Utah Football Keeps Perspective As Injuries Pile Up
Oct 9, 2023, 6:42 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah football has been put through the ringer with injuries in 2023, but it pales in comparison to prior adversities they have faced.
On September 29 after a game where very little went right for the Utes- particularly on offense, head coach Kyle Whittingham said the most important thing moving into the BYE week was that the team stayed together.
On October 9, wide receiver Devaughn Vele gave the ultimate mic-drop answer as to why Utah football is still committed to each other and still determined to work together through their deficiencies.
View this post on Instagram
Ty Jordan, Aaron Lowe Prepared Utah’s Core To Handle Adversity
A traffic jam of injuries that has made offensive production more difficult than most anticipated is nothing compared to losing two teammates, two brothers in Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe. Vele said that this group hasn’t lost sight of that and continues to have each other’s backs while they figure their way through the injuries.
“That’s a great thing you bring up,” Vele said after Monday’s practice. “I feel like if we didn’t have the whole situation with Aaron Lowe and Ty Jordan- the adversity that we faced like that, that we wouldn’t handle this as well as we are right now. I don’t feel like guys are necessarily turning against each other. It’s more so that we expect better play out of everybody and that is what we expect as a team. Everybody is pushing everybody. Especially on the offensive side.”
View this post on Instagram
Vele continued that the players are doing everything in their power to make things right and continue toward their goals for 2023 while also remembering to continue being 22% better and love each other through the trying times.
“We’ve had extra meetings on the side as a unit and talking about the things that we have to do,” Vele said. “We can’t expect the defense to bail us out every single time. We understand that. We just have to make sure we bring our A-game and our practices are so important. Finding the right guys and the right pieces to fit into our offense to get this rolling.”
Vele just gave us all an important reminder that sports should be a uniting activity, not one that drives a wedge between everyone. After all, you never know when you’ll be faced with true adversity that puts everything else into perspective for the rest of your life.
Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on X, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports
