports means that four times per game week, including 90 minutes before kickoff, Whittingham is going to have to offer a window into his team's health, whether he likes it or not.
During media availability, Whittingham made it pretty clear that, in light of the Big 12 going to availability reports, it is unlikely Utah will offer a two-deep depth chart, which generally appears in Monday's game notes.
Snore
Big deal.
Yes, the first two-deep at Utah ahead of the opener is generally pretty indicative of what you're going to see on the field, but once you get deep into September, and three or four games have been played, that document goes unchanged unless someone is done for the season.
Great, don't release a two-deep, because getting injury reports two times per week, including Wednesday, at which point Utah has already conducted its most physical practices of the week, is better than the two-deep.
Yes, the injury stuff comes off as silly to people on the outside, and not releasing a two-deep comes off as petty and childish, but it doesn't matter.
Trust me, getting injury reports four times per week instead of an unchanged two-deep on Monday is a net positive for fans and media alike.
Q: Devon Dampier said he has eight seconds in the pocket during practice. Is the offensive line just that good, or is the defensive front just that bad?" - @peaceloveutes
I saw this topic make the social media rounds on Monday after practice, and it felt like a complete exaggeration.
Your trusty KSL.com sports director, Josh Furlong, posted video of Dampier's soundbite on TikTok. Based on his facial expression, we're going to safely assume Dampier is exaggerating, because eight seconds qualifies as two eternities in terms of how much time he has in the pocket.
Eight seconds? Eight?
Utah's offensive line has a case as one of the nation's best, but I don't believe it's hammering the Utes' defensive front for eight seconds, nor do I believe Dampier's pocket is fully holding up for that long.
This is one of those nothing-burger things that lets you know that camp has gone on too long, and it's really time for a game.
@j_fur4 Utah quarterback Devon Dampier speaks to the effectiveness of his offensive line this year.
♬ original sound - Josh Furlong
Q: "Which French fry is the best?" - FlashbackUte
First of all, if you ask me a food/drink question, there is an 80-90% chance it's making the mailbag. I like talking about/debating these things more than football.
When I first read this question, I believed it was asking for the best style of fry (steak fries, curly, shoestring, etc.)
After reading it again, are we looking for the best fast food french fry?
I'm going with the latter.
I like McDonald's fries, and so does everyone else. Wendy's does fries well. I haven't been to Arby's in 15 years, but those curly fries I'm sure are still awesome. Jack in the Box curly fries are dependable.
We'll be here all day if we're really going to debate the best fries, but let me tell you something right now.
The fries at In-N-Out stink.
S-T-I-N-K.
Bland, tasteless, and if you tell me I need to get them "animal style," well, that makes my case. If those fries were any good, they wouldn't need to be masked with Thousand Island dressing, cheese, and grilled onions.
Q: "Should we be nervous Wayshawn Parker isn't obviously RB1, and (NaQuari) Rogers is RB1B? Wasn't he RB2 or 3 at New Mexico?" - @UtahUtesfoeva
Ah, another Whittingham special, refusing to delineate his running backs room during camp. A tale as old as time.
I covered four seasons of Utah football, including the pandemic season in 2020, and I'm quite sure he did the same thing in all four Augusts. "Running back by committee," "1A and 1B," etc.
I forget which season it was where this was a big deal, but I guess it had to have been 2021. Micah Bernard was back, and they added Tavion Thomas, TJ Pledger, and Chris Curry, so those questions persisted as the opener against Weber State loomed.
It all shook out; it always does. Thomas rushed for 1,108 yards and 21 touchdowns, Pledger and Bernard had good years, and, well, predictably, Cam Rising was getting a handful of designed keepers called every week.
As for worrying about NaQuari Rogers, he's a wildcard going into the season. Just like Dampier, just like new offensive coordinator Jason Beck, just like any new piece out of the transfer portal, especially one coming from a Group of Five program.
That's right, Dampier is a wildcard until something tangible happens. I'll stand on that.
Q: "Will Utah vs UCLA be close or does Utah win this by a lot?" - @samwinderart
Without question, it feels like Utah should drill UCLA as a 6.5-point road favorite at the Rose Bowl, but I don't know.
You're on the road, against a Power Four opponent, in an opener where you're breaking in a new OC, complete with a revamped offensive scheme and a new QB.
There are going to be kinks there, it's a certainty given this is the first time that offense will operate when it matters.
Nico Iamaleava running the show for the Bruins offers an interesting element here after he quarterbacked in the College Football Playoff last year.
I don't think Utah loses here, but my persistent pessimism just will not allow me to believe the Utes hammer UCLA to open the season. Utah is probably a lot better on paper, but I just don't know with all the new variables in play.
Q: "What's the chance DillZilla kicks a 60+ field goal this year?" - @TonyCurtisLives
Freshman kicker Dillon Curtis has a 63-yard field goal on his resume, but you're asking the wrong question.
Instead, I have two questions.
Will Whittingham be willing to send Curtis out there for some sort of asinine field goal try of, let's say 57 yards or more? That's some bad field position to be giving up if Curtis misses from long distance.
Beyond that, let's say Curtis misses such a kick, is that the end of that experiment? Curtis clearly has the leg and the capability to hit bombs, but if he misses one, does everyone shrink up and stop trying to utilize this kid, who is clearly a weapon?
Utah special teams have presided over gong shows in recent seasons. I do wonder if we see another one here if things do not go well for Curtis early.
Q: "How the heck is Wilson QB2? Are the other guys just THAT bad?" - CoconutUte
Short and sweet here.
Your options to back up Devon Dampier were Isaac Wilson, who had attempted 225 passes on 263 dropbacks last season as a true freshman, per Pro Football Focus, or Byrd Ficklin, a quasi-project at the position at the P4 level.
Is the QB room subpar, or even bad? I'm willing to listen to those arguments, but if those are your options, unless Wilson completely bombed this month, he was an easy choice as QB2 behind Dampier.
Q: "Is there a possibility that JByrdF (Jamarian "Byrd" Ficklin) will redshirt? I know Whitt said that there will be packages, or parts of the offense for him, but why burn his eligibility if not needed?" @SN34K801
Yeah, interesting.
Ficklin may not be ready to QB a Power Four program at the moment, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have the speed and intangibles to be a factor immediately.
Your point is valid. There may be packages or parts of the offense for Ficklin, but if he's not going to see the field extensively, why burn the redshirt?
That is ultimately what Utah needs to decide, whether or not Ficklin is so usable, so valuable that it's willing to go beyond the four games he can play without using the redshirt.
It's just to so hard to envision or project what sort of role Ficklin has because, again, this is a new OC and a retooled offensive system the Utes are employing.
