The Utes Offensive Coordinator on the dominant win over Cincinnati, Tomorrow at Baylor, Can you improve the downfield passing game this late in the year (?) + more
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's dive into this week's matchup. In the Coordinator's Corner
on the Sean O'Connell Show, Oh see chats with Morgan
Scaley a new offensive coordinator, Jason Beck. Every week of
the Utah football season, the Coordinator's Corner is brought to
you by America First Credit Union on your home of
the Utes, ESPN seven hundred at ninety two to one,
alf am Yo Sean O'Connell Show.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
We have the pleasure of checking in with the man
calling the offense and plays at the University of Utah,
Jason Beck, offensive Coordinator, brought to you by our friends
over at America First Credit Union.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Coach Beck, Welcome to the show. How are you, sir?
Speaker 4 (00:42):
Doing good? Good to be on with you.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Always enjoy these conversations. Been looking forward to it now
for a couple of weeks. You guys obviously coming off
the bye week. What did you do to maximize this
bye week?
Speaker 4 (00:55):
You know, we uh with the point of the season
we're at, we're able to get to jumpstart on Baylor
and get some extra practices in with them, but also
be able to rest up and get guys healthy or
have been banged up. So it's kind of those two things.
Get as fresh as possible, but also take advantage of
(01:16):
the extra time to be as prepared as possible.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
It might feel like a distant memory because of how
much work you have to put it on Baylor, but
I hope you'll indulge me with some conversation about the
Cincinnati win, big win demolition by your team. It felt
like the youths performed well in all three phases. Your
offense incredibly productive, the run game once again just dominating
the line of scrimmage, big chunk plays, consistent yardage, and
(01:45):
way Sean Parker, Kyle Whittingham said, has kind of emerged,
separated himself a little bit from the pack. If you
go all the way back to you week one or
the first time we had this conversation, is that something
you thought might happen with one of your running backs
when you got to this juncture in the season, you know.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
Like you said, it does the last few weeks, he's
kind of started to separate, where early on it was
much more interchangeable between him and Nacari and the other
running backs. But yeah, it feels like Waishan's just been
getting stronger as the year's going on. And is really
doing a nice job. So we're always in that mindset,
(02:26):
in that mode of ride the hot hand. If somebody's
playing really well, just kind of keep it, getting more work,
more touches, and he's been doing that the last few weeks,
and it's it's been great to see for our offense also.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
I mean, we already had plenty of conversation about the
Colorado game and the dominant run performance there, but then
to see it continue against the Cincinnati team, that, let's
be honest, is just they're a lot tougher out. They
were a higher ranked team, They've had a lot more
success this year than the Buffalos have had, and so
to see your offensive line really dominate the line of
(03:04):
scrimmage in this game as well, I mean, it's it's
what we talked about all year, the capability of this
group in particular, and it seemed like they are. They're
really firing on all cylinders. Now you would hope that's
the case, and lucky enough, they're mostly healthy. We'll get
to that here in just a second, but when you
watch the film back, how did your offensive line perform
(03:24):
in the Cincinnati game.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
Yeah, they've really set the tone for our offense, both
in how well they're playing, how physical they're playing, but
also how consistently and high performing they are. You know,
it's not week to week you don't you're not quite
sure what you're going to get, which is kind of
(03:47):
a case with some groups or some players and the
old line. They kind of show up every week in
are consistently high performers and set the tone for our
offense upt And so yeah, we're just continuing to follow
those guys, both leading h through their play, but also
(04:13):
they're that way in practice. They show up every day,
they work hard, and they set the tone from a
leadership standpoint.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
We saw against Cincinnati Spencerfano temporarily, thankfully temporarily a little
bit banged up, went into the tent on the sideline,
and there were I mean, I was sitting in the
stands for this game, and there were you know, there's
like this this nervous murmur that rolls through watching him
kind of be in help to the sideline by his teammates.
(04:42):
But uh, he ended up finishing the game, So no harm,
no foul. I suppose when you become aware of the
fact that a guy like that, a guy of that
importance and that talent is limping off the field, but
you still have to, you know, call the next play.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
How do you handle it right?
Speaker 4 (04:59):
Like you said, you kind of hold your breath there
for a sec. You obviously got to move on and
justin go from there. But fortunately he was able to
It was minor. You know, he's able to keep playing.
