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Fourth time's the charm?
Utah senior Andy Phillips hopes so, after beinghttp://bit.ly/1NfGcy6";> a three-time Lou Groza Award semifinalist, that 2016 could be the year he wins best kicker in the nation.
The skier-turned-footballer http://www.lougrozaaward.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.main&x=8519755";>was named to the award watch list on Thursday morning, one of 30 players to appear on it. The difference between Phillips and many of his competitors is he's been in the field for longer than most and in strong consideration each of the last three seasons.
The 27-year-old http://bit.ly/12b4OaI";>was a late-comer to the sport, but has wasted no time becoming Utah's most prolific scorer ever (321 points). He passed Louie Sakoda last year for program-record holder with 63 made field goals. He has an 84 percent career average, and last year he didn't miss from within the 45-yard mark.
Phillips might be Utah's best bet for taking home a National College Football Awards Association honor this year as one of the better-known kickers in the country. Utah's special teams has a strong reputation, bolstered by both Phillips and his mate punter Tom Hackett, who was a two-time Ray Guy Award winner.
The Utes already have two players,http://bit.ly/29kz3D2";> Lowell Lotulelei and Kylie Fitts, named to the Bednarik watch list. Two more come out tomorrow: The Bronko Nagurski Trophy (best defensive player) and the Outland Trophy (best interior lineman). Watch list season continues into next week.
Oh college football — so close, yet so far.
More items of Utes interest:
• http://bit.ly/1OQ7AEu";>Utah men's basketball announced its non-conference opponents in May, but the dates have been finalized for the team's 2016-17 schedule. Starting with Northwest Nazarine on Saturday, Nov. 12, the Utes will play seven straight home games to open the season, including Concordia, Coppin State and UC Riverside.
You could convincingly argue that Utah's season won't truly begin until Nov. 28, when Butler arrives in Utah, followed by Montana State and Utah Valley. The Utes' schedule picks up in December, when they head to Xavier (Dec. 10) and have a quick home game vs. Prairie View A&M before heading to the Diamond Head Classic (Dec. 22-25) in Hawaii. The bracket at the tournament hasn't been set, but other teams in the DHC are Illinois State, San Diego State, San Francisco, Southern Miss, Stephen F. Austin and Tulsa.
Is the schedule underwhelming?
It won't carry the same weight as last year's slate, which included non-conference games against eventual NCAA tournament teams http://bit.ly/1iXIqdl";>Temple, Texas Tech, Miami, Wichita State and Duke. Aside from Butler, Utah won't face a major conference opponent at the Huntsman Center. There's only one true road game in the entire slate. Utah Valley University may offer some in-state intriguehttp://bit.ly/1OP8IHd";> in place of the cancelled game against BYU, but certainly won't be as heated a rivalry. The schedule looks back-loaded, which may be appropriate for a team http://bit.ly/1OiEwLb";>that is dealing with a ton of roster turnover this year.
• The Pac-12 All Stars compete next week in Australia, with rising senior guard Lorenzo Bonam with the group.http://pac-12.com/article/2016/07/07/pac-12-networks-televise-pac-12-all-star-mens-basketball-tour-australia";> The Pac-12 Networks will televise the games live at … 3:30 a.m. MDT. If that seems a bit late to stay up, the networks will re-air the games at 7 p.m. MDT (National) or 8 p.m. MDT (Mountain). In both contests, the Pac-12's team will play exhibitions with the Australian men's national team. Unfortunately some local intrigue has been spoiled since Dante Exum and Andrew Bogut are out with injury, but Jazz forward Joe Ingles may be available.
• Utah's summer league comes to an end this evening at the Huntsman Center, but two Utes are suiting up for the Toronto Raptors in Vegas for three games Friday through Monday. First-round picks in consecutive years, Delon Wright and Jakob Poeltl, are expected to play. Also if you are watching for other #UtesintheNBA, Brandon Taylor will play for the Atlanta Hawks, https://twitter.com/CVivlamoreAJC/status/751131834717728768";>the team officially announced today.
• Some housekeeping: There were eight Utes/future Utes/former Utes who swam at the U.S. Olympic trials last week. No one was significantly close to making the Rio cut, but former Ute Nick Soedel turned in the best overall finish with 26th place in the 50 freestyle. Rising sophomore Daniel McArthur finished 53rd in the 100 back with a personal best (56.49).
kgoon@sltrib.com
Twitter: @kylegoon