Takeaways From Kyle Whittingham’s TCU Week Press Conference
Oct 14, 2024, 1:30 PM | Updated: 1:41 pm
Whittingham discusses what his team can take away from their lopsided win over the Thunderbirds. (Photo courtesy of Michelle Bodkin)
(Photo courtesy of Michelle Bodkin)
SALT LAKE CITY – On Monday, Utah Football head coach Kyle Whittingham addressed members of the media in his week eight press conference of 2024.
Coming off of a 27-19 loss on the road in Tempe, as well as the injury to star quarterback Cam Rising, this press conference had a different tone and feel to it.
RELATED: Kyle Whittingham says Isaac Wilson is the starting QB until further notice
To begin the week, Whittingham met with the media as he always does. After the 15-minute presser, here are five key takeaways from Utah’s head coach press conference.
One – Cam Rising’s status, Utah’s plan at quarterback
“I’ll start out by saying that Cam Rising is out indefinitely with a lower leg injury and Isaac Wilson will be our start until further notice,” Whittingham stated to open his press conference. “That way we don’t have to address that each time we talk and let you know where it’s at. Can’t give you a timeline, could be the rest of the season, I’m not sure exactly, but I know it’s going to be a minute.”
BREAKING: Kyle Whittingham says Isaac Wilson is the starting QB until further notice. #GoUtes #UtahFootball https://t.co/dy048NU0Cb
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 14, 2024
Considering all the hoopla over the previous injury, the manner in which he addressed this one is obviously different. That probably speaks to a number of things– most notably that this is a more serious injury. Considering how Rising suffered this injury on Friday night, he’s fortunate it’s not something a lot more serious.
Also, making this definitive announcement protects the star quarterback. It was an unfortunate few weeks for the star quarterback. Rising was exposed to growing frustration and complaints from followers of the program. Making this announcement removes any doubt or question about who is going to be the quarterback for the foreseeable future.
Handling this situation in this manner is as important for the followers of the program as it is for the guys inside it.
Two – A potential 8th year for Cam Rising?
“No but there will be now, with the situation that we’re in,” Whittingham said when asked whether they’ve considered pursuing another redshirt. “It’s a possibility, I think, I don’t know, but we’ll explore it in detail with compliance.”
The important thing to hit on here is Rising’s own desire to return for a potential eighth season. That is in doubt but it will be addressed soon.
“I’m not even sure Cam would be interested in going that route, he’s got a lot to think about,” he said. “Just got to take a step back right now and let him get this most recent injury thoroughly diagnosed and the road to rehab, then that would be something we talk about.”
The most important thing is Rising’s rehab and health, he needs to get right above all else. An 8th season seems unlikely considering all the intel we’ve gathered up to this point. However, losing the bulk of another season could certainly change things for a competitive player like Rising.
RELATED: 2024 Big 12 Player Of The Year, Week 7: Arizona State Players Shine
Three – Utah needs more out of the passing game
Immediately following Whittingham’s commentary on Rising’s injury and the decision to move forward with Wilson, he noted that the lack of passing game production is holding the team back.
“Our big nemesis right now is the throw game,” Whittingham said. “We’re just not efficient enough in the throw game. We’re last in the conference in completion percentage, we’re worst in the conference throwing picks. So, we’ve got to figure that out, our 3rd down is suffering, red zone is suffering, and it’s really a product of not being efficient enough in the throw game.”
The throw game bombed Utah’s offensive efficiency on Friday night and has impacted their offensive potential all season long. Utah completed just 43% of their 37 pass attempts, with 21 incompletions that generated nothing but mounting frustration.
RELATED: Instant Takeaways: Utah’s 27-19 loss to Arizona State
Considering the 16 completions generated 209 yards, that’s an average of 13.0 yards per completion. Utah’s Micah Bernard, Dorian Singer, and Brant Kuithe all averaged at least 12.2 yards per reception, with all three hauling in at least 3 passes. Essentially, Utah’s playmakers were producing when there were halfway decent throws their way.
The potential is obvious. Utah needs to figure out the quarterback position. The decision to move forward with Wilson should alleviate any confusion, doubt, or worry over who is playing or not playing. It’s on the coaches to maximize Wilson’s strengths as well as the strengths of the players around him.
"Cam's a warrior, he wanted to play. We started moving the ball at the end of the half. Didn't get into the end zone. That continued in the second half. We thought about it, talked about it, but he's a vet and he'd let us know if he couldn't go." Whitt on keeping Cam in there.
— Steve Bartle (@BartleKSLsports) October 14, 2024
Four – What’s needed out of Isaac Wilson
“Need to try to get our completion percentage up, like I said, we’re at the bottom of the league in that regard,” he said. “Actually, job one is cutting down on interceptions, we’ve thrown 10 this year and no one else in the league has thrown double-digits.”
With Wilson being a true freshman, there will be growing pains. Whittingham acknowledged as much. Wilson has not only had to learn a new playbook but also how to execute that playbook against college-level defenses. That’s a significant adjustment for any true freshman quarterback.
“There are some things we’re just going to have to live with but as long as he stays on the trajectory he’s been on, which is what we think is the right direction, we’ve got a chance,” Whittingham stated.
Wilson’s individual improvement will be important but so too will Andy Ludwig’s. The offensive coordinator needs to build around his true freshman quarterback. Nothing more important than helping Wilson against the blitz. He’s faced a very high blitz rate and has struggled at times with it. Ludwig needs to give Wilson a lot of easy buttons to counter the blitz rate he’s faced.
Five – Reinstilling confidence in the team after two tough losses
“We’ve got to be positive with them but they’ve got to be positive, they’ve got to be warriors, and want to battle through some adversity,” Whittingham said. “It’s not like we’re 1-5 and sitting here with a horrific season. We have dropped a couple of games in a row and we’re not used to losing two in a row around here.”
After dropping two games in pretty tough fashion, Utah has hit a point that requires genuine self-inflection and these issues aren’t going to fix themselves.
“We’ve got to put it behind us quickly because no one feels sorry for us. It’s us in that building and that’s it, no one else is going to cry the blues for us. There’s not some magic fairy that’s going to wave a wand and all is going to be right.”
It’s also going to require a lot of work to turn things around. Whittingham made that point abundantly clear and didn’t duck the smoke when it came to his program needing to put in that work.
Last night's loss was more than just another tally in the win-loss column.
Utah is at a crossroads without a lot of answers despite very obvious issues. #GoUtes https://t.co/y7wZig6e0F
— Steve Bartle (@BartleKSLsports) October 12, 2024
“We’ve got to work hard on the field, we got to study, everything that goes into winning football games has got to continue to take place,” he said. “We’re not going to back off one bit on the work ethic, the workload, some teams lose a couple of games and say ‘let’s make it fun’ no, that’s not how we are, we don’t operate that way, we’re going to grind it out and right the ship.”
That is the sort of resolve we’ve grown to expect from Whittingham and his ball clubs over the years. No one likes the circumstance Utah Football finds itself in but it was good to see that backs-against-the-wall energy from him again.
The defense has played well at times but is just lacking that last little bit of playmaking. Players are in position to make plays but just miss them. Linebackers need to be more assertive, Lander Barton in particular. Defensive backs need to be opportunistic. Overall, the defense needs to remember that they are playmakers- or as Morgan Scalley would say: Relentless, Smart, Nasty, Ballhawks.
