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In the south end zone of Rice-Eccles Stadium, the framework is in place for a giant video board that will display the highlights of Utah's 2016 football season.

Now all the Utes need is an offense that can produce suitable material.

Signs of improved production from the Pac-12's 11th-best offense surfaced Saturday at the annual Red-White Game. The offensive numbers that emerged from the White's 14-7 victory, including 461 combined yards, were nothing like the 2013 event that delivered 63 points and 797 total yards.

Then again, the Utes went 5-7 that season. And this showing was better than last April's, when the teams combined for just 312 yards and zero offensive touchdowns — preceding a 10-3 season when the Utes tied for first place in the Pac-12 South, but were kept out of the conference championship game via a loss to USC.

Conclusions, anyone?

Once they choose a quarterback in August, the Utes will put a better offensive product on the field in 2016 and contend for the division title again. That viewpoint requires some faith, as always. The latest judgment is complicated by the spring's weird dynamic of the quarterbacking, after junior college transfer Troy Williams missed all three scrimmages with a sore arm and junior Brandon Cox performed well during the first two Saturday sessions, but didn't look as good in the final event. And freshman Tyler Huntley did the opposite.

Huntley completed 17 of 26 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown in the White's win. "I just came in knowing that I made mistakes the other weeks and tried to build from there and come out and make plays," Huntley said.

Cox needed a strong second half to finish 17 of 31 for 146 yards for the Red, after starting 5 of 14 with an ugly interception.

"It's impossible to gauge exactly what you're getting in a spring game," said co-offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick. "We'll look at it, but the scrimmages prior to this were more meaningful because there were more starters out there."

The defense's regulars mostly stayed on the sideline Saturday, as did the starting offensive linemen. And any fan who recognizes Chad Hekking's name deserves some kind of award. The freshman tight end caught seven of Cox's passes for 63 yards, while converted tight end Caleb Repp was the White's receiving star with five catches for 96 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown.

Throughout the spring, "We made a lot more plays on the outside with the wide receivers than we have in a long time," said Ute coach Kyle Whittingham. "When you judge the entire body of work, I thought they took a big step forward."

Roderick said, "We really improved in the passing game, our ability to throw the ball down the field."

The Utes still need a healthy Tim Patrick to lead the receiving corps, and too many passes were dropped in Saturday's early stages. But there's hope for this offense — disregarding how similar proclamations from previous Aprils have played out in this decade.

"The main thing is to build our identity as an offense," Cox said, summarizing the spring. "A lot of people questioned us as an offense. … We came out and we gave the defense a challenge every day. That was the main thing, to be able to compete every day and show those guys that we are an offense to deal with."

Nobody on this campus is concerned about the defense. The offense will remain an issue until proven otherwise — beginning Sept. 1 vs. Southern Utah, followed by BYU, San Jose State and nine Pac-12 opponents. Where do the Utes have to improve? "Probably put more points on the board," Huntley said. His smile suggested better things to come from the offense, with a fresh outlook and a huge, new canvas to showcase its results.

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