Kyle Whittingham: Utah Football Brand Is As Strong As It’s Ever Been
Feb 2, 2022, 11:32 PM
Head coach Kyle Whittingham of the Utah Utes looks on during the fourth quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl Game at Rose Bowl Stadium on January 01, 2022 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – After signing one of their best recruiting classes in school history, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham is pleased with where his program is at.
On National Signing Day on Wednesday, Kyle Whittingham talked about the 2022 signing class for Utah with Rivals.
“The best way to enhance your recruiting is through winning on the field,” said Whittingham. “Particularly if you can win on big stages, we were on national TV several times this year, obviously culminating with the Rose Bowl. Even though we didn’t win that game, it was still great exposure for our program. We’re building our brand little by little. We’ve been in the Pac 12, about 11 years now so we feel that we’ve steadily been able to get our brand out there and probably never more than this year since we’ve been in the Pac-12. This is the biggest opportunity for us. We had some good opportunities prior to the Pac-12 playing in a couple BCS games. But I think our brand is as strong as it’s ever been right now, for sure.”
Utah won their first ever Pac-12 Championship this past season after beating the Oregon Ducks at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
📺 National Signing Day Show 📺
Utah’s @UtahCoachWhitt joins @Rivals_Clint to talk about the Utes’ 2022 class, their work in the transfer portal, 2021 success and more 👇https://t.co/o4iHvz1TFY pic.twitter.com/k6TblsivTS
— Rivals (@Rivals) February 2, 2022
Kyle Whittingham Talked About Signees
Besides the trajectory of the program, coach Whittingham was asked about some of the recruits that signed with his program. The first and obvious one is Brighton High School star linebacker Lander Barton.
“I think he’s one of the best linebackers in the country,” said Whittingham. “He had two older brothers that played here, they’re both in the NFL, Jackson Barton, and Cody Barton. So he comes from really good stock. His sister is actually a multi-sport athlete here at Utah as well. The Barton family has been really synonymous with the University of Utah. Getting Lander was a huge signing for us. He will finish early. He’s not here just yet. But he’ll be here for spring football. So he’ll enroll in the next three or four weeks and be ready to go through spring with us, which is a big advantage for him and us.”
Another player that was brought up is Lakeland, Florida running back Jaylon Glover.
“It was a huge get for us,” Whittingham stated. “He was the Florida Gatorade Player of the Year. Just an outstanding job of recruiting by Kiel McDonald, who’s no longer with us, but he was the lead recruiter on on Jaylon. We got on him early in his career, identified him early and went through the recruiting process, brought him out here on a visit, him and his family and fell in love with the place. They believe in what we’re doing. Us being committed to the run didn’t hurt our chances, certainly, but he’s a guy that we’re really excited about. Went for over what 6,000 yards in Florida. If you’re the Player of the Year in Florida, you’re a pretty good football player.”
Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com, Co-Host of Faith, Family and Football podcast with Clark Phillips III and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports.
