What Stood Out From Kyle Whittingham’s Week One Press Conference
Aug 25, 2025, 1:13 PM | Updated: 1:14 pm
University of Utah football head coach Kyle Whittingham talks with media in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, as winter workouts begin. (Photo courtesy of Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
(Photo courtesy of Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – On Monday, Utah Football head coach Kyle Whittingham addressed members of the media in his first in-season press conference of 2025.
The Utes will not be releasing a depth chart, but an injury report will be provided this week. The Utes will travel down to Pasadena to take on the UCLA Bruins. Kickoff is set for 9:00 pm MT on Saturday.
After the 15-minute presser, here are five key takeaways from Utah’s head coach press conference.
One – Kyle Whittingham wants offensive balance and, ability to evolve.
“We know who we want to be, what the scheme entails, and the emphasis will be,” Whittingham said of the offense. “It’ll also be an evolution, that’s just how it is when you have half a new team.”
With all of the new faces, there is a lot to learn for Utah this season. Finding out who steps up in game action will be key to their evolution over the course of the season.
“You don’t know a whole lot about a lot of guys. You’ve got to see how they react in game situations, who starts to come on and make plays,” Whittingham explained. “Every year, there seem to be two or three guys that really surprise you, and a couple guys you thought you could count on don’t produce as well.”
“It’s very important,” Whittingham said of run-pass balance. “The way that Devin runs the football with the quarterback run game, we think that’s going to force teams to really load the box, which in turn opens up the throw game.”
Loaded boxes are a common challenge for Utah’s offenses under Whittingham. Utah has to capitalize on its opportunities in the passing game in order to preserve this balance, and that’s going to be the big question mark this season.
Two – UCLA Bruins will be a tough scout
Utah has gone through a drastic makeover, particularly on offense. The UCLA Bruins have gone through an even greater reconstruction this offseason.
The Bruins brought in former offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri, as well as quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Those two headline the over 50 additions UCLA made this offseason. The secondary is almost entirely new, as is the defensive unit in general.
“It’ll be very new as far as personnel and the guys we’re going to face,” Whittingham explained. “A lot of film study from the Indiana scheme last year. Big, strong, athletic quarterback, transferred from Tennessee. There are a lot of unknowns.”
Utah will be evaluating film from a collection of different schools from last season to get a feel for what the Bruins will be this year. With that sort of preparation, in-game adjustments will be vital to their chances of a win.
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“You’re going to have to adjust in-game,” Whittingham shared. “Not even at halftime, you know, well before that. There may be some adjustments we have to make in the first quarter. Typically, in an opener, the teams that do the best job of that have the best chance of winning.”
Three – Confidence in Tobias Merrweather
“Well, what we’ve seen in practice gives us a lot of confidence,” Whittingham said of their prized transfer addition. “He’s got a big catch radius, he’s 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, very smooth, athletic guy. He runs really well, and just has a knack for playing the contested ball, as you would expect with a guy with that frame.”
The Utes brought in Merriweather during the spring portal window. The former blue-chip prospect was a target for them coming out of high school. Merriweather committed to Notre Dame, where he spent his first two seasons before transferring to Cal last year.
When he hit the portal this spring, Utah made him a big priority because of those elite qualities. Merriweather committed to Utah for one very simple reason.
“They want me to come in and be a difference maker,” Merriweather shared a couple of weeks back. “That was their message, come be a difference maker and that’s what I’m coming here to do.”
Obviously, given Whittingham’s commentary, Merriweather’s performance in camp led to growing confidence in his potential this season. Still, he has to go out and execute Saturday night.
“So, what we’ve seen in practice has been very encouraging,” he reiterated. “But again, you’ve got to do it on game day.”
Four – College football to become a minor league?
“I think somehow we’ve got to get to the point where, again, I say a ‘minor league NFL,’ not technically, but theoretically,” Whittingham shared. Where we’re just the same type of setup, same structure, salary cap, that type of thing.”
That seems to be in stark contrast to the messaging from the NCAA and academic side, given the need for players to unionize. However, coaches seem to believe this is the route that returns some sense of sanity to the game.
“What we do right now is not sustainable, I don’t believe it is, personally,” he shared. “They’ve got to figure out a way to get some sanity to the whole thing. The prices are spiraling out of control for the NIL; rev-share money is down, so it’s still in a place where I don’t think it can continue this way.”
Five – Does college football need a preseason?
When asked about whether he preferred a big game to open the season or an FCS opponent, Whittingham didn’t prefer one way or the other. However, he did offer up a suggestion that would probably be a welcome sight for all involved.
“I don’t know if college is going to ever go to preseason like the NFL, that wouldn’t be a bad idea in my opinion,” Whittingham stated. “Have a couple of preseason games that don’t count on the record.”
That would be interesting, as it would allow programs to work through mistakes and come into form by week one, without the potential harm of a loss in the record book.
Another thought is that in the NFL, all 17 games matter on the schedule. Would college football move to a full 12-game schedule exclusively comprised of power conference foes?
