Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham Up For Dodd Trophy
Oct 19, 2023, 4:01 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – The Dodd Trophy watch list updated its candidates at the halfway point of the season and Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham is still in the running.
Earlier in the preseason, Whittingham was the only Pac-12 coach to make the watch list of 20 candidates. Whittingham is now joined by three other Pac-12 coaches (USC’s Lincoln Riley, Washington’s Kalen DeBoer, and Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith) in the award’s updated top 20 midseason list.
The Dodd Trophy is college football’s most coveted national coaching award given out annually. The award celebrates the head coach of a team who most embodies the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s coaching philosophy- scholarship, leadership and integrity.
🙌@UtahCoachWhitt has been named to the Dodd Trophy midseason watchlist! pic.twitter.com/OoeguxtdC7
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 19, 2023
The award takes into account each program’s graduation rate, Graduation Success Rate (GSR), commitment to service and charity in the community, success in the 2023 season and Academic Progress Rate (APR). This year, coaches needed to have a team APR higher than 980 to qualify.
A Closer Look At The Midseason Dodd Trophy Candidates
The 2023 Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank Midseason Watch List:
| Coach | School | Conference | Current AP Ranking | Current Record | APR |
| Mack Brown | North Carolina | ACC | No. 10 | 6-0 | 982 |
| Troy Calhoun | Air Force | Mountain West | No. 22 | 6-0 | 992 |
| Curt Cignetti | James Madison | Sun Belt | N/A | 6-0 | 970 |
| Ryan Day | Ohio State | Big Ten | No. 3 | 6-0 | 993 |
| Kalen DeBoer | Washington | Pac-12 | No. 5 | 6-0 | 986 |
| Eliah Drinkwitz | Mizzou | SEC | No. 20 | 6-1 | 989 |
| Mike Elko | Duke | ACC | No. 16 | 5-1 | 983 |
| Kirk Ferentz | Iowa | Big Ten | No. 24 | 6-1 | 968 |
| Marcus Freeman | Notre Dame | Independent | No. 15 | 6-2 | 989 |
| Willie Fritz | Tulane | AAC | No. 23 | 5-1 | 981 |
| Jim Harbaugh | Michigan | Big Ten | No. 2 | 7-0 | 987 |
| Lane Kiffin | Ole Miss | SEC | No. 13 | 5-1 | 995 |
| Mike Norvell | Florida State | ACC | No. 4 | 6-0 | 983 |
| Lincoln Riley | USC | Pac-12 | No. 18 | 6-1 | 972 |
| Nick Saban | Alabama | SEC | No. 11 | 6-1 | 995 |
| Steve Sarkisian | Texas | Big 12 | No. 8 | 5-1 | 974 |
| Kirby Smart | Georgia | SEC | No. 1 | 7-0 | 965 |
| Jonathan Smith | Oregon State | Pac-12 | No. 12 | 6-1 | 973 |
| Brent Venables | Oklahoma | Big 12 | No. 6 | 6-0 | 967 |
| Kyle Whittingham | Utah | Pac-12 | No. 14 | 5-1 | 988 |
About Utah’s Kyle Whittingham
Whittingham began his career at Utah in 1994 as a defensive line coach (for reference’s sake he’s coached guys who are now in their 50’s), moving over to the “enemy” after his playing days at BYU were over.
From there Whittingham moved up to defensive coordinator and then head coach after Urban Meyer took the Florida job in 2005. Whittingham is the “winningest” coach in Utah football history taking over Ike Armstrong’s long-standing record in 2021.
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Whittingham has helped the Utes move unimaginable mountains through his decades up on the hill. From “Original BCS Busters” to new Pac-12 members, gut-wrenching tragedy, and now back-to-back Pac-12 Champions and Rose Bowl appearances, Whittingham has seen it all with the Utes, building the house brick by brick while few were paying attention.
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 Twitter, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports
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