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Kyle Whittingham said Friday that Utah's outside cornerbacks have been among fall camp's most pleasant surprises.

Good or bad, it was their destiny to be a surprise.

Behind Reginald Porter — the most veteran of Utah's outside corners as a junior with 10 career tackles — juniors Brian Allen and Cory Butler-Byrd are "1A and 1B," Whittingham said Friday, with sophomores Tavaris Williams and Boobie Hobbs and redshirt freshman Casey Hughes vying for the other spot on the two-deep.

Expected starter Dominique Hatfield is still out, dismissed for off-field troubles. There's no replacing Hatfield's experience and natural zest for competition, cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah said. But compared to last year's camp, when Utah lost Porter to an ACL tear, Shah feels more confident that he's getting his message across.

"They're so much smarter as a group now than they were at the same time last year," he said.

Butler-Byrd picked off senior quarterback Kendal Thompson on Friday after returning an interception 55 yards and tipping a pass to sophomore safety Andre Godfrey in Thursday's scrimmage.

It seems safe to say the versatile junior college transfer has earned a little more time at his position of choice.

Said Shah: "He was taken for the first few days [of camp] by the offense, and I just kept rallying coach, I said, 'Coach, I'm down a guy. Please give me somebody — if it's [freshman wideout] Tyrone Smith, who I recruited, or Cory Butler.

"He's starting to really develop and understand the defense."

As a junior, Allen plays a leadership role despite playing corner for the first time this spring. He admits that at first, he was lost trying to back-peddle and swivel to track his old competitors at receiver.

"Now, I feel like I've been doing it all my life," he said.

Butler-Byrd is his "little brother" in Utah's annual assimilation program, and they compare notes when they aren't competing for the No. 1 job.

It has been a hallmark of this group, Shah said, that they want to see each other succeed.

"I love the attitude that's developing in the room. I used to have a really jealous, spiteful room. Nobody wanted the other man to do well. I have a lot of love in my room, which only rivals the love of competition that they have."

Behind Butler-Byrd and Allen are three youngsters in various stages of transition:

1 • Williams is "hands-down the fastest, in terms of lateral motion and change of direction, in the entire room, and he's been able to make some plays this camp that have been remarkable," Shah said.

2 • Hughes — like Williams, a high school running back — is the most aggressive of Utah's corners. He loves to hit. "I'm starting to see that he is going to be a real pleasant surprise," Shah said.

3 • Hobbs backed up Justin Thomas at nickel last season, learning under the direction of safeties coach Morgan Scalley, but Shah originally recruited him as an outside corner, and Allen thinks he's more natural there. Shah agrees: "Boobie has been phenomenal."

Shah also praised walk-ons Dylan Calhoun and Conner Charles — Calhoun for his progress since last season and Charles for earning a spot on the original fall 105 as a true freshman walk-on — a rarity.

"Both Dylan and Conner turned out to be very good acquisitions for us," he said.

Holy War in the works • BYU announced Thursday that a scheduled home game against Wisconsin will be played in 2017 instead of 2019.

What does that have to do with Utah?

Emails obtained by The Tribune earlier this year indicate that 2019 was a sticking point in the continuation of the rivalry series, which halted last year for the first time since 1945.

BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe told Utah athletic director Chris Hill that BYU's 2019 openings were in late October and early November, after Hill told Holmoe his preference was Sept. 14, when BYU is slated to play USC.

Utah now seems to have the option of buying out or moving its Aug. 29 home game with Idaho State to play BYU in Provo.

Senior associate athletics director Liz Abel said Friday that Hill and Holmoe have continued to work toward scheduling games in 2019 and 2020.

The heated series resumes next September in Salt Lake, followed by another September date in 2017 and a late-November game in 2018.

Sanders-Williams back? • The first roster this spring brought news that running back-turned-linebacker Marcus Sanders-Williams would transfer in pursuit of playing time, but on Friday, junior kicker Andy Phillips tweeted a photo with Sanders-Williams at Utah's football facility and senior safety Tevin Carter tweeted about how glad he was to have Sanders-Williams back.

Abel said that Sanders-Williams was expected to rejoin the team for Saturday's practice.

As a powerful rusher, Sanders-Williams played in five games as a true freshman, rushing 10 times for 40 yards and a touchdown. He then switched to linebacker last year and appeared in all 13 games, recording eight tackles.

Injury update • Utah's policy is not to discuss the specifics of injury, but Whittingham has acknowledged that receivers Kenneth Scott, Tim Patrick and Raelon Singleton have all spent time in the pit during fall camp, and that all three missed Thursday's scrimmage. Friday, Whittingham said that he hopes Scott will return to action Saturday, with Singleton to follow on Monday. Patrick might take a little longer to reach full strength, he said. "Those three receivers, they'll make a huge difference when we get them back on the field."

Scrimmage closed • Tuesday's scrimmage, the second and final scrimmage of fall camp, will be closed to media, and no stats from the scrimmage will be made public. Players and coaches will not be made available, but Whittingham will produce a statement.

mpiper@sltrib.com

Twitter: @matthew_piper