And also fortunately we're able to build a nice fourth
(05:19):
quarter lead where we could pull the one old line
and then timed out nice with the bye week to
be able to give him some extra days to get
helling up and fresher for this Baylor run. But he's
kind of battled a few things throughout the season, and
(05:41):
you want to know because he just he's handled it
so well and shows up and plays each Saturday at
such a high level.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
I want to bite down on that here for a second,
because there is this this sort of sentiment in the
modernization of college football, all of us old timers like, oh,
they're not as tough as they used to be and
everyone rests now and it's obviously prevalent in pro sports
and things like that, but we it's an ignorance based
opinion in most cases, like we don't realize how much
(06:12):
guys are playing through and the injury report is supposed
to give a little bit more insight to that. But
if these guys are like you're saying, if they're just
showing up and doing it anyway, there's no reason for
them to be on an injury report. So we've seen
this Utah football team in past seasons be really snake
bit with the injury situation. But your guys this year,
(06:35):
and a lot of guys this year, seem like even
when the bumps and bruises are accumulating, they're just they're
just performing through it. And I guess the question is
how common has that been this year where you you know,
you know, a guy's not one hundred percent, but he's
just going to bite down on the mouthpiece and go anyway.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Yeah, I mean, that's yeah, always the case. Guys are
playing with and you know, they're they're getting it out
through practice in the course of the week to get
ready and they're playing on Saturdays not being at their best.
And so that's more guys than not, you know, more
guys than not are in that situation of like have
(07:13):
something really hampering them, but they're playing through it. You know,
we've had a few guys we've lost for the season,
which is the part of every year, and it's been hard.
You know, you kind of move on to the next
guy and try to adapt to what that looks like.
(07:35):
But for the most part, we've been you know, we've
been fortunate that we've had had a lot of our
best players playing every week.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Jason Becker is our guests here for Coordinator's Corner on
The Sean O'Connell Show, brought to you by America First
Credit Union, calling plays for this Utah offense to put
up forty five points last time out, and of course
fifty plus against the Colorado Buffalo's scoring at a really
high clip, Coach, and doing so on the backs of
guys that, at least in a couple of cases you.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
Know really well. Devin Dan Pierre.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
There was this pretty overblown conversation rippling through some of
the fan base when Bird Fickland had such a great game, like, oh,
what does this mean? Is there a choice to be made?
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Here?
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Is Devon at one hundred percent or eighty five percent
or eighty percent? He comes out against Cincinnati and in
my opinion, shows why he's QB one. All respect to Bird,
who I think is talented and amazing and has an
incredible future. But I thought this was an important game
for Devin dan Pier, who I'm sure still wasn't one
hundred percent to come out and perform and make big plays.
(08:40):
How did he grade out against Cincinnati? And what was
it like, you know, making the call leading up to
the game to make sure he's.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
Ready to go. Yeah, you know devn Like you said, Bird,
we really love everything he's doing and his ability and
a bright future that we're really excited at it about.
But Devin just you know the point he's at. He
(09:06):
just makes great decisions at such a really high rate
in the run game, in the past game, with everything
we ask him to do. And so it's kind of
an ideal situation for us and for Bird to be
able to be developing and to be learning from Dev
who's playing at such a high level. And that's the
(09:28):
best thing you could do for a young quarterback is
to watch a guy really operate and play at a
high level and just try to learn all that information,
all that knowledge. So when it's your turn and your opportunity,
you're able to kind of do your thing, but you're
you're learning by watching it done really well versus learning,
(09:52):
and you know, when it's not being done well, learn
a much harder environment. And so no, it's great having
Dev back. And you know, we're kind of able to
do everything with Dev because he's just makes such great
decisions the throw game, the run game, and all the
different kind of options and decisions we put into his
(10:14):
lap to lead the offense.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
I asked Devin this, and I wanted to get your
perspective on it, because obviously you coach the position, you
played the position, and the sexy thing in college football
and at all levels of football that a quarterback can do.
You know, when you throw that perfect tight spiral deep
ball that you drop in the bucket, everyone stadium goes crazy,
and from a grander perspective, it's like, oh, yeah, you
(10:38):
can take the top off of defense. These are the
chunk plays that we've been asking for all year. We
saw a couple of really really great, what I would
consider deep throws against Cincinnati, and then we also see
where it looks like maybe the ball dies a little bit,
or maybe the timing on the throw is a little
bit off, so a receiver has to slow down or
has to come back to it, And like I said,
(10:59):
I asked Dev about it, and he said, well, sometimes
when it's you know, like a big body guy like
a JJ Buchan, and maybe you want it to be
more of a jump ball, maybe you're trying to get
a pass interference call. It would appear that throwing the
deep ball is still something that could be a little
bit more consistent. How can that happen in these final
three games for Devin? Is it a timing thing? Is
(11:21):
it an arm strength thing? Again, I'm getting real nitpicky here,
but as everything else is going really really well, is
that something that well?
