September 8, 2025 • 28 mins
Catch “The Drive with Spence Checketts” from 2 pm to 6 pm weekdays on ESPN 700 & 92.1 FM. Produced by Porter Larsen. The latest on the Utah Jazz, Real Salt Lake, Utes, BYU + more sports storylines.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Scott Mitchell stops by for his weekly visit on a
Monday afternoon. Scott, my first question right out of the
gates is what's your best Monday night football memory as
a player? What's your worst Monday night football injury's memory
as a player?
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Oh? Man, that's a great question. And I love Monday
night football and had some awesome games. We started going
three in Detroit. We were playing the World champions forty
nine ers toasted him. Went to Dallas playing the reigning
world champ Dallas Cowboys beat him in overtime. Those were
some big Monday night games, huge, huge games, so they
(00:40):
were so fun. I think the one, though, that I
loved the most was the very first one, and it
was when I was playing for the Miami Dolphins. It's
one Monday night football kind of reigined the world. I mean,
it was the biggest of big deals to be on
Monday night football. And I drove to the stadium and
the blimp was playing the stadium and we were playing
(01:02):
the Raiders, and it was like, oh wow, this is different,
and it was just it was just and I didn't
even play in that game, but it was just, Okay,
this is the pageantry of Monday night football and and
just really got to take sport. So yeah, and I
was fortunate to do that. Probably worse Monday night was
I think we played in San Diego one year and
(01:27):
we lost that game. I didn't play very good in
that game, so but I was I was pretty good
on Monday Night. I actually like Monday night football.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
So as a player.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
So as a player it does land differently, like as
a consumer you watch Monday night football, it feels different
and feels like a production and a big deal. As
a guy that played on Monday night football under those lights,
it does have an extra level of gravitas.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Oh one thousand percent. I mean, look, you know when
the stage your front and center on the biggest stage,
and that was that was really the biggest stage in
the regular seat and for the NFL, and everyone watched,
you know, there weren't any other games going on. It
was after hours, you know, so people weren't at work,
and in fact it was It was kind of funny
(02:11):
in Detroit because because it was late at night, you know,
it started at nine o'clock on the on the East coast,
and so it gave people, you know, a good a
good day to kind of get liquored up. And on
a normal Sunday you'd have like one, maybe two fights
on a one o'clock game. On Monday. Fight on Monday
night it was at least five, and it'd go to
(02:33):
maybe seven fights would breakout in the stands on a
Monday night. But oh gosh, Monday night was just was
was awesome.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Good stuff.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Monday Night football tonight between the Bears and the Vikings
comes away in just a bed. You can hear it
on our station. All right, Scott, let's move over the eats. Now,
I'm gonna ask you a question. I've asked a couple
of guests today through two games. What do you feel
like you know about this football team.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
You know that they're there's guys that are going to
consistently perform for you. You know they're always going to
be there. You know this defense is going to show up.
You know that. You know you're gonna see you know,
the stars have a line. The stars are gonna come out,
They're gonna make plays for you. You're gonna have guys
that make plays defensively, you know, and they haven't totally
(03:21):
all shown up yet, but you know, Lander Barton is
going to be there. You saw a little bit of
what Jonah Hall Is looks like this year from from
this last week. Uh, there's you know, they're just they're
just really really solid. You're going to get a great
pass rush this year from this team. Uh, you didn't
see that a lot. And they're just so deep, you know,
is they're not relying on a guy or a guy
(03:42):
and a half on that edge to get to get
a pressure on the quarterback. You're gonna have a quarterback
that's gonna be elusive. Uh, he's going to keep you
in a lot of plays offensively, and you you know,
you have a very very deep and and very solid
offensive line. You What I know is I just know
(04:04):
that this team is going to compete every week to
win every game really that they play the rest of
this year.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Through two games, Scott, what are you still hoping to
learn about Utah football?
