Coach’s Show

We had a good practice and no one got hurt today. The guys worked hard today.

We will have to be at our best to beat UCLA.

Takeaways from the first three games: The defense is playing well, especially the run. The offense needs to be more explosive. But, we are doing good at taking care of the football.

If Cam would have been ready, we likely would have been more explosive. We need to take some shots to Vele.

What did he see from Nate Johnson? He was a leader and took charge against Weber.

The offensive line has been very consistent. We struggled a bit early with Weber, They are smaller and stunted more. We had to adjust.

Lander Barton has been incredible since he was a kid. Second most athletic member in his family. His mom is the most athletic. The Pick-6 was an incredible play and showed his athleticism. If he played tight end – he would be the best tight end in the conference. He hinted that there may be some two-way playing for Lander in the future.

The mindset of the players is very focused. The practice habits are very good.

The players need to take care of themselves off the field. It is as important as the practices. Watching game film is very important and they can do it on their phone.

Kyle loves the early kickoff times.

Chip Kelly is a great coach. He likes him personally. Has a great sense of humor.

UCLA was very physical last year. They are hard-nosed and they are playing very good defense. They have very good linebackers. Their defense has length and speed.

Chip did a great job with the portal to replace the key players they lost.

Dante Moore (QB) is a very athletic QB. He is not one to run as much as DTR, but he has a heckuva an arm. They have a tall WR who can go up and get the ball.

Having Reid back at LB is very important to the team. He is a self-made player. The current LB group is the deepest we have ever had. He was reluctant to say it is the best group considering guys like Lloyd, Paul, Hansen, Sewell, etc.

Interview with Reid

Missing two games was hard. He just wants to play.

The defense is having fun and they are connected.

He was originally going to go to USU. When he came back from his mission, the staff at USU changed and he wanted to play for a great defense. He was a walk-on at first.

Damuni is fitting in and picking up quickly.

Tuesday practices are called “bloody Tuesdays.” The intensity was excellent today.

We need to get players healthy and communicate better. It will take everything we have to beat UCLA. He just re-watched last year’s UCLA game and he said it was painful to watch all the mistakes.

We need to make the freshman QB uncomfortable. UCLA has a transfer RB that is very good. They are a run-first type of offense.

We have a huge advantage when playing at home.

Keaton Bills interview

Today’s practice was a good one.

He thinks every game – they are looking a bit better. We have two new guys in the starting five. How good is Fano? He battles hard every day and every play. He is speaking up to help Fano out.

He feels he is a team leader this year. He believes he leads by example.

The offensive line has big battles each week. There are no easy games on the schedule.

We did not come out and play the way we should have last year against UCLA. He blames the Utes more than anything else.

It’s going to be an exciting year.

He’s proud of the guys who have stepped up for the injured players the last three weeks.

Back to coach Whitt

How’s Cam progressing? He had a good practice. We will make a decision on Thursday if he can go, but no one will know until Saturday.

Chip Kelly is the master of matchups. He has a great offensive mind.

The UCLA defense has played great.

In 1981 he had 135 tackles and 16 tackles for a loss.

We will be playing six out of nine ranked teams.

Cannot allow explosive plays on defense and we need to establish the run on offense.