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Of course it is something that can improve. How can
it improve?
Speaker 4 (11:34):
Yeah? I mean you definitely want to be able to
have that element because you'd love to be great at everything,
you know, so, and it's quite a few factors. You know,
It's both being able to get open and then if
they're open, the protection being good to allow the QB
(11:54):
to make that throw, and then the QB making that throw.
And so it takes all those things coming together. And
you know, when you look at the deep throws, when
you're throwing the ball down the field, if you're able
to be thirty percent, that's actually pretty good in college football.
You know, you don't count on those deep shots being
fifty hits, and so that's been a weakness of our offense.
(12:23):
And you know, at times we make some strategy and
had some good plays in the games, and then at times,
you know, we're just missing them and in each one.
You know, one time we had kind of a couple receivers.
You know, we had a receiver do the wrong thing,
so we got two guys in them in a not
a good spot in a time we could have thrown
(12:44):
a better ball. And then in a time we had
a protection issue, So so defenders getting up and getting
a hit on the quarterback as we're throwing that thing.
So you know, it's a little bit of all those
things coming together. But we got to continue to take
our our shots when we can and continue to try
(13:04):
to get better at that and make progress because it
would sure help. You know, the more you can do that, man,
it just really opens up the offense for everything else.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Did you know Ryan Davis could be this level of
a producer at the power for level. I mean, I
assume you had some inkling or he wouldn't be here
with you. But he's not just like the Utah leading receivers.
He's in at top ten in the conference right now.
Speaker 4 (13:33):
You know, absolutely felt really confident rd would come in
and be the player that you see, really reliable, consistent,
get open versus whatever the coverages and make plays. You know,
I did not envision him being our number one guy,
(13:55):
and you know I would I would have envisioned him
being more a part of you know, you're a receiving
cores and he's doing his job at a really high level,
but you're also you know, hoping there's two or three
other guys doing their job at a really high level too.
The way it's worked out, he's just become more of
a primary guy and thankfully, you know, we've been able
(14:19):
to count on him and he's come through at a
really high level. So that part doesn't surprise me. I
just would have thought maybe there's another guy or too,
that's in that same boat that would be getting some
of those catches as well, and instead it just meant
more more go to rdue because he's coming to at
a really high level and getting the job done at
a really high level that nobody else has kind of emerged,
(14:43):
you know, to do that as well.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
I know that winning the game is the most important thing,
and it became pretty apparent, I mean by the third
quarter that your youths were going to win this game.
When you get to that level, is there a situation
where you're like, all right, I want to get this
guy into the zone. I want to get this particular
guy who's been really showing out of practice or has
had a rough road to hear.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
I want to I want to get this guy involved.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
And I'm thinking of Creed within more specifically here because
you know, Coach Witt mentioned in the in the press
conference that, hey, this guy, we thought it was going
to be a bigger impact earlier in the season. He's
been battling some stuff. But he got in the end zone.
His teammates were blowing up on the sideline, Cellar. I mean,
it felt like it was like a win, not only
(15:28):
for him personally, but kind of for everyone that he
got out there. And I know he's not the only one,
but he's the example I'm using right now.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
Yeah, No, you love because you love that for Creed
because he is a he's a great kid. He works
hard every day and you can tell by the reaction
of his teammates how much he's liked and respected, and
you know, I envisioned Creed being able to take over
(15:56):
that ard roll, you know, going forward with with the
type of player he is, and so like Bird learning
from Dat at a high level, you know, that same
type of thing is going on with with Creed learning
from our D. And when that was opportunities come man,
(16:18):
he made the most of them and broke a bunch
of tackles and scored and they were it was awesome
to see. And like you said, he's there's a few
things he's been working on improving and uh and he's
gotten a lot better at those things. And hopefully we
continue to make strides that way. Because one thing you
don't take you kind of don't realize with r D.
(16:38):
You see the production catching the ball is he's doing
that same type of thing in the run game, like
he did a lot of that perimeter blocking. That's letting
r D and way Sean, sorry, letting way Sean and
Bray have a lot of the runs that they're having.
So he's just as valuable in run blocking as he
is and that everything he's doing catching the ball, no
(17:01):
no block, no rock.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Is that something that you tell your wide receivers coach.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
That that is I've never said that, but I definitely
have heard the wide receiver coach say that quite a bit.
