Instant Replay: Utah Football Head Coach Kyle Whittingham Takes Helicopter Ride To Check Out Recruits
Oct 12, 2022, 7:32 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- In case it wasn’t clear before, head coach Kyle Whittingham is cooler than all of us. The Utah football Twitter account just put out a video of Whittingham boarding a helicopter to beat rush hour traffic to check out some recruits.
Beating the traffic to check out some future #UBoyz 🙌 pic.twitter.com/I2jVDj0oi0
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 13, 2022
#20 Utah is set to host #7 USC on Saturday, with 247 Sports’ Steve Wiltfong calling it potentially the biggest recruiting weekend of the Whittingham era.
Whittingham’s History Of Coolness
This isn’t the first time Whittingham has been caught being the “cool coach”. He is notorious for his impeccable taste in classic rock, consistent workouts, riding his bicycle as much as possible, while also rolling into events on his Harley Davidson Motorcycle.
#NewProfilePic me and coach Whitt pic.twitter.com/8xKjnJDNG8
— 🌹Stephanie E 🌹 #LL22 (@squeakysteph87) August 21, 2022
Aside from the extra-curriculars, Whittingham is also Utah football’s winningest coach in program history. He recently clinched the title in last season’s historical Pac-12 Championship and Rose Bowl run, passing up Ike Armstrong who held the title since 1950.
Whittingham has been an important part of the Utes’ most important seasons in recent history. In 1994 he began his work with Utah football as a defensive line coach under head coach Ron McBride. The team finished the season ranked #8 in the country while beating three ranked opponents including a win over 15th ranked Arizona in the Freedom Bowl. He was the defensive coordinator under head coach Urban Meyer in 2004 when the Utes “busted” the BCS and won the Fiesta Bowl. Later as the head coach, Whittingham helped guide the Utes to a second undefeated season in 2008, this time ending in a Sugar Bowl win against Alabama.
Whittingham led the charge in transforming Utah from a really good Mountain West team into a really good Power Five team in the Pac-12 Conference. Perhaps Whittingham’s best work to date though was leading the team through two tragedies- the deaths of running back Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe to their first Pac-12 Title and Rose Bowl appearance last season.
