Utah’s Lack Of Snaps Will Benefit Team’s Durability
Sep 17, 2019, 9:33 AM
Christopher Perez Jr #62 of the Northern Illinois Huskies sets to snap the ball against the Utah Utes during their game at Rice-Eccles 8 Stadium on September 7, in Salt Lake City Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The University of Utah has slowed down their offense in 2019 under new offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig.
Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham sees that as a benefit because it means that they don’t have as many snaps and it prevents injuries more when they aren’t getting in a lot of plays.
Last season when the offensive was running through Troy Taylor, the Utes were averaging 71 plays per game, which was the 73rd most in the country. It was the 8th most in the Pac-12.
In 2019, Utah is averaging just 60 snaps per game, which is 119th in the country and the least amount of plays among the Pac-12 teams.
#Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham addressing the media at his weekly press conference before Utah's Pac-12 opener against USC. https://t.co/4kU961CZ7h #GoUtes #UtahvsUSC https://t.co/cjGhwDvyUc
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 16, 2019
It helps Utah with their durability when they are towards the end of the regular season.
“Fortunately for us, we’ve played less snaps than anyone in the Pac-12 in the first three weeks, so we have less wear and tear,” Whittingham said. “That is one of the benefits of not playing fast is that there isn’t as much wear and tear on your players, and that is something that matters. People say it doesn’t matter but it does. If you get down to week 10 and we’ve played 600 snaps of offense and someone else played 850, that is another two or three games worth.”
It is crucial in week’s like this week when Utah has a short turnaround like they are in now with playing a game last Saturday and having their next game on Friday.
“With that in mind, the short week we don’t feel is a huge deal for us at least from a physical standpoint it is just getting the mental side of it down,” Whittingham mentioned. “Even against Idaho State last week the starters barely played half the game. So we feel fresh and that the physicality of the first three games will not be a factor in this fourth game, but you still have to get the new game plan elements implemented and prepped. That is the bigger challenge.”