So that's definitely a coach Simon saying.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
All right, let's I've been asking you to look backward
to the Cincinnati game and what's happened to this point.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
Let's talk about moving forward.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Three games left in the season, coming off of bye week,
in a really good spot and a Baylor matchup. That
this is a bipolar team when when you watch what
Baylor is capable of, the best version of them can
beat anyone in this league. The worst version of them
looks like they they belong.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
In the FCS.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
So I don't know what you're going to get, But
what are you seeing on tape from the Baylor Bears.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
No, they are. They're really good defense. I mean they
have when you put the tape on, every guy looks
like a really good big twelve player, I mean, and
they have size, they have length, they have athleticism. Up front,
they're really strong and stout. The backers can really move
(18:10):
and cover ground, are athletic, and the secondary guys are
really I mean really good cover guys. So they're a
really good, good unit. Like you said, they you know
when you watch the tape, they can beat anybody any week,
but they've been up and down and they've lost to
some good teams. So we got to be ready to
(18:30):
play our a game because it's they have good players,
they have sound scheme and structure, and you got to
earn everything you get against them.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
How well do you know Dave A. Randa?
Speaker 2 (18:45):
I mean, he was he was here in Utah for
a while, obviously, and there's a lot of connections coaching
staff to coaching staff.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
How well do you know coach Randa?
Speaker 4 (18:55):
I don't know them well at all. Quite a few
of the defensive guys that were with over the years
are I know, close to them because they're in that
same tree and the scheme and those things. So I
know of them, but I don't know them well at all.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
We have two sets of college football playoff rankings right now,
and I know you're focused on the game by game
in the week by week, but you also can't ignore
what's happening in the landscape of college football, and the
Committee so far has shown a lot of respect to
the Big Twelve Conference and specifically a lot of respect
to Utah right now ranked thirteenth for the second straight week,
(19:33):
kind of right on the outside of that playoff picture.
Looking in, it feels like as difficult a path as
there is to the conference championship game, there still might
be a path in some scenarios to the college football playoff.
I know what the players are supposed to think about
it and say about it. How do you as a
coaching staff process this.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
No, I mean it's when you look at it, it's
a great spot, and we just got to take care
of business. Obviously, the next game is the most important game,
but it's exciting because doors and opportunities are open in there,
and we just got to take care of business and
(20:14):
and approach each game that way.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
You're seventy five through your first season as the offensive
coordinator at the University of Utah. Has it gone faster
slower kind of how you thought it was going to go.
I mean, I'm asking you to be reflective when that's
not exactly the job for a college football coach.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
But you're three quarters the way through.
Speaker 4 (20:37):
Yeah, it's interesting. It's in every season is a little
bit this way. In some ways, you're shocked you're going
on game ten, like it's just flown by that fast.
And then in other ways, it's like UCLA seems like
it was two years ago. So it's both it's flown
by and it's like a lot has happened in the
(20:58):
course of these you know, going into game ten, so
you kind of fill both extremes of that.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Do you feel like your offense is still growing, developing,
you're able to add things, or is it more like, hey,
we're in a groove. Everyone knows the playbook, everyone knows
the meat and the potatoes, and that's what's going to
win us these games.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
A little bit of both. I mean, I think our
identity has totally emerged of who we are, where we're at,
but that's been a process, you know, that has not
been just clear from day one. That's just taking time
through the season, and as things anything changes, you know,
that continues to adapt. And of course you're always aware
(21:43):
of what you're doing and how teams are defending you
and what you're putting on tape to have complementary answers to.
But you know, your identity has taken shape, and so
it's a matter of really leaning into that and making
(22:04):
that better and better and better. As we go versus
trying to do some other totally different, you know thing.
Our identities emerged and it's a matter of making that sharper,
more focused and performing better.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
This will be the last thing before I let you go.
How close is that identity to what you thought it
was going to be when you took this job, when
you first started to meet your players and the other
coaches on your staff. Is this how you thought it
would look when that identity took shake?
Speaker 4 (22:37):
Not exactly. I mean, it definitely emerged through the process
of who you know, what, how guys are playing, and
what you can count on and all of that. So
it's definitely emerged big picture wise. You knew the old
(22:57):
line was the strength. You knew Devon and the really
good player he is, So from that standpoint, no one
would be a good running team. Is not a surprise.
But all the other things of how it's played out,
you know, that just unfolds as you're going through the
(23:17):
process and it happens. But so, yeah, a little bit
of both with that.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Coach will turn you loose. I always appreciate your time.
