Monday, September 14, 2009

Utah quarterback Terrance Cain is a man learning on the job with just two experiences at the Division I level, which might explain why Utah coach Kyle Whittingham gave him so much praise during Monday's press conference.

Cain, who was 18-of-31 for 248 yards and rushed 20 times for 94 yards in the 24-14 win at San Jose State, showed a lot of improvement from Game 1 to Game 2 in Whittingham's estimation, which is what he was looking for in his QB.

He noted that in watching film, Cain only threw one or two passes that he didn't believe were good, the others were because he was "under duress."

"We saw growth in him," Whittingham said. "If he continues to improve week to week, he's going to be a very good QB."

Whittingham also was happy with his running plays. "We turned him loose a little more than before and it paid dividends," he said.

I have to confess, I wasn't as impressed with Cain, particularly in the second and third quarters when he was just 6-of-15 for 76 yards combined. I was beginning to wonder even if we might see freshman Jordan Wynn. However, I guess Whittingham is preaching patience with his new QB, guess the rest of us will have to do so as well.

Lots of news and notes out of Utah's press conference today, starting with how injuries could affect Utah's lineup for Saturday's game at Oregon.

Both running back Matt Asiata (shoulder) and offensive lineman Caleb Schlauderaff (knee) are questionable. Whittingham said if Asiata can't play, a decision that might not be made until kickoff, Eddie Wide would start in his place and freshman Sausan Shakerin would get his chances as well.

Also, expect more sweeps that use the speed of receivers Jereme Brooks and David Reed and more running plays out of Cain.

"It'll be more by committee," he said.

Tevita Stevens will start if Schlauderaff can't play.

Whittingham, who wasn't happy about the red zone performance, explained the fourth-and-goal call in which Asiata over threw Cain in the right corner of the end zone saying there was another time when Cain wasn't covered in the Asiata formation so the coaches told Asiata to throw it to him if he was left open again. Cain was, Asiata simply missed his man.

Sounds like Utah's kicking game will be reevaluated too. Ben Vroman missed three attempts and was replaced by Joe Phillips who made a 25-yarder with 4:50 remaining. 

A possibility could be to use Vroman on the long attempts and Phillips in short situations, Whittingham said, noting that Vroman has a very strong leg even if he didn't show it Saturday.

"Ben was just in a funk Saturday night," Whittingham said. "He is a good kicker and is talented, but when the pressure is on, you have to perform."

There is no chance freshman kicker Nick Marsh, who has been indefinitely suspended, could get back into the mix, Whittingham said.

Defensively, Whittingham said San Jose State quarterback Jordan La Secla got the ball out quickly, so he wasn't too worried about the defensive line. The corners are another issue because he was able to get the ball out so fast, Whittingham said.

"That falls to the secondary," he said.

Which, of course, brings us to this week. The Utes have a lot of work to do in short yardage situations offensively, defensively with the secondary and with the special teams. Sounds like it will be a busy week up on the hill.

"We certainly have to elevate our level of play against a good team, we have our work cut out for us," he said. "It's a very difficult place to play but our guys will be ready. We'll continue to work on what we aren't doing so well and we'll go from there."