Thursday afternoon was the final practice of this spring camp for the University of Utah, as they looked to finish off on a high note. Morgan Scalley had his defense flying around once again on Thursday afternoon and even though the team was just in half pads, the defense looked as fast as they ever have so far this spring. The defense perfected some techniques and then hit the ground running against the offense. Overall, the defense was more competitive than the offense and made some impressive plays to maintain the momentum throughout the practice.

Theme of the Day: Finishing Strong

In his interview on Tuesday, Coach Whittingham stressed the importance of finishing this spring strong because starting next week, the players will be off for six weeks. This means this last practice was the last chance for the coaches to prepare for Fall Camp and the upcoming season before the Red and White game. This defense had some question marks before this camp but after analyzing these last few practices and scrimmages, it is evident that this team has made serious strides since the beginning of March. Now, the team looks forward to Saturday’s Red and White game to finish this spring camp on a high note.

Key Moment

While trying to avoid being redundant, it's difficult not to talk about Julian Blackmon once again. Quarterback Tyler Huntley was rolling out and couldn’t find anyone open and decided to throw to his last option, an over route, coming from the opposite side of the field. Blackmon was defending a corner route in the end zone but when the ball was released he tracked it down with one hand and made an acrobatic grab in the end zone. It was by far the best catch during spring camp. Then on the following play, Huntley threw another pass over the middle which was tipped and landed right in the hands of Blackmon. He has looked like a natural at safety during the entirety of spring camp and has serious potential for being an all-conference safety.

Standouts

Behind Blackmon and Terrell Burgess, the depth at safety is unproven, but R.J. Hubert, a redshirt freshman, has made a great amount of progress so far this spring. Hubert and Vonte Davis will need to keep progressing during fall camp to create playable depth at safety.

The defensive ends were practicing some blitz packages with the secondary today and Bradlee Anae stood out as he had to pick up backs out of the backfield and other crossing routes. He has improved his speed this off-season and has become the complete package at defensive end.

Linebacker Devin Lloyd has received a lot of attention so far this spring playing with the starters. Today, he had an incredible pass breakup on a pass over the middle that almost resulted in an interception. He looks like a great replacement for the departing Donovan Thompson.