Red (starters) totally dominate White (reserves)
The Red team, stacked with first- and second-stringers, overpowered the White squad, 59-7.
"It wasn't unexpected. It was what we expected to happen," said coach Kyle Whittingham. "We've still got to go out and execute, catch and all those type of things, and I thought we did a nice job doing that."
Quarterbacks Brian Johnson and Tommy Grady combined to complete 18-of-20 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Brent Casteel headlined the effort by scoring on a pair of long plays — a 75-yard pass from Johnson and a 68-yard run.
"It was a good start," said Casteel. "We've got a lot of work to do. So we're going to keep working, have a good few weeks off and come back strong."
Utah's spring football finale, which drew several thousand spectators to Rice-Eccles Stadium, showcased talent on both sides of the ball.
Running back Darrell Mack had a stellar outing with nine carries for 108 yards and two touchdowns, including a 51-yard run. Bradon Godfrey led the receiving corps with six catches for 106 yards.
The defensive standouts included safety Joe Dale, who recovered a fumble and recorded a sack. Other notable defensive performances for the Red squad were registered by Greg Newman (a sack and a tackle-for- loss), Sean Smith (interception and a tackle-for-loss), Koa Misi (sack), Matt Martinez (tackle-for-loss), Brice McCain (pass breakup) and Alex Puccinelli (pass breakup).
The Utes, he said, completed spring ball by improving on points where they need improvement.
Gabe Long and Kenape Eliapo locked in as starters at defensive tackle, while Pauli Latu, Zeke Tuinei-Wily and Neli A'asa made strides toward joining the rotation. Backup spots at cornerback and a starting nickel back are among several battles that will continue to be contested.
"We've still got a long ways to go," said Andersen. " But that's what summer is for."
Offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig has a similar outlook.
"We've got a lot of work to do over the summer because we've got to go rolling in to the opener at Corvallis (Aug. 30)," he said. "Spring ball is just a start to what we've got to accomplish. We're on track, but we've got a lot of hard work ahead of us."
In Saturday's scrimmage, the Utes had a variety of contributors. Seven runners (Mack, Casteel, Derrek Richards, Ray Stowers, Brian Hernandez, Grady and Zac Eldridge) and seven receivers (Godfrey, Casteel, Hernandez, Freddie Brown, Matt Sims, Colt Sampson and Richards) netted positive yardage.
"I think we finished strong," said Johnson.
Even so, the Utes are far from satisfied.
"We've got to get better every day starting April 22 and that's the bottom line to it," said Ludwig. "We've got to take that mode all the way through summer, all the way through fall camp and all the way through the '07 season. We've got to get better every day."
Continue what the team has done all spring, he continued.
"We got better with each practice and with each scrimmage," said Ludwig. "So I'm encouraged by that. But again, that's just the start."
Whittingham said the Utes came out of spring ball in good shape.
He was pleased with how the offense executed in the Red & White Game, especially the quarterbacks — including junior college transfer Chad Manis, who completed 11 passes while seeing action for both teams — and the receivers. Mack and Stowers each showed something and could help turn Utah's running game into a strength next fall when the injured Darryl Poston returns and highly touted recruit Matt Asiata joins the program.
"I think coming out of spring we're in good shape," said Whittingham. "The bottom line when you come out of spring is you want to have made progress as a football team, stay healthy for the most part and have some momentum going into the summer workouts. I think we've done that."
EXTRA POINTS: Kicker Louie Sakoda made seven PATs for the Red squad. He also connected on a 47-yard field goal ... Troy Bunting and Vilisoni Kotobalavu had sacks for the White ... David Cravens led the White team with four receptions. Collin Robinson had two and Sam Ewalefo one.
E-mail: dirk@desnews.com
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