Thanks for jumping on again.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
Yeah, absolutely good to be on with you.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Jason Beck Offensive coordinator at the University of Utah. Little
Coordinator's Corner on ESPN seven and ninety two one FM,
Let's dive into this week's matchup. In the Coordinator's Corner
on the Sean O'Connell Show, Oh see chats with Morgan
Scaley a new offensive coordinator, Jason Beck. Every week of
the Utah football season, the Coordinator's Corner is brought to
you by America First Credit Union on your home of
the Utes, ESPN seven hundred at ninety two to one,
alf am Yo Sean O'Connell Show.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
We have the pleasure of checking in with the man
calling the offense and plays at the University of Utah,
Jason Beck, offensive Coordinator, brought to you by our friends
over at America First Credit Union.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Coach Beck, Welcome to the show. How are you, sir?
Speaker 4 (00:42):
Doing good? Good to be on with you.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Always enjoy these conversations. Been looking forward to it now
for a couple of weeks. You guys obviously coming off
the bye week. What did you do to maximize this
bye week?
Speaker 4 (00:55):
You know, we uh with the point of the season
we're at, we're able to get to jumpstart on Baylor
and get some extra practices in with them, but also
be able to rest up and get guys healthy or
have been banged up. So it's kind of those two things.
Get as fresh as possible, but also take advantage of
(01:16):
the extra time to be as prepared as possible.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
It might feel like a distant memory because of how
much work you have to put it on Baylor, but
I hope you'll indulge me with some conversation about the
Cincinnati win, big win demolition by your team. It felt
like the youths performed well in all three phases. Your
offense incredibly productive, the run game once again just dominating
the line of scrimmage, big chunk plays, consistent yardage, and
(01:45):
way Sean Parker, Kyle Whittingham said, has kind of emerged,
separated himself a little bit from the pack. If you
go all the way back to you week one or
the first time we had this conversation, is that something
you thought might happen with one of your running backs
when you got to this juncture in the season, you know.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
Like you said, it does the last few weeks, he's
kind of started to separate, where early on it was
much more interchangeable between him and Nacari and the other
running backs. But yeah, it feels like Waishan's just been
getting stronger as the year's going on. And is really
doing a nice job. So we're always in that mindset,
(02:26):
in that mode of ride the hot hand. If somebody's
playing really well, just kind of keep it, getting more work,
more touches, and he's been doing that the last few weeks,
and it's it's been great to see for our offense also.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
I mean, we already had plenty of conversation about the
Colorado game and the dominant run performance there, but then
to see it continue against the Cincinnati team, that, let's
be honest, is just they're a lot tougher out. They
were a higher ranked team, They've had a lot more
success this year than the Buffalos have had, and so
to see your offensive line really dominate the line of
(03:04):
scrimmage in this game as well, I mean, it's it's
what we talked about all year, the capability of this
group in particular, and it seemed like they are. They're
really firing on all cylinders. Now you would hope that's
the case, and lucky enough, they're mostly healthy. We'll get
to that here in just a second, but when you
watch the film back, how did your offensive line perform
(03:24):
in the Cincinnati game.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
Yeah, they've really set the tone for our offense, both
in how well they're playing, how physical they're playing, but
also how consistently and high performing they are. You know,
it's not week to week you don't you're not quite
sure what you're going to get, which is kind of
(03:47):
a case with some groups or some players and the
old line. They kind of show up every week in
are consistently high performers and set the tone for our
offense upt And so yeah, we're just continuing to follow
those guys, both leading h through their play, but also
(04:13):
they're that way in practice. They show up every day,
they work hard, and they set the tone from a
leadership standpoint.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
We saw against Cincinnati Spencerfano temporarily, thankfully temporarily a little
bit banged up, went into the tent on the sideline,
and there were I mean, I was sitting in the
stands for this game, and there were you know, there's
like this this nervous murmur that rolls through watching him
kind of be in help to the sideline by his teammates.
(04:42):
But uh, he ended up finishing the game, So no harm,
no foul. I suppose when you become aware of the
fact that a guy like that, a guy of that
importance and that talent is limping off the field, but
you still have to, you know, call the next play.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
How do you handle it right?
Speaker 4 (04:59):
Like you said, you kind of hold your breath there
for a sec. You obviously got to move on and
justin go from there. But fortunately he was able to
It was minor. You know, he's able to keep playing.