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Well? And I think they were trying to figure it
out a little bit on on Saturday. I don't I
don't know if they're If they are or I am
comfortable with with the just the plane throw game. You know,
no play action, no rollout, no the drop back and
(04:40):
read the coverage and make a throw. I don't. I'm
not comfortable with that. I don't think they are. I
don't think it's Devin dampier strengths. I think he can
do it. I don't think it is going to be
something that they're going to totally rely on. I think
they're still trying to figure out. You know, everyone talks
about the receivers and you know, getting the ball to
(05:02):
them at which which I you know, it's still somewhat
of a question mark, you know, but Ryan Davis looked good,
Tobias meriwether they got the ball to those guys. I
don't know that Devin Damn Pierfields is comfortable with it.
So it's it's him. It's it's him as much as
it is them, And I don't know it yet. I
don't know if they are comfortable with it.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
So let's hone in on the quarterback, the position you
played at the highest of levels. Just I'll last you
kind of the same question through two games, the.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Good and the bad, about Devin.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
What what you've liked and what you're still hoping to
either learn about him or see him progress with?
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Well? What what Devin does so extremely well? Is he
just and it's a sup and it's a superpower. Is
he he just he avoids sacks. I mean, he did
get sacked the one time, but that's just very very uncharacteristic.
It's not going to happen a lot during the year.
He's going to extend a lot of play. He's super,
(06:01):
super elusive. Uh And and I just have really liked that.
I love how just his personality, his persona and I've
described it from the time he got here is this
is this outward facing personality and and it's infectious. And
he wants to be under the lights. He wants to
(06:23):
be the quarterback. He wants to be the guy that
makes plays. And his demeanor is something that I think
his teammates and coaches have certainly latched onto. He's he's
a guy that's uh, you know, loves playing football. And
it just shows it's still the thing, and it's it's
(06:45):
really it's throwing the ball in a traditional in the pocket,
you know here, drop back, read it, and throw it
kind of thing. It's still a work in progress, and
I mean it's the one thing, I guess, you know,
to answer your question, but it's not one that I'm
overly concerned about because you can generate and create great
(07:06):
offense and you don't have to do that. I mean,
Tyler Huntley wasn't that kind of player. Neither was Cam Rising.
They weren't guys that were just going to sit in
the pocket, per se and throw. Maybe Cam a little
bit more than Tyler, But where they were really special
is just making plays when nothing was there. They were
really good at converting third downs and a lot of
(07:28):
times converting it on their own. And Devin's the same
type of players. So yeah, it's a concern, but it's
not a deal killer for me.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Offensive line continues to look the way that we all
thought that they would. Of course, Jaron Kump held out
for precautionary reasons. Just got to continue the conversation in
this same vein your impressions of this highly touted offensive
line through two football games so far.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Well, they've certainly lived up to the expectations, and they've
they've talked about the depth they have. They got eight
to ten guys that can really play. You know, I
think it almost looked like the twos were better than
the ones on Saturday across the board, not just on
the offensive line, but when they were interspersing a lot
of other players in that second half. You just didn't
(08:15):
see a drop off anywhere. But you know, and and
that's the way it was with that offensive line. And
typically you don't sub guys during a game with the
offensive line, and you don't want to. But if you
can have eight or nine guys, that's huge because you're
you're always going to get somebody nicked up. You're always
gonna you know, there's someone's gonna get hurt and a
(08:38):
lot of times, and you want to be able to
just go on and not have any you know, any changes.
You don't want to be limited because you're you really
are as limited as that week that weakest guy, and
you you you have to protect that guy if he's
if he's not up to stuff. And and I don't
think that's the case with this offensive line. So it's
(08:59):
just got incredible depth that just allows you to continue to, uh,
you know, play play your same offense and do everything
that you want to do.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
You reference your gentle concern about maybe not enough comfortability
with you know, just a classic passing game. Devin Dampier
after the game, then coach with this morning, we're gonna
play coaches comments. In a bit, UH talked about some
of the mental errors that manifested a little bit of
versus cal Poly. I started the show off with this guy.
