Utah Football 2016

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Utah’s battle for quarterback begins

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=39013121&nid...terback-begins

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Utah has 'home-run hitter' to succeed departing Devontae Booker in backfield

Joe Williams posted a prolific season at the junior college level in 2014. He averaged 6.7 yards per rush at ASA College in Brooklyn, located smack dab in the middle of the New York City borough. He attended class in the heart of urban America -- right above where the A, C, and F subway trains intersect.

Less than two years later, you'll find Williams 2,000 miles away from the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple -- in terms of both geography and lifestyle. Williams is the favorite to succeed Devontae Booker as Utah's starting running back, and he's snowboarding down majestic, powdery slopes in his offseason free time.

Honking cabs and crowded sidewalks are far, far back in the rearview mirror.

"It's definitely more quiet in Salt Lake City," Williams laughs. "But I love it here. It may not have the city life that New York City has, but the atmosphere and outdoors here are awesome."

The football opportunity ahead of him is pretty awesome, too. For the past two seasons, Booker had been the cog of the Utes' offense. That starting running back spot -- especially important this season since Utah is also breaking in a new quarterback -- is now up for grabs.


Joe Williams ran for 399 of his 477 yards last season in Utah's final three games. Russ Isabella/USA TODAY Sports
The 5-foot-10, 204-pound Williams broke onto the scene after Booker tore his meniscus in mid-November. Williams averaged 133 rushing yards in Utah's final three games.

"I'm a home-run hitter," Williams says. "I've got the speed that everyone knows, I've got some power, and I have pretty good hands out of the backfield. I think I can do it do it all. I think I'm an all-purpose back."

This versatility is Williams' biggest asset as he battles a room of Utah backs to earn the lion's share of the 2016 work. Troy McCormick -- back from a knee injury -- and Marcel Manalo are also part of that fight, but Williams' finish to 2015 has put him in the driver's seat.

“He’s our lead back. He’s the featured back right now -- primary ball carrier,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham told the Deseret News. “He’s explosive. He brings a lot to the table. He has really figured things out since he’s been here as well and I know his best is yet to come.”

Williams' journey has taken anything but a linear path. The Pennsylvania product enrolled at Forks Union Military Academy in Virginia for a semester before accepting Connecticut's scholarship offer in 2012. After struggling to adapt to the college game with the Huskies -- he carried the ball only three times there -- Williams transferred to ASA College.

Utah noticed him in the midst of two productive seasons in New York City. Soon, Williams was snowmobiling in Park City on a recruiting visit. The Utes' commitment to a physical brand of football appealed to him, and he decided to take the plunge and embrace the drastic change of scenery.

"We play with a chip on our shoulders here," Williams says. "We always get talked down as just being 'that physical team,' and people ask if we're as good as Oregon or USC or those teams. We just want to show other teams that we're not here to mess around."

Williams certainly looked serious in his breakout flurry to close 2015, darting through holes with his quickness -- the former track star has been clocked at 4.38 in the 40-yard dash -- and helping the Utes breathe easier about post-Booker life at running back.

"Those three games boosted my self-esteem as a running back," Williams says. "Now I'm just trying to get better in the film room and on the field. I want to bring that same intensity and performance to the upcoming season."

Goal number one is to add some more strength to his frame: Williams is shooting to weigh in at 210 pounds this September, which will require him to pack on about six more pounds of muscle over the coming months. The longer-term objective is one of team success, as Williams hopes to grab the offense's vacated leadership post and push Utah to replicate its recent winning ways, highlighted by 19 victories over the past two seasons.

"I'm very confident in the team we have right now," Williams says. "We've all come out every day with great effort. We're trying to show the coaches what we're made of. And I'm doing my part every day to ball out."

Not many could have seen this pairing coming just a couple years ago, when Williams was grinding for another Division I opportunity in New York City. But the running back's move is complete now -- culture change, snowboarding, and all -- and the Utes are ready to fully reap the benefits of Williams' radical relocation.

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_...tahs-backfield

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Red/White Game recap. BTW JC QB transfer Troy Williams has an injury to his throwing arm and did not play.

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Scoreboard!

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Prediction for the SUU game? One week away!

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[rockgremlin]

Well, in keeping with perennial Bogley tradition, I come here to bitch and moan about how deplorable the Utes look in their first game of the season. Overlooking all of their achievements and highlights on the field against SUU, I will instead bemoan their horrible coaching and player performance, and complain that we should have blown SUU out by at least 80 points in order to be taken seriously as a contender in the Pac12 this season. <sigh> Looks like this will be a mediocre season at best...Right? Amirite?

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Pathetic performance against the Thunderchickens.

[gholt]

The qb did look better. But, they need a lot of work.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

[Iceaxe]

We are really going to miss Devonte Booker :-( our normally dependable run game sucked.

Same old offense... shows flashes of brilliance but mostly just struggles by.

One the other hand SUU looked outstanding slugging it out toe to toe with a PAC12 team until they were finally beat by size, speed and depth. But they didn't lose because of heart or coaching.

[uintafly]

They looked extremely flat, but I guess you can chalk it up to 1st game jitters and playing SUU. What I found most concerning was how our O-line played so poorly. A ton of penalties was bad enough, but the amount of pressure SUU's D-line was getting was crazy. Williams should have had all day back there to pass and our RB's should have been getting through the line with ease, but it seemed just about every 1st contact was at the los. Could be a frustrating season once they start lining up against PAC-12 lines. (not to mention those fat white 30 year old's down south)

[rockgremlin]

Fat white 30 yr olds down south...snicker, snicker. Speaking of which, if we play them like we played SUU, there could be an upset next week. The Cougars are probably looking at last night's performance by the Utes and salivating.

[Iceaxe]

The good news is the problems with the O line are easy to fix in the grand scheme of things as they were just out of sync and blocking the wrong assignment. They have the talent. Now they just need to get them all on the same page.

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Looking on the bright side, the Cougs didn't look great either.

Arizona's QB gave them a couple gifts, otherwise they probably lose that one...

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Mendenhall uses BYU video to show Virginia winning attitude

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...ginia-winning/