And also fortunately we're able to build a nice fourth
(05:19):
quarter lead where we could pull the one old line
and then timed out nice with the bye week to
be able to give him some extra days to get
helling up and fresher for this Baylor run. But he's
kind of battled a few things throughout the season, and
(05:41):
you want to know because he just he's handled it
so well and shows up and plays each Saturday at
such a high level.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
I want to bite down on that here for a second,
because there is this this sort of sentiment in the
modernization of college football, all of us old timers like, oh,
they're not as tough as they used to be and
everyone rests now and it's obviously prevalent in pro sports
and things like that, but we it's an ignorance based
opinion in most cases, like we don't realize how much
(06:12):
guys are playing through and the injury report is supposed
to give a little bit more insight to that. But
if these guys are like you're saying, if they're just
showing up and doing it anyway, there's no reason for
them to be on an injury report. So we've seen
this Utah football team in past seasons be really snake
bit with the injury situation. But your guys this year,
(06:35):
and a lot of guys this year, seem like even
when the bumps and bruises are accumulating, they're just they're
just performing through it. And I guess the question is
how common has that been this year where you you know,
you know, a guy's not one hundred percent, but he's
just going to bite down on the mouthpiece and go anyway.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Yeah, I mean, that's yeah, always the case. Guys are
playing with and you know, they're they're getting it out
through practice in the course of the week to get
ready and they're playing on Saturdays not being at their best.
And so that's more guys than not, you know, more
guys than not are in that situation of like have
(07:13):
something really hampering them, but they're playing through it. You know,
we've had a few guys we've lost for the season,
which is the part of every year, and it's been hard.
You know, you kind of move on to the next
guy and try to adapt to what that looks like.
(07:35):
But for the most part, we've been you know, we've
been fortunate that we've had had a lot of our
best players playing every week.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Jason Becker is our guests here for Coordinator's Corner on
The Sean O'Connell Show, brought to you by America First
Credit Union, calling plays for this Utah offense to put
up forty five points last time out, and of course
fifty plus against the Colorado Buffalo's scoring at a really
high clip, Coach, and doing so on the backs of
guys that, at least in a couple of cases you.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
Know really well. Devin Dan Pierre.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
There was this pretty overblown conversation rippling through some of
the fan base when Bird Fickland had such a great game, like, oh,
what does this mean? Is there a choice to be made?
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Here?
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Is Devon at one hundred percent or eighty five percent
or eighty percent? He comes out against Cincinnati and in
my opinion, shows why he's QB one. All respect to Bird,
who I think is talented and amazing and has an
incredible future. But I thought this was an important game
for Devin dan Pier, who I'm sure still wasn't one
hundred percent to come out and perform and make big plays.
(08:40):
How did he grade out against Cincinnati? And what was
it like, you know, making the call leading up to
the game to make sure he's.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
Ready to go. Yeah, you know devn Like you said, Bird,
we really love everything he's doing and his ability and
a bright future that we're really excited at it about.
But Devin just you know the point he's at. He
(09:06):
just makes great decisions at such a really high rate
in the run game, in the past game, with everything
we ask him to do. And so it's kind of
an ideal situation for us and for Bird to be
able to be developing and to be learning from Dev
who's playing at such a high level. And that's the
(09:28):
best thing you could do for a young quarterback is
to watch a guy really operate and play at a
high level and just try to learn all that information,
all that knowledge. So when it's your turn and your opportunity,
you're able to kind of do your thing, but you're
you're learning by watching it done really well versus learning,
(09:52):
and you know, when it's not being done well, learn
a much harder environment. And so no, it's great having
Dev back. And you know, we're kind of able to
do everything with Dev because he's just makes such great
decisions the throw game, the run game, and all the
different kind of options and decisions we put into his
(10:14):
lap to lead the offense.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
I asked Devin this, and I wanted to get your
perspective on it, because obviously you coach the position, you
played the position, and the sexy thing in college football
and at all levels of football that a quarterback can do.
You know, when you throw that perfect tight spiral deep
ball that you drop in the bucket, everyone stadium goes crazy,
and from a grander perspective, it's like, oh, yeah, you
(10:38):
can take the top off of defense. These are the
chunk plays that we've been asking for all year. We
saw a couple of really really great, what I would
consider deep throws against Cincinnati, and then we also see
where it looks like maybe the ball dies a little bit,
or maybe the timing on the throw is a little
bit off, so a receiver has to slow down or
has to come back to it, And like I said,
(10:59):
I asked Dev about it, and he said, well, sometimes
when it's you know, like a big body guy like
a JJ Buchan, and maybe you want it to be
more of a jump ball, maybe you're trying to get
a pass interference call. It would appear that throwing the
deep ball is still something that could be a little
bit more consistent. How can that happen in these final
three games for Devin? Is it a timing thing? Is
(11:21):
it an arm strength thing? Again, I'm getting real nitpicky here,
but as everything else is going really really well, is
that something that well?