(09:29):
You know, I just think human nature, and I want
you to talk about this as a former player.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
You go to the Rose Bowl, you smoke Ucla.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
It was one of the games on the opening weekend
that so many people were excited about because there were
so many duds and not great matchups. I don't think
Ucla is very good, but that's not the point of
what I'm asking you. These are young people, and I
just think it's like inevitable after an opening day's statement
like that to look ahead to cal Poly and just
think like we're gonna smoke them.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
And you know, to me, look, I I know the standard.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Is the standard, and the coaching staff ups up there
wants these players to be focused at all times.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
But a couple errors versus.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
A team you're gonna beat by a million really isn't
overly concerning to me other than your you know, expression
of what you said with the true passing game, any
anything else stand out that you want to see cleaned
up before conference play?
Speaker 2 (10:22):
What what's I guess the most shocking too. So to
answer your initial question about is it is it human
nature that we kind of get full of ourselves and
we look past the next week when it's when it's
like that, Yeah, of course, and does that happen, Yes,
did it happen probably to some degree. Uh, But the
(10:44):
other the other components that are kind of built into that,
and and I think it was a little bit of
the The offenses didn't run like a smooth, smooth machine,
you know, every single series, and and part of that
is I think I think that Utah was trying to
work on something not necessarily. Okay, let's just put this together,
(11:05):
like we're going to go for a drive, uh, and
march down the field. You know, when they played UCLA,
they've been preparing for that game for weeks for months
probably so, so they were really clear on what they
were going to run, and they were just they were
you know, it's like, man, we're gonna we're gonna fire
every bullet in our gun, and we've got our gun
loaded and we are we are ready to go. And
(11:27):
this week it's more like, hey, you know, we got
a couple of guys a little banged up. We're gonna
hold them out. We're gonna hold guys out that maybe,
you know, like Logan Fano could have played, but he didn't.
And so you see that as a player and you go, oh, well,
the coaches aren't really you know, they're not really taking
this game as seriously as and and so sure there's
(11:48):
a message one that's not you know, stated, but it's
a subliminal message that's sent out there, not intended to be,
but certainly the message is received. Coach is like, yeah,
this isn't you know, because if it's a if it's
a regular conference game, all those guys are playing, Sharon
Cump's playing, Logan Fano's playing, Local Faci's playing you know
(12:10):
whoever was sitting out. So that's one side of it.
But then the other side of it. Think of like
when you're in a golf tournament and you have a
practice round and you and there and you go out
in a practice round and you go, I need to
work on this aspect of my game. I'm not I
don't really care about my score today. I just I
care about developing this this part of my game. And
(12:31):
I think that was a little bit of what was
going on, and it was it was it was it
was a lot of throw uh and early in in
that game with Devin Dampier, and they were trying to
get the receivers involved and which is which is awesome.
And I just looked at it as, hey, they're in
a practice round and they're working on you know, their
short game right now or whatever, and and they're doing
it with with these wide receivers, and so it made
(12:54):
things a little disjointed that I don't think would normally
be there. And and really one of blessing to be
able to do that, to to go out and to
work on aspects of of your you know, your your
your your personnel and your repertoire and and and and
you know that that's that to me is why these
(13:15):
games are so awesome and they're such you know, there's
such a blessing to me, Spence. The biggest impressive thing
I've seen now from this, this whole Utah team is
how well they've executed in trying to get all these
guys involved, like you only have so many reps to
practice this every week, and and to get Hunter Andrews
(13:37):
involved in, to get Nate Johnson involved in Ryan Davis,
and to get to buy like you got to practice
those plays with those guys, and a lot of times,
you know, it takes a minute before you get comfortable
with that many guys. So that the execution offensively with
all the different things they've been trying to do so far,
(13:59):
I think is just it's been mind blowing to me
quite frankly.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Jason Beck is a play caller through two games, what
stands out, what's unique, what's new, what's different, what's special?
And you referenced a couple of times maybe keeping some
things close to the chest. You think, what you know,
once conference play starts, we're going to see even more
of an expanded Jason Beck playbook.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
So I talked to Kyle about this after the game
and just said, you know, how hard is it for
defensive coach with the type of things you're doing offensively
and you can't just dial into one player or one
you know, you can't dial into Devon Dampierre because Devin
dan Pier is surrounded by some you know, talent, and
and they don't care where they've got it. I mean,
(14:43):
they've they've brought guys over from the defense and smith Snowden, Jackson, Benny,
you know Blander. I mean those are three very talented guys,
and they're none of the offensive guys. And then you
throw in some of these other you know, these other
guys offensively. I mean Sean Parker, you know, he scored
two touchdowns in the game untouched. Uh and and and
(15:05):
he's I think he's just a great I love the
running backs, you know, to carry Parker and both of
both those guys. And so it makes it so hard
to dial into into one thing. And so what it
forces you to do is you kind of have to
go vanilla. You gotta just you just have to, you know,
(15:25):
just make sure you're just assignment free and you just
try to slow it down and just say, you know,
we're not going to stop it. Let's just you know,
eliminate big plays. Let's make them work for everything they have.
And that and that puts the vote, that puts the
the the advantage to the offense, because you know, you're
not gonna get a lot of crazy looks. And the
(15:46):
challenge to all that, though, is can you keep everyone happy?
You know? Can you keep you know, because there's guys
like Smith Snowden who are very talented or way Shan
he goes, you know, man, maybe I need more touches.
You know, I can't into a rhythm, I can't really
get to the best part of my game un until
I have too many touches. And so I think it's
(16:07):
a challenge to keep everyone happy and to keep everyone
productive and to really keep everyone's mind in the game
when you're spreading the ball around. And that's all about ego, right,
and so if everyone can kind of supplant their ego
and just go I'm going to just I'm gonna be
ready and I'm going to take my little shot, my
little one part of this offense, it can be a really,
(16:29):
really fun and really productive offense.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
I think a lot of conversations Scott, as you know,
and Scott Mitchell's with us on the program on a
Monday leading up to the season about the wide receiver
room and targets for Devin with your eye as a
guy who played the quarterback position, how's it going, what's
the progress? Are there one or two targets that Devin
is peer Devin appears a little bit more comfortable looking
(16:53):
at And are there any targets that as a former
quarterback you look at and say, yeah, they clearly understand
the assignment.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Well, I mean you saw you saw him get involved
with with Tobias Meriweather and and uh, you know, and
and again it's like you're getting him comfortable, You're getting
him assimilated into things. He's he's certainly a playmaker. And
and of course Ryan Davis who played with Jason and
(17:23):
and uh and Devin at at New Mexico, he really
popped off the page uh and and started to make
some some good plays. And you know, the guy that
they are really high on is Jackson Benny as a
wide receiver and and he and you haven't seen quite
seen that yet. And I think he's I think he's
(17:43):
one of the guys offensively in the wide receiver position
that you might see a lot of this week, and
you might see a lot of moving forward. And then
the guy who's been out is Gadrian Zipper And and
he's a real talent and and I hope to see
him come in because because with this offense, and one
(18:05):
of the things they talked about they missed in the
first game was was chunk plays. And it's crazy the
impact chunk plays have get. If you get one play
over fifteen yards in a drive, it's almost guaranteed you're
gonna score like that statistic is one of the most
telling signs of offensive production or chunk plays in a drive.
(18:29):
And they didn't have any in the first game, which
is what makes that game so impressive, and they did
have some last week. But these receivers with speed that
can get down the field can get you those chunk plays.
And they can do it because you tas so good
at running the football and that play action with chunk
throws is a deadly combination and yet to be seen
(18:50):
and could be a thing that they're kind of holding
back right now, maybe a little bit, but you know,
I'd love to see a little bit more of that.
You know, right now it's kind of been man, let's
just kind of get everyone touching the ball and hypercentage
throws and you know, easy throws, and so seeing some
of the down the field stuff is I think is
(19:12):
part of this offense evolving as it moves forward.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Interesting you bring that up, because I want to move
over to the running backs next, and way Sean has
both the longest rush and the longest reception of the
year fifty two yarder of the house. It's actually this
only catch all year than a forty three yarder as well,
but Nacari has more carries twenty three to way Sean's seventeen.
