Football: Manis nice, just not nice enough
Backup quarterback Chad Manis jogged off the field Saturday after the Utes' scrimmage with a big grin on his face. Either he was knocked loopy, just a competitor or maybe it was a combination of both. Manis was knocked to the turf several times in Saturday's scrimmage as he was used as bait for Utah's jacked up defense. He didn't seem to mind, saying he liked getting into some live action. How much live action he'll ever see in a real game I don't know. He doesn't fit the prototype that Andy Ludwig seems to like with Brian Johnson and Corbin Louks. It"s too bad he might not get much of a chance here at Utah, he's a very likable guy, which coach Kyle Whittingham acknowledged. "He's a team guy and he's always working hard," he said. "He comes to practice and gives it his best shot and doesn't complain. He has no negative attitude at all, he's all positive."
Some initial impressions from Saturday: Brian Johnson's shoulder doesn't seem close to 100 percent to me, something the coaches had hoped it would be by now. Maybe that is why backup Corbin Louks got so many snaps Saturday. He did well with them too, going 11-of-16 for 66 yards and rushing eight times for 39 yards. Johnson was 4-of-6 for 56 yards and a touchdown to Bradon Godfrey and rushed twice for a loss of a yard.
The defense continued to stand out, with some of the backup guys like Mo Neal, Derrick Shelby, Aaron Tonga and Brandon Burton making big plays. Usually defensive coordinator Gary Andersen spends most his time yelling, but it was obvious from some of the giggling he did after his guys made big hits he was pleased with Saturday's effort.
The only notable injury was to defensive back Damilyn Tanner, who hurt his left elbow when he crashed into an advertising board for Real Salt Lake. He'll be reevaluated more later.
Jereme Brooks and Brice McCain exchanged some punches. I wonder if Brooks is starting to tire of being the secondary's favorite target. Walk-on Collin Robinson had five catches for 34 yards. Eddie Wide got the most carries rushing 12 times for 34 yards.
And in the what could have been department, Wyoming and Texas announced Friday they came to terms with an agreement to schedule football games for the next three seasons. Texas will trip to Laramie in 2009 and Wyoming will play in Austin in 2010 and 2012. Remember, Utah was supposed to have a home and home with Texas, with the Longhorns playing here this season. Urban Meyer nixed that series, but can you imagine how that would have been if the Utes had opened at Michigan, then came home to play Texas in the season opener, a few weeks before playing Oregon State? That would have been a schedule that would have been a whole lot of fun to watch, but nearly made Whittingham's eyes bug out when I asked him about it. "Michigan and Texas in the same year? That would be a good challenge," he said. Is it me, or is it harder to get as excited about that Weber State game?! Manis
Some initial impressions from Saturday: Brian Johnson's shoulder doesn't seem close to 100 percent to me, something the coaches had hoped it would be by now. Maybe that is why backup Corbin Louks got so many snaps Saturday. He did well with them too, going 11-of-16 for 66 yards and rushing eight times for 39 yards. Johnson was 4-of-6 for 56 yards and a touchdown to Bradon Godfrey and rushed twice for a loss of a yard.
The defense continued to stand out, with some of the backup guys like Mo Neal, Derrick Shelby, Aaron Tonga and Brandon Burton making big plays. Usually defensive coordinator Gary Andersen spends most his time yelling, but it was obvious from some of the giggling he did after his guys made big hits he was pleased with Saturday's effort.
The only notable injury was to defensive back Damilyn Tanner, who hurt his left elbow when he crashed into an advertising board for Real Salt Lake. He'll be reevaluated more later.
Jereme Brooks and Brice McCain exchanged some punches. I wonder if Brooks is starting to tire of being the secondary's favorite target. Walk-on Collin Robinson had five catches for 34 yards. Eddie Wide got the most carries rushing 12 times for 34 yards.
And in the what could have been department, Wyoming and Texas announced Friday they came to terms with an agreement to schedule football games for the next three seasons. Texas will trip to Laramie in 2009 and Wyoming will play in Austin in 2010 and 2012. Remember, Utah was supposed to have a home and home with Texas, with the Longhorns playing here this season. Urban Meyer nixed that series, but can you imagine how that would have been if the Utes had opened at Michigan, then came home to play Texas in the season opener, a few weeks before playing Oregon State? That would have been a schedule that would have been a whole lot of fun to watch, but nearly made Whittingham's eyes bug out when I asked him about it. "Michigan and Texas in the same year? That would be a good challenge," he said. Is it me, or is it harder to get as excited about that Weber State game?! Manis
6:46 PM
| 
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home