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Of course it is something that can improve. How can
it improve?
Speaker 4 (11:34):
Yeah? I mean you definitely want to be able to
have that element because you'd love to be great at everything,
you know, so, and it's quite a few factors. You know,
It's both being able to get open and then if
they're open, the protection being good to allow the QB
(11:54):
to make that throw, and then the QB making that throw.
And so it takes all those things coming together. And
you know, when you look at the deep throws, when
you're throwing the ball down the field, if you're able
to be thirty percent, that's actually pretty good in college football.
You know, you don't count on those deep shots being
fifty hits, and so that's been a weakness of our offense.
(12:23):
And you know, at times we make some strategy and
had some good plays in the games, and then at times,
you know, we're just missing them and in each one.
You know, one time we had kind of a couple receivers.
You know, we had a receiver do the wrong thing,
so we got two guys in them in a not
a good spot in a time we could have thrown
(12:44):
a better ball. And then in a time we had
a protection issue, So so defenders getting up and getting
a hit on the quarterback as we're throwing that thing.
So you know, it's a little bit of all those
things coming together. But we got to continue to take
our our shots when we can and continue to try
(13:04):
to get better at that and make progress because it
would sure help. You know, the more you can do that, man,
it just really opens up the offense for everything else.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Did you know Ryan Davis could be this level of
a producer at the power for level. I mean, I
assume you had some inkling or he wouldn't be here
with you. But he's not just like the Utah leading receivers.
He's in at top ten in the conference right now.
Speaker 4 (13:33):
You know, absolutely felt really confident rd would come in
and be the player that you see, really reliable, consistent,
get open versus whatever the coverages and make plays. You know,
I did not envision him being our number one guy,
(13:55):
and you know I would I would have envisioned him
being more a part of you know, you're a receiving
cores and he's doing his job at a really high level,
but you're also you know, hoping there's two or three
other guys doing their job at a really high level too.
The way it's worked out, he's just become more of
a primary guy and thankfully, you know, we've been able
(14:19):
to count on him and he's come through at a
really high level. So that part doesn't surprise me. I
just would have thought maybe there's another guy or too,
that's in that same boat that would be getting some
of those catches as well, and instead it just meant
more more go to rdue because he's coming to at
a really high level and getting the job done at
a really high level that nobody else has kind of emerged,
(14:43):
you know, to do that as well.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
I know that winning the game is the most important thing,
and it became pretty apparent, I mean by the third
quarter that your youths were going to win this game.
When you get to that level, is there a situation
where you're like, all right, I want to get this
guy into the zone. I want to get this particular
guy who's been really showing out of practice or has
had a rough road to hear.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
I want to I want to get this guy involved.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
And I'm thinking of Creed within more specifically here because
you know, Coach Witt mentioned in the in the press
conference that, hey, this guy, we thought it was going
to be a bigger impact earlier in the season. He's
been battling some stuff. But he got in the end zone.
His teammates were blowing up on the sideline, Cellar. I mean,
it felt like it was like a win, not only
(15:28):
for him personally, but kind of for everyone that he
got out there. And I know he's not the only one,
but he's the example I'm using right now.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
Yeah, No, you love because you love that for Creed
because he is a he's a great kid. He works
hard every day and you can tell by the reaction
of his teammates how much he's liked and respected, and
you know, I envisioned Creed being able to take over
(15:56):
that ard roll, you know, going forward with with the
type of player he is, and so like Bird learning
from Dat at a high level, you know, that same
type of thing is going on with with Creed learning
from our D. And when that was opportunities come man,
(16:18):
he made the most of them and broke a bunch
of tackles and scored and they were it was awesome
to see. And like you said, he's there's a few
things he's been working on improving and uh and he's
gotten a lot better at those things. And hopefully we
continue to make strides that way. Because one thing you
don't take you kind of don't realize with r D.
(16:38):
You see the production catching the ball is he's doing
that same type of thing in the run game, like
he did a lot of that perimeter blocking. That's letting
r D and way Sean, sorry, letting way Sean and
Bray have a lot of the runs that they're having.
So he's just as valuable in run blocking as he
is and that everything he's doing catching the ball, no
(17:01):
no block, no rock.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Is that something that you tell your wide receivers coach.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
That that is I've never said that, but I definitely
have heard the wide receiver coach say that quite a bit.
