Ute Sports

Paid the men's basketball team a visit during their practice yesterday as they prepare for Saturday's noon exhibition against Findlay.

 Two players fans are going to notice right away are forward Kim Tillie and freshman Marshall Henderson.

 Tillie has grown an inch and added about 15 pounds from last season. He also spent the summer working on his shot.

 "Compared to last year I feel stronger," he said. "It's easier to finish plays when you are stronger. I've been here all summer eating and lfiting and working out.

 As for Henderson, in the scrimmage there didn't seem to be a shot he didn't like, an assumption he confirmed is his outlook yesterday.

  "I'm probably the most confident person there is," he said. "I don't ever think I shoot a bad shot. Obviously coach [Jim] Boylen thinks differently."

 The Utes are practicing from 1:15-3:15 p.m. for the next two days if you want to check them out for yourselves.

 Injury report: Jason Washburn, a 7-foot center from Michigan, is practicing this week after being sidelined with a knee injury suffered in September.

 The redshirt freshman is expected to split time with starter David Foster this season....guard Jordan Cyphers is recovering from a sprained ankle...JC transfer Jay Watkins remains sidelined with a stress fracture in his pelvis and may not be able to play until December.

Some morning thoughts on the different styles of quarterbacks Terrance Cain and Jordan Wynn are. Cain is about as quiet a football player I've ever covered whereas Wynn seems to have that natural quarterback personality.

 He isn't a media hog by any means, but he doesn't mind speaking out or giving his opinion even as a freshman. Yesterday when he was asked about being a leader he felt a quarterback should have some "swagger."

 I agree. Brian Johnson certainly had that for the Utes last year and I believe his natural leadership abilities is one of the main reasons the Utes went undefeated.

 Earlier in the fall, coach Kyle Whittingham said Cain was a different kind of quarterback than Johnson which required some getting adjusting to his temperament.

 No one has ever come out and said Cain wasn't a good leader, but if Wynn does start Saturday against New Mexico (which is what I believe everyone is expecting to happen) one of the things I'll be looking for is to see if his enthusiasm has an affect on the team.

 There are plenty of athletes I've known who I'd describe as "lead by example" guys, but I just don't think your quarterback can be one of them. I think he has to be the spark that makes the offense roll, which is exactly what the Utes were looking for out of Wynn.

 Just as they did last Monday, Utah's travel squad didn't practice, just lifted weights.

 Couple stories here from you on the quarterback situation and some notes. Here are some more thoughts from Wynn.

 On losing the starting job to Cain earlier in the fall: "I had to be patient. I knew my role trying to help out Terrance best I could and prepare every week like I was starting. I stayed patient and waited for my time to come."

 Wynn said he never asked to be redshirted because he wanted to play this year.

 "I told the coaches it's all on you guys if you guys want me to play," he said. "I'm not going to sit there and cry and say I want to redshirt. I want to play. Obviously a little later in the year that could have been a possibility but they pulled the trigger saturday night and I am glad they did."

 He said his dad gave him some good advice in the fall. "He told me you have to put it in perspective and that redshirting isn't the worst thing."

 Asked about his running abilities, Wynn said the first play that came to mind is when he ran into Wyoming's nose guard Saturday.

 "That was my first college run and I'm going to watch that on tape over and over to remind myself," he said. "If I have to run I'm going to run. Obviously Terrance is a little more mobile, but if I have to pull a zone read I'm going to pull it and if they drop eight and I have to run I'm going to run."

 As for Cain, he said like Wynn he will continue to work hard no matter what his role is. "You never know when you are going to go in and get your shot," he said. "You just have to keep playing hard."

 He said he'll also help Wynn in anyway he can. "Of course, he's my teammate," he said. "We'll remain friends and help each other out as much as we can."

 Utah coach Kyle Whittingham announced Monday at least one of the major changes he made for the Wyoming game will stick, as for the other, he'll keep it a secret as long as possible.

 Whittingham said today that receivers coach Aaron Roderick, who replaced offensive coordinator Dave Schramm in the booth, will remain there calling the plays for the time being.

 "Dave Schramm is a fiery, intense guy down on the field and I thought that was going to be a benefit for us and I'm also very comfortable with A-Rod upstairs calling the plays," he said. "We have a great deal of collaboration and cooperation among the staff. There are no egos. We just want the best situation for our team and we wanted to look at that and stick with that. it worked out well."

 As for the announcement he is keeping quiet, that one is who will start at quarterback. Whittingham re-iterated he doesn't want to announce whether it will be Terrance Cain or Jordan Wynn because he doesn't want to give the Lobos any help.

 I think the surprise would be if Wynn wasn't the starter and he is probably the guy the Lobos are going to prepare to play, but at least Whittingham is trying to make it harder for the Lobos.

 "It doesn't make sense to make that announcement," he said.

 As for New Mexico, here are Whittingham's initial thoughts on the struggling team with Mike Locksley in his first season as Rocky Long's replacement.

 "There is a big difference on defense," he said. "Rocky had that 3-3-5 defense. They are running more base on defense, four-man rush corners coverage, not the exotic blitz schemes that Rocky would design. Offensively, there are more similarities on offense with a lot of shotgun and a lot of spread stuff."

 Safety Joe Dale is listed as probable after missing games with a high ankle sprain.

Whittingham called the special teams effort one of the poorest outings. "We made ridiculous errors," he said. 

 The offensive players at the press conference, center Zane Taylor and receiver Luke Matthews both said Wynn gave them a lift when took the field.

 "Jordan came out and gave us that spark we were looking for," Matthews said. "Everybody on offense wanted to stay behind Jordan because we knew it was his first game and we wanted to do what we could to make him feel more comfortable out there."

 Taylor had the best line of the day when he was asked about all of Utah's close wins.

 "It definitely is kind of unnerving coming away with so many close victories," he said. "It's definitely putting a lot of stress on me, and my wife."

 The Utes picked up a pair of weekly awards from the Mountain West Conference today.

 Utah running back Eddie Wide is the MWC Offensive Player of the Week after he ran for a career-high 135 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries Saturday against Wyoming. He averaged 5.6 yards a game and tied the school record with his fifth 100-yard rushing effort.

 The others who had five consecutive games are Carl Monroe, 1982; Mike Anderson, 1998 and Darrell Mack, 2007.

 Defender Koa Misi had eight tackles and two sacks in the win to earn the Defensive Player of the Week honors. He made six of his tackles and both sacks in the second half when the Utes held the Cowboys to 74 yards.

 Wide is now second in the conference behind BYU's Harvey Unga in rushing yards with 664 yards in eight games for the season. Unga has 698 yards in seven games.

 Wide has a very good chance of setting the school record for most consecutive 100 yard games on Saturday against New Mexico since the Lobos are next to last in the league in rushing defense, giving up 161.1 yards.

 San Diego State punter Brian Stahovich is the Special Teams Player of the Week.

The Utah Utes' surprisingly close win over Wyoming didn't hurt their cause in the BCS standings or the national polls.

The Utes, who came from behind to beat the Cowboys 22-10 Saturday, moved up two spots in the BCS standings to No. 14 Sunday.

 Utah (7-1, 4-0) also moved up to two spots to No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 and three spots to No. 16 in the USA Today/Coaches poll.