Blog Export: Annals of the Homestarmy, http://www.thehomestarmy.com/s9y/ Thursday, August 18. 2011 Red, Blue And Pigskin In 1990, Ron McBride took over a program he would refer to as "soft", "underachieving", and "going nowhere". The program was so down that when it came to expectations he was told "Well, if you cannot embarrass us against BYU and be in about the middle of the league, and be respectable you can stay here as long as you want." He didn't even have to win against BYU, just not be embarrassed. To say that the bar at Utah was set low, would be an understatement. The bar was so low, that they don't even bury dead people that low. What Ron McBride ended up doing, was making those "middle of the league, and be respectable" expectations no longer acceptable at the University of Utah. On September 1st, the University of Utah finishes the journey that Coach Mac Started. A journey that was picked up by Urban Meyer, and then Kyle Whittingham. But make no mistake, this turnaround, this entry in the Pac-12 got it's start in 1990 with the hiring of Coach Ron McBride. Now that the Utes are a part of the Big Boy Club, all eyes are on them to see how they will compete. Fairly or not, this first season for Utah will be scrutinized like none before it. It is not a stretch to say that 2011 is the most important season in Utah football history. So what can we expect from this team?An Internet Search, A Referral Phone Call, And An Overhaul In October, the University of Minnesota fired their head coach. This typically means that the assistants are expendable as well. Tim Davis was the offensive line coach at Minnesota. Trying to be helpful, his wife was on the internet trying to find opportunities. She noticed that the Utes were in the market for an Offensive line coach. She knew that her husband had ties to the University, having not only attended there in the 80's, but also serving as an Offensive Line coach in the mid 90's. She also knew that her husband had ties to current head coach Kyle Whittingham, so she talked her husband into calling him. Expecting to just leave a message, instead Tim Davis actually got a hold of Coach Whit, and they were able to talk, and Davis expressed his interest in the job. Coach Whit knew that part of the transition into the Pac-12 would be dealing with bigger, faster defensive linemen, and having someone who had experience at that level would be a bonus. However Coach Whit, wanted to do a little bit of due diligence first. Knowing that Coach Davis worked with Norm Chow at Southern California, Coach Whittingham called up then current UCLA, and former USC Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow to get a referral for Tim Davis. During this referral call, the topic of the Offense at Utah came up. The topic of discontent and disagreements between Chow, and UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel also came up. Chow expressed interest in joining the Utes as Offensive Coordinator. In what seemed like a surprise out of nowhere, the spread offense is now on it's way out, and Norm Chow, with help from Tim Davis, are introducing a more pro-style, downhill running game oriented Offense. In all actuality though, this is a move that Coach Whittingham may actually have been moving towards for the past few years. Ch-Ch-Changes When Urban Meyer took the Florida job, he left behind players and a system that were part of a highly specialized offense. The spread formation had taken over College Football, and it wasn't an offensive philosophy that blended well with other systems. Seven years later, it was time for a change. Fear not though, because in all honesty the change isn't going to be a severe as one would think. This is mainly because the Utes have been slowly fading out the Spread for a few years. I believe the reason that the Utes were so reluctant to start Wynn in '09, was because the plan was for Terrance Cain to start for two years, Wynn to redshirt in '08, with all eyes focused on a pro-style offense this season. In High School Wynn played in a pro-style offense. That's why he will have an an easier adjustment to Norm Chow's Page 1 / 6 Blog Export: Annals of the Homestarmy, http://www.thehomestarmy.com/s9y/ offense than many expect. Also part of the recruiting of the past few years includes, Tyler Shreve, a pro-style QB, and the re-emergence of the tight end at Utah. A position that Urban all but decimated during his two year stint. Does this mean the days of the high scoring, long passes are gone from the Utah offense? What about these rumors of a West Coast mentality being introduced? Worry not. There will be three main differences between this offense and the offense we've been seeing the last few years. First, and most obvious, the shotgun will be minimized. Instead we will see Wynn line up under the center, with the running backs sitting in some semblance of an I-Formation. As mentioned before, this is the type of offense Wynn ran in High School, so it's something he's comfortable with. Secondly, running plays will be actual running plays. Eddie Wide III, Matt Asiata, and Darrel Mack have done outstanding at the running back position the past few years. The thing is, they didn't run many actual running plays. Instead Utah insisted on running the Zone-Read option play. Considering that Wynn is not much of a runner, and therefore not much of a threat to actually keep the ball, this is a smart move. Instead there will be actual running plays (dives, tosses, stretches, etc.) that will open up the passing game via play action passes. Finally, the Tight End position is going to be used more often. And considering that the Utes have the best tight end in the state in Kendrick Moeai, this will be a real weapon for the Utes. Other than that most of the changes will be hard to recognize. You can still expect the Utes to try and lean on a running game in order to open up the passing game. You can also still expect the Utes to take their chances down the field. Downhill Run Game In order to have an effective downhill running game, a team needs a good running back. With the graduations of Asiata, and Wide, the medical retirement of Sausan Shakerin, and the departure from the team for personal reasons of Shawn Asiata and Tauni Vakapuna, the Utes entered spring camp without a single division one carry on their team. Up for the starting position is Junior College transfer John White IV, True Freshman and the State of Utah's highest rated Recruit Harvey Langi, and Rugby convert and fan favorite Thretton Palamo. What a difference a couple of camps, and a competition make. At the start of fall camp Vakapuna and Shawn Asiata rejoined the team. As camp has progressed the running back situation has started to shake itself out with two players moving ahead of the pack, while others have struggled a bit. Right now your starter is going to be John White IV. White is a smaller, speedier back. His backup right now is Vakapuna. Vakapuna is the younger brother of former BYU Fullback Fui Vakapuna. This means Palamo and Langi are battling it out for third. Now while some might think it's bad that the highly recruited Langi is struggling, I'll tell you why this is actually great news. One of the big differences between High School, and College football for a running back, is how much running backs are required to pick up blitzes. From all accounts this is where Langi, and Palamo are both falling behind. However with White and Vakapuna both looking to have the top 2 spots secured, this will afford the Utes the opportunity to Redshirt either or both of Langi, and Palamo. Redshirting Langi gives him an extra year to develop, remember he's only 18 right now, as well as a year of practicing at the college level. It also gives the Utes an extra year, with what looks to be a very solid running back in the backfield. Weight On His Shoulders Commanding the offense will be Junior Quarterback Jordan Wynn. Wynn had a very up and down 2010. Although he put up good numbers early, he was injury prone during the season. Wynn missed two games early due to a thumb injury. Wynn also struggled late in the season thanks to a shoulder surgery sustained against Iowa State. Wynn is coming into the season after having went through shoulder surgery shortly after the regular season ended. The fate of the season rests on that surgically repaired shoulder. The Utes don't have much of an option for a backup, although Junior College transfer John Hays has surprised some during camp. The Pac-12 is considered the conference of Quarterbacks, and there are definitely some high profile QB's in this conference. Wynn when healthy has shown flashes of being deserving of being mentioned with some of these QB's. Page 2 / 6 Blog Export: Annals of the Homestarmy, http://www.thehomestarmy.com/s9y/ What Utah needs, however is consistency from Wynn.