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The past few times the offensive line has watched game footage, Jackson Barton noticed something he never saw much before: Himself.

"Honestly, it's kind of weird," he said. "It's like, 'Hey, I'm actually in the game!' "

After redshirting last season and losing a tight battle for starting left tackle, Barton got some game reps against Fresno State and Oregon. While Sam Tevi is still the starter, coach Kyle Whittingham said the 6-foot-7, 310-pound Barton has shown enough in practice to get some live action.

There's a seven-man rotation, which includes the starters, Hiva Lutui and Jackson.

"Jackson gets his reps, Hiva gets his turn as well, so those guys get mixed in," Whittingham said. "They've earned it. My philosophy is you play your good players. If they've worked hard, if they can compete and help us, you give them an opportunity."

A former four-star recruit from Brighton High, Barton's career has gotten off to perhaps a slower start than he once hoped. He's worked on his agility, his toughness and his competitiveness in the last year and a half in the program, hoping to one day be a fixture on the line.

After a recent practice, he came off the field with his thick leather gloves caked in sweat. He had spent an extra few minutes after practice improving his feet.

"I'm always working on stuff," he said. "There's always room to get better. It's a little something every day, whether it's staying low, handwork, footwork, just something little that I work on for that day."

The competition with Tevi, he said, has been a great source of motivation. He's unsure if he can win a starting role this year, but honestly, Barton said, it's been pushed to the back of his mind.

"I'm just trying to help my team as much as I can, whenever I can," he said. "Every Saturday I suit up, it's a dream come true already."

Fitts happy, at home with Utes

In four games and now with back-to-back starts, Kylie Fitts has managed 10 tackles, a sack, three deflections and a forced fumble.

In a lot of programs, that would probably be good enough to keep a starting job. But not at Utah.

With Hunter Dimick back in the mix, expect Fitts to have a role similar to the one he had at the start of the season: He'll be rotated in. And that's fine with him.

"It'll probably be the same thing as before he got hurt," Fitts said. "I'm not worried about starting or anything."

Fitts earned some praise from coaches and other observers for his play in Dimick's absence. His particularly long arms helped him get in throwing lanes against Utah State, Fresno State and Oregon. He also held up well in other areas, including getting his first collegiate sack.

It was a little difficult, he admitted, working his way back into a regular routine after taking a year off after transferring from UCLA.

"I had to get back in my groove and get some plays under my belt," he said. "Just get comfortable out there."

Fitts has looked more and more comfortable holding down one of the end spots for the defense. With Dimick back, he said he's fine abdicating some snaps.

For Fitts, he's also reached a comfort level with his position group that he said smooths everything out.

"I love my D-line," he said. "It's a family. I think what separates us is we're having fun. When it's time to work, we can get serious, but we have a lot of fun, too."

'GameDay' times, logistics

Fans who have their tents ready for "College GameDay," read on. These are the directives from Utah athletics on how to camp out Friday and be on TV Saturday:

ESPN will be broadcasting on President's Circle from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday with a live segment starting at noon. Activities will be going on, including promotional giveaways, games and sign-making.

The university will allow overnight camping beginning at 6 p.m. Friday at President's Circle. Equipment must be cleared away by 4 a.m. At 4:30 a.m., fans will be admitted onto the "GameDay" set, with the first 300 fans getting access to "the pit" adjacent to the set.

The live broadcast will air between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Saturday, and fans are not permitted to have food or drink, signs on sticks, backpacks, purses, or projectiles.

Fans who have the proper permits can camp out in the Guardsman Way lot starting at 6 p.m. Friday. Other free parking on Saturday morning will be available at the Merrill Engineering lot.

Twitter: @kylegoon