Whitt Interview with The Athletic

Just came out this morning. Posting here in case anyone is interested.

This week, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said the Utes would find out earlier in the week if Rising would be cleared to play against Cal this weekend, but wouldn’t announce anything leading up to the Saturday afternoon kickoff in Rice-Eccles Stadium. The Athletic caught up with Whittingham briefly this week to discuss Rising’s recovery, if the longtime coach regrets not being more transparent about the extent of the injury, the future of college football, Utah’s last year in the Pac-12 and Deion Sanders’ first year at Colorado.

Were you surprised when Cam revealed the full extent of his injury on the radio last week?

I can’t say I was surprised. If that was Cam’s decision and he wanted to do that, then that’s his prerogative, obviously. It’s his choice how much or how little he wants to reveal. That’s certainly not my area or not my place to elaborate on an injury. If he wanted to go ahead and do that, that’s perfectly his decision.

Do you think the weekly unknowns of Cam’s status has become a distraction or a team dealing with a litany of injuries?

No, I don’t think so. I think we’ve handled it as well as we could’ve possibly handled it. We just hold out hope each week and like we’ve said, we’re just waiting for that clearance, and once that clearance is given, then we move forward.

So you wouldn’t classify there being any tension right now between the program and where Cam is in his rehab at the moment?

No, absolutely not. Not from my vantage point, no.

You said Monday you didn’t have a good answer for whether, in retrospect, you wished the messaging of Cam’s injury was handled differently. Now that you have had a day to ponder it: Do you feel like it would’ve been beneficial for everyone if it was laid out in spring or summer that Cam suffered a multi-ligament injury?

The only people of concern are the people inside this building. That’s the only people we are concerned with. So I guess the answer would be no. The people outside the building, that’s all up to Cam and how he wants to handle that. We’re just focused on the people inside the building and everybody has been on the same page. We’ve just been working through it on a week-to-week basis.

You were one of the first coaches to publicly lob out the scenario of a college football super conference. Since the sport appears to be headed that way, do you think the sport is losing what has made it unique like regional rivalries and being able to easily drive to away games?

I think we can hang onto some of that. I think there will still be a place when we do get to a super league that if you’ve got two of the teams in those super leagues, there will be a lot of these long-standing rivalries, I think they can remain intact. I think there’s still going to be a way to structure that.

I just don’t know why you couldn’t continue with some of those high-profile rivalry games. I think when we do go to the super conferences, there will still be a regional aspect to it. I don’t think you’re going to have a helter-skelter schedule of all different regions in one pod.

Have you had time to get nostalgic at all that this is your last year in the Pac-12?

No, I’m not a nostalgic guy. I’m a guy that can move on in five minutes.

Even despite winning the conference the past two years and going to the Rose Bowl? It’s got to be kind of a bummer.

Don’t worry about what you can’t control. Control the controllables. Embrace change and move on. You can’t sit there and hem and haw about it or be depressed. It serves no purpose. You just move forward. I’ve operated that way for as long as I remember in every aspect of my life. If we moved to a different house, I would settle in the new house in five minutes and forget about the old one.

Are you surprised by Colorado’s start under Deion Sanders in his first year?

Deion’s done a great job. He overhauled the roster, and based on their struggles last year, I think he did it exactly the right way. You’ve got to give him credit for having the vision and the wherewithal to get it done. How can you say anything but? There is no other way to view that.

The defense this year seems to have taken the leap to establishing itself among the program’s elite. Why do you think this group has taken that collective jump this season even with so many injuries?

First of all, we’ve got really good players. Most of the injuries have been on the offensive side of the ball and haven’t had quite as many on defense. Fortunately, we’ve recruited well and have good depth and have had guys step up and fill the shoes of the guys that we’re missing. But we’ve got good players to start with. That’s always the starting point. They’re coached well, and our schemes, fundamentals and technique are sound. Guys play with great motors and a lot of desire. That’s the recipe right there.

How do you keep morale high when so many key players continue to get hurt?

We talked about handling adversity way back in January. That’s just part of football. If you can’t handle adversity, you’re not going to be very successful. It’s almost preparation. It’s not if but when it strikes, and how much of it you do endure. Whatever it is, you’ve got to just handle it. I think our guys develop that mentality early on in this program, and we stress it and emphasize it every single week, no matter who is available or not available. You’ve just got to keep playing.