The University of Utah went through a two-hour scrimmage last Saturday. It will scrimmage again tomorrow, go through the 22 Forever Game on April 22, and that’s it for spring practice.
What happens tomorrow and on April 22 remains to be seen, but last Saturday offered one important, stark reminder as spring comes to a close and the summer program looms.
For all of the praise Kyle Whittingham has given to Brandon Rose this spring, how far Rose still has to go was evident in that first scrimmage. Remember, Rose has never taken a collegiate snap, let alone stepped on the field. He got a lot of work running the scout team last fall, but that doesn’t quite matter so much now as the Utes try to figure out QB2 with Cam Rising rehabbing a torn ACL suffered in the Rose Bowl.
Another stark reminder in the wake of the first scrimmage: Utah needs Rising to be ready to go Aug. 31 against Florida, a notion rooted in, well, you just don’t know what you have in Rose and Nate Johnson, who has been hurt recently and is now behind the 8-ball after missing a handful of practices this month.
I’ve said different versions of this a number of times in the last 12 months, but here it is again: At some point, Whittingham and his staff have to stop dumping reps into Barnes, unless there is some potential for him to project as the future starter. It’s time for that to stop if you think Rose and/or Johnson can be the guy at some point.
All of this is moot if Rising is ready. If Utah thinks it can win the Pac-12 for the third year in a row, that’s exactly what has to happen on Aug. 31.
Other things on my mind
• Utah getting “contingency approval” to build an on-campus baseball stadium is many years in the making, back to when Chris Hill was still in charge of the athletic department. The athletic department now needs to raise most of the $35 million for the projected cost, but that’s not going to be a deterrent.
Utes athletic director Mark Harlan indicated to The Salt Lake Tribune earlier this year that there were donors in place, ready to step up to help with the cost. Furthermore, you don’t put your plan in front of the Board of Trustees unless you’re quite certain you’re going to be able to pay for it.
I wonder who the Utes will play in the 2025 home opener to christen the place, because rest assured, that stadium is getting built in spite of merely “contingency approval.”
• Competing in its 47th straight NCAA women’s gymnastics championships this weekend, Utah will go in search of its 10th national championship on Saturday night in Fort Worth, Texas, which would tie it with Georgia for most ever. The Red Rocks are criminally underrated as a college sports dynasty.
• The concept of college football spring exhibitions has been in the news this month thanks to Auburn coach Huge Freeze and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, who has been a proponent of the idea going back to his time as head coach at Jackson State.
Whittingham was asked about the concept of spring exhibitions earlier this week, but didn’t have much to offer on the subject. I suspect that would change if exhibitions were green-lit, but for now, we’re left to wonder what it would be like if Utah were to play, say, Weber State in April at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Do you play everyone that is healthy and available? Do you show your entire hand? Do you treat it like it matters? Are the QBs live?
I have a lot of questions.
Big positive: You would get a better gauge of what your strengths and weaknesses are.
Big negative: If you’re treating it like it matters, you’re putting your strengths and weaknesses very much out there for everyone to see.
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