Ute Sports

Nose tackle Kenape Eliapo was listed as probable by Utah coach Kyle Whittingham but he hasn't practiced this week, so I doubt we'll see much of him if any against Wyoming. Eliapo missed the Air Force game with an eye ailment.

 Freshman Dave Kruger started in place of Eliapo and had a career high 13 tackles and would start again Saturday if Eliapo can't play.

 The Utes aren't saying exactly what is wrong with Eliapo, but I've been told he is going to a specialist to examine him. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham only described it as a "weird deal."

 I know Eliapo has more experience, but I like the energy Kruger brought to the lineup. Eliapo might have a tough time getting his starting spot back once he is healthy if Kruger has another big game.

 Associated Press basketball poll is out now too.

 Marshall Henderson, a freshman guard Hurst, Texas, showed why in Wednesday night's scrimmage coach Jim Boylen is so excited about him joining his Utah program.

 Henderson is a fearless shooter who nailed one shot after another Wednesday night.

 Boylen has him penciled in among his starters along with returner starters Luka Drca, Carlon Brown, Kim Tillie and David Foster, who came off the bench in his last year, 2006-07, before serving a mission.

 Also pushing for playing time is freshman Shawn Glover, another Texas product and transfer Jay Watkins who might be the most versatile player on the team.

 "It's a dog fight for positions right now," Boylen said.

 The scrimmage was a little rough, but that was to be expected as Boylen works on different combinations and integrating the newcomers.

 "I wanted our guys to play on the floor with the lights on at night and see who reacted well with pressure on them," Boylen said. "We've improved in some things and we have a ways to go in some things but that is how you feel when you have seven new guys on a team."

 Drca and Brown looked the best in the scrimmage, with Henderson close behind the veterans. Watkins is also going to be a crowd favorite with his athleticism.

 Watkins comes to the Utes in a roundabout way. He grew up in Memphis, Tenn., then moved with his mother to Phoenix when he was a teenager. 

 He attended the University of San Francisco in 2006-07 where he averaged 6.2 points and 3.5 rebounds.

 He left after his coach was fired and went to the College of Southern Idaho, where he was the second-leading scorer averaging 16.1 points. He followed his coach, Barret Peery, to Utah when Peery joined Boylen's staff in May of 2008.

 "I plan to be in Salt Lake now for a while," he said of his journeys. "At least two years."

 BYU and Utah State received votes in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' preseason basketball poll, the Utes didn't.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham isn't among the 20 coaches on the watch list released for the Bryant Coach of the Year Award, which he won last season.

 The odd thing is, both BYU's Bronco Mendenhall and TCU's Gary Patterson are. My guess is the votes were due before TCU embarrassed the Cougars

 I don't have a vote but if I did, I'd put Whittingham ahead of both Patterson and Mendenhall. So far, TCU has done what was expected of it and BYU, after its blowout loss to TCU, hasn't met expectations.Granted one of the reasons expectations rose for the Cougars was because it beat Oklahoma early, but I thought Mendenhall was totally out-coached by Patterson.

 As for Whittingham, the Utes were a bit of an unknown commodity coming into the season with several veterans gone. So far the Utes have survived with a new quarterback and haven't appeared anymore vulnerable after the guy they built their offense around, Matt Asiata, was lost for the season.

 They're winning ugly for sure, but the Utes are still winning and even the one loss to Oregon isn't looking so bad now. Yep, Whittingham would get my vote for sure. 

 Utah athletic director Chris Hill held a casual lunch gathering for some members of the media Tuesday to air his thoughts on several issues, there were a few things that came out of it that fans will be interested in knowing.

 Here are the highlights: 

 Hill is an advocate of conference expansion, with Boise State being discussed as a logical team. While some are worried the Broncos couldn't compete in sports other than football, Hill is of the mindset the other teams would rise to the quality of their competition.

 He is about as happy with the league's TV deal as fans are, which is to say not very happy, saying at one point he had both Comcast and DirecTV so he could watch games. To him, getting the games in HD is almost as important as getting the games on a variety of channels, but noted it costs about $30,000 more to broadcast a game in HD.

 Fans should be prepared to start paying more for football and gymnastics tickets because of rising costs for athletic departments. No increase is expected in men's basketball tickets because the demand isn't there, he said.

 Right now, midfield chair seats are $610 including the $400 required minimum donation. Hill said there is a need to raise those ticket prices, but is also mindful some seats need to remain at a lower cost for fans who have limited funds.

 Sticking with football, Hill said the success of the Utes has made it harder to find opponents and said the Utes were "lucky" to get a series with Pitt in 2010 and 2011. 

 He is considering looking at more 2-for-1 series in the future and more 1-shot games for basketball if the opponents are of high enough quality to warrant such a deal.

 He also mentioned the possible Florida-Utah matchup that ESPN looked into setting up didn't get very far. But if he truly is interested in some 2-for-1s, I wonder if the Gators would be among the big traditional powers to take that deal?

 Canceling the popular Fan Fest in August was a mistake and he is very committed to bringing it back next season.

 "I got too carried away with what it costs and just thought it was a way to save $20,000," he said.

 He knew it was a popular event with fans, but said he underestimated how much the student-athletes enjoyed it too.

 Speaking of saving and spending, Hill said he didn't know the Utes were putting a fence around the practice field until the day it was going up, explaining the money came out of a football fund that coach Kyle Whittingham can use at his discretion. 

 He said he doesn't like the fence but understands coaches are becoming more and more paranoid about limiting access.

 It will be friend vs. friend when Wyoming and Utah play Saturday, as coach Kyle Whittingham leads the Utes against the Wyoming Cowboys, who are coached by Dave Christensen.

 The two were both on Idaho State's staff in the 1990s and have stayed in touch since.

 "I would consider it a close friendship," Whittingham said. "We've talked throughout the years and stayed in touch. Now that he is on an opposing team in the conference it's a little different and we haven't talked out of professional courtesy because it's a little awkward."

 Whittingham said he has noticed a difference in the way the Cowboys are playing under Christensen.

 "He has brought a toughness and discipline to the team," he said. "Fundamentally they are very good, it's very evident on film."

 After the way the Utes prevailed in several close games in 2008 and have done so again this season, I don't know if there is a team in the country that has a better reputation of being able to win the close ones than the Utes.

 Whittingham is crediting last year's seniors for starting the trend.

 "We started to develop a knack for it last year of winning the close games and it has carried over into this year," he said. "Our players have bought into the system and what we are doing."

 Whittingham said there still is no change in plans of getting backup quarterback Jordan Wynn into a game if the opportunity arises. The Utes are still a "week or two" away from deciding to redshirt him, Whittingham said.

 "Maybe this week, we'll see," Whittingham said of the chances of Wynn playing.