Utes trying to overtake Buckeyes as Whittingham, Meyer still talk weekly
No. 5 Utah received seven first-place votes in the latest AP Top 25 and appears poised to be an unlikely Pac-12 leader. As the Utes rebound from a tough last few years, former coach Urban Meyer's influence on current coach Kyle Whittingham is still apparent.
By
Dennis Dodd
•
5 min read
Urban Meyer and Kyle Whittingham talk every week. Think about that: A three-time national champion coach and his former assistant still stay in touch -- weekly -- 11 years after they parted ways.
They are separated by more than a couple of thousand miles. Whittingham never left the Utah program that launched his mentor more than a decade ago.
“Every week,” said Whittingham, the Utes’ coach. “We talk ball, how things are going. I consider him a close personal friend.”
What they’ve got in common more than anything is a career-changing event. They were each part of the 2004 Utah undefeated BCS run that launched not only Meyer’s career but made this week possible at No. 5 Utah.
In fact, it’s rather easy to make a case for the Utes being No. 1 five weeks into the season. Just ask the seven Associated Press who voters who placed Utah at the top this week.
Name a team that has two better wins: over (currently) No. 18 Michigan at home and at (then) No. 7 Oregon. No. 23 Cal is up this week.
It’s also hard to name a program that is more stable and less cluttered.
“In the end, you have to reward them for what they’re doing now,” said Eric Hansen of the South Bend Tribune, one of those voters that chose Utah No. 1. “And to me, they’ve played the best football against really good competition as any team in the country. It’s that simple.”
Meyer, in his second year as coach of the Utes, led the program to that 12-0 season in 2004. Whittingham, then beginning his 11th year with Utah, was his defensive coordinator.
“We’ve hung onto a great deal of what he implemented,” Whittingham said this week, while assessing his team’s 4-0 start. “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”
The Utes run the ball, play defense and assemble excellent special teams. In some ways, they’re still feeding off what Meyer brought to the program. The (then) new-fangled spread offense was a wonder back in 2004 with Alex Smith in control. Meyer was tapping into a growing talent base in Utah.
The legacy left by Meyer and nurtured by Whittingham, thrives. Only UCLA (14) and Oregon (16) have won more games than Utah (13) in the Pac-12 since the beginning of 2014.
“As far as a master plan, the meticulous detailing out day-to-day operations, he is maybe the best,” Whittingham said of Meyer.
There’s a long way to go. But there’s been a longer road to get here. Utah posted both of its undefeated seasons in 2004 and 2008 in the Mountain West.
It looked like the transition to the Pac-12 four years ago was metaphorically equal to a hike up the nearby Wasatch Mountains. The Utes immediately struggled going 6-12 in their first 18 conference games.
“That’s part of the reason Kyle hired me was to try to help him in that transition and recruiting,” said associate head coach Dennis Erickson. “The type of player you need in this league to be successful in this league [are different.]”
Whittingham cold-called the 68-year old Erickson a couple of years ago after that slow Pac-12 start. The longtime NFL and college coach gladly accepted. “There’s only some many times you can hook it off the tee,” Erickson said.
Half of what Erickson provides is Yoda-like wisdom. He’s seen it all, previously leading Miami to two national championships. That catapulted him to NFL jobs in Seattle and San Francisco. When Erickson is done coaching up tailback Devontae Booker each day -- he’s also the running backs coach -- he dives into helping craft the game plan.
Why wouldn’t you want Erickson involved? Ten coaches have won multiple AP national championships since 1970. Erickson is the only one of that group to work at a job below head coach after winning a title.
Erickson leaned on recruiting his connections in Florida and Texas to upgrade team speed. Homegrown Utah talent, which makes up 30 percent of the roster, hadn’t been able to fill in the gaps.
It is a unique blend. Utah is one of the most culturally diverse programs in the country. Local high school coach Alema Teo feels a personal attachment in his role running the annual All-Poly Camp each June in Salt Lake City.
“There are a boatload of Poly kids,” said Teo, a relative of former Notre Dame star Manti Teo. “The kids are raised to serve their elders, serve their parents. They didn’t grow up with ego and entitlement. They’ve always been taught to share and give. Those kids great in the locker room. They just want the family to be happy.”
Quarterback Travis Wilson, a Californian, has been in and out of favor. Despite a recent sore non-throwing shoulder, he has developed into a running threat at 6-foot-7. Booker runs behind a big offensive line but is one of the best pass-catching threats out of the backfield.
That offense should be proud. It has scored 17 points against the No. 2 scoring defense (Michigan) and posted the most points ever at Autzen Stadium (62) against Oregon.
Utah is in the top 10 in both kickoff returns and turnover margin. The state remains near the top 10 in FBS recruits per capita.
“They don’t even ask,” said Whittingham of his 2016 class, which should be aware his current contract only extends through 2018. “Players are excited about getting to a place to have a place to win. That hasn’t even been a topic.”
No matter how you describe them, Utah deserves to be here. It has been to more major bowls (two) since 2008 than USC. It famously knocked off Alabama that season to complete a 13-0 season to finish No. 2.
Who’s currently No. 1? The AP Top 25 suggests it might be the programs of both Meyer and Whittingham.
“It’s almost like a biosphere or dome, people tapping on the glass,” Utah’s coach said of the increasing attention. “You’ve got to go about your business.”
He learned that from Urban, too.
