The University of Utah got a chance to scrimmage for the first time this spring, on a warm sunny Saturday morning at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Elements of Andy Ludwig’s new offense were on display with quarterbacks Tyler Huntley and Jason Shelley getting most of the work. Ludwig said he saw plenty of good things at practice, though his team needs to refine and polish. “Well have a lot of work ahead of us the last six practices,” said the offensive coordinator. He was impressed with the physicality of the running backs and Huntley’s growth in trying to master the new offensive.“The guys are digesting a lot of new stuff,” said Ludwig. “I’m pleased with where we are.”

Theme of the Day: Bragging Rights

Though there are brief times in regular practice where the offense and defense go at each other in 11-on-11 drills, Saturday marked the first time the two spent the better part of two hours going against each other. Head coach Kyle Whittingham said there will be no live work for the first-string players the rest of the spring in an effort to stay healthy.The defense, playing a familiar scheme with veteran players, appears ahead of the offense, but the offense did make some nice plays. That being said, that’s usually how the first scrimmage tends to go.

The defense definitely had the bragging rights, for the day.

Key Moment

The key moment came early with Huntley connecting with Brant Kuithe on one of the first plays from scrimmage for a nice gain. While it wasn’t a long pass, it was perfectly placed and hit Kuithe in stride, for nearly a 40 yard gain. The program decided to not make scrimmage stats public for the first two showdowns, but this play easily made Kuithe one of the top performers.

Standouts

Running back Devin Brumfield, battling for playing time with Devonta’e Henry-Cole and TJ Green, had an excellent day that included a nice catch out of the backfield for a touchdown. “It was a good day, but we have a lot to work on,” said Brumfield after practice. “The competition in our room is always hot and it definitely makes me work hard.”

Green also had success running on the edges during the scrimmage, which was even more impressive running behind a patchwork offensive line that had it’s share of struggles.

As good as Huntley has looked, Jason Shelley is right there battling and pushing him, he looked to be his usual composed self, and really seems comfortable in Andy Ludwig’s system. Despite an interception, Huntley played well. He made some impressive runs and a few nice passes.

Demari Simpkins had another nice day, especially in the running game, where he turned several end arounds into big gains.

Quote of the Day:

Tyler Huntley with his thoughts on the scrimmage:

“It went pretty good for the first scrimmage. We have a lot of stuff to clean up but, for a new offense, it’s going really good. It’s a big change. When I come to the line, we’ve got different plays depending on the defense. It’s a lot of thinking about the executions, alignments and where we go with the ball.”

Defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley on going up against Andy Ludwig:

“I’ll tell you what, Andy is an organized guy. What he’s done a great job of is holding us accountable. Sometimes when you’re playing up against a high-tempo offense that it’s all about speed and getting the ball out, what you don’t see in the spring is a lot of shifting and motioning and that challenges you as a defense. It forces your eyes to be correct, playing disciplined football. So when you don’t have that, you’ve got to simulate it, but with Andy we’re getting all that stuff. All the stuff that gives us fits: the shifting, the motioning, the boot—all that stuff is really really good for us.

Receiver, Solomon Enis, on how the offense is looking:

“I like it a lot. It’s more balanced and the run game’s stronger, and then with the play-action coming behind it, everyone is going to be successful in it.”

Enis on why that balance is important:

“You don’t want to go in week-in and week-out with team’s already knowing what you’re about to do. So when it’s balanced, it’s just easier to manage the game and control it the way you want to control it.”