So that's definitely a coach Simon saying.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
All right, let's I've been asking you to look backward
to the Cincinnati game and what's happened to this point.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
Let's talk about moving forward.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Three games left in the season, coming off of bye week,
in a really good spot and a Baylor matchup. That
this is a bipolar team when when you watch what
Baylor is capable of, the best version of them can
beat anyone in this league. The worst version of them
looks like they they belong.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
In the FCS.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
So I don't know what you're going to get, But
what are you seeing on tape from the Baylor Bears.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
No, they are. They're really good defense. I mean they
have when you put the tape on, every guy looks
like a really good big twelve player, I mean, and
they have size, they have length, they have athleticism. Up front,
they're really strong and stout. The backers can really move
(18:10):
and cover ground, are athletic, and the secondary guys are
really I mean really good cover guys. So they're a
really good, good unit. Like you said, they you know
when you watch the tape, they can beat anybody any week,
but they've been up and down and they've lost to
some good teams. So we got to be ready to
(18:30):
play our a game because it's they have good players,
they have sound scheme and structure, and you got to
earn everything you get against them.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
How well do you know Dave A. Randa?
Speaker 2 (18:45):
I mean, he was he was here in Utah for
a while, obviously, and there's a lot of connections coaching
staff to coaching staff.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
How well do you know coach Randa?
Speaker 4 (18:55):
I don't know them well at all. Quite a few
of the defensive guys that were with over the years
are I know, close to them because they're in that
same tree and the scheme and those things. So I
know of them, but I don't know them well at all.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
We have two sets of college football playoff rankings right now,
and I know you're focused on the game by game
in the week by week, but you also can't ignore
what's happening in the landscape of college football, and the
Committee so far has shown a lot of respect to
the Big Twelve Conference and specifically a lot of respect
to Utah right now ranked thirteenth for the second straight week,
(19:33):
kind of right on the outside of that playoff picture.
Looking in, it feels like as difficult a path as
there is to the conference championship game, there still might
be a path in some scenarios to the college football playoff.
I know what the players are supposed to think about
it and say about it. How do you as a
coaching staff process this.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
No, I mean it's when you look at it, it's
a great spot, and we just got to take care
of business. Obviously, the next game is the most important game,
but it's exciting because doors and opportunities are open in there,
and we just got to take care of business and
(20:14):
and approach each game that way.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
You're seventy five through your first season as the offensive
coordinator at the University of Utah. Has it gone faster
slower kind of how you thought it was going to go.
I mean, I'm asking you to be reflective when that's
not exactly the job for a college football coach.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
But you're three quarters the way through.
Speaker 4 (20:37):
Yeah, it's interesting. It's in every season is a little
bit this way. In some ways, you're shocked you're going
on game ten, like it's just flown by that fast.
And then in other ways, it's like UCLA seems like
it was two years ago. So it's both it's flown
by and it's like a lot has happened in the
(20:58):
course of these you know, going into game ten, so
you kind of fill both extremes of that.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Do you feel like your offense is still growing, developing,
you're able to add things, or is it more like, hey,
we're in a groove. Everyone knows the playbook, everyone knows
the meat and the potatoes, and that's what's going to
win us these games.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
A little bit of both. I mean, I think our
identity has totally emerged of who we are, where we're at,
but that's been a process, you know, that has not
been just clear from day one. That's just taking time
through the season, and as things anything changes, you know,
that continues to adapt. And of course you're always aware
(21:43):
of what you're doing and how teams are defending you
and what you're putting on tape to have complementary answers to.
But you know, your identity has taken shape, and so
it's a matter of really leaning into that and making
(22:04):
that better and better and better. As we go versus
trying to do some other totally different, you know thing.
Our identities emerged and it's a matter of making that sharper,
more focused and performing better.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
This will be the last thing before I let you go.
How close is that identity to what you thought it
was going to be when you took this job, when
you first started to meet your players and the other
coaches on your staff. Is this how you thought it
would look when that identity took shake?
Speaker 4 (22:37):
Not exactly. I mean, it definitely emerged through the process
of who you know, what, how guys are playing, and
what you can count on and all of that. So
it's definitely emerged big picture wise. You knew the old
(22:57):
line was the strength. You knew Devon and the really
good player he is, So from that standpoint, no one
would be a good running team. Is not a surprise.
But all the other things of how it's played out,
you know, that just unfolds as you're going through the
(23:17):
process and it happens. But so, yeah, a little bit
of both with that.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Coach will turn you loose. I always appreciate your time.
Thanks for jumping on again.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
Yeah, absolutely good to be on with you.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Jason Beck Offensive coordinator at the University of Utah. Little
Coordinator's Corner on ESPN seven and ninety two one FM,
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