Devin is actually second on the team with twenty. So
with these two running backs, it's always good to have
(19:38):
a couple, right. I Mean, it's one thing if you
have Derek Henry and you have a bell cow. But
what do you like about these two and what are
the similarities, what are the differences, and what do you
make of the distribution so far?
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Well, I love I love the combination of these two guys.
And I've loved the downhill running like it's really impressive.
And guys who run down hill to me or guys
that are pretty confident, you'll find some guys that are
run down downhill and they're they're going to run into
the first thing they see. And and these guys have
(20:11):
you know, they just hit the hole so quickly. Of course,
you have an offensive line that really helps to find
where the hole is. But uh, you know, they're just
going to get you four or five yards pretty much
on every carry, and they and and yet you can
see that there's that ability to to bust you know,
(20:31):
a play for for a big game, and so and
they they haven't. I don't. I don't think that you know,
having a full game to really focus on that. I mean,
you did see it the one time with Wai Shan.
But I love these guys. I love how they run.
Uh and and the fact that you have two of them. Uh,
(20:52):
it's just it's just going to put constant pressure on defenses.
You're not going to get a guy that gets tired.
And and and Waiver says, the game goes on and
even as the season goes on, and they both have
such a great attitude about everything, you know that one
guy's not going to be complaining over the other one.
And they're They're one of those things you're gonna I
think you're going to see a lot of this year,
(21:13):
both of those guys, and they're going to bring a
lot of a lot of run production for this Yutah team.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
I'm hoping that we don't need to see the backup
quarterback other than when the game is over. But so far,
when we have seen the backup quarterback, it has been
Bird Ficklin and not Isaac Wilson. Coach Witz spoke both
postgame then today about the potential of preserving Isaac's redshirt,
which I don't even know that matters in this day
and age of college football. But what's your understanding of
(21:39):
the dynamic right now as far as the QB two situation.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Well, if that's the case, you know with uh and
and that's the reason that they were going with Bird
because I thought it was more of, well, we're going
to run the football more now, and I think Bird,
for Fickland is a better runner than than Isaac is
and and so that that was what I thought was happening.
But then you watch him get out there and he's
(22:04):
just running the offense like normal and running it like
a freaking superstar. I mean, man, I'd liked his arm
in spring and through camp, but to see it show
up and and it's very accurate through the ball, very well.
M's on the ball better than Devin. Might be a
better pure passer than Devin is, but you know, just
(22:28):
doesn't have the experience to me what I saw, And
I you know, I said it when it happened. I said,
this is this is the future of Utah football right here.
I mean, I wouldn't even say that they found a backup.
I think they found a super a new a new star.
Or future star in this offense because he he fits
it so well and and it was just impressive to
(22:49):
see how, you know, how he handled kind of every
situation he was in. But but that kid's talented.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
I don't know this for sure, but I think there's
probably me on this bone. During your illustrious career at
the University of Utah, did you ever make the trip
to Laramie, Wyoming?
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Okay, Spence, I've been trying to figure out how I
can miss this game. I've never had a good day
in Laramie, Wyoming, and that includes when I wasn't playing football.
I've actually been through Laramie several times driving, and I
kid you not every single time Blizzard almost shutting down.
(23:30):
I eighty when I've driven through Laramie, Wyoming. I spent
a month there, one night in a hotel, and and
just not really great memories of Laramie. I just shake
my head. I've shook my head for years. I think
we had the COVID year. Maybe it was this game
(23:51):
got it got canceled at one time, and I was like,
cancel it, never bring it back again. That being said,
I think there's a great test for you to because
it's a very hostile place. It's a it's it's a
tough road environment. It's a good opponent you're facing. It
will be a good last tune up to get you
ready for conference play. And and it's not that far away,
(24:14):
you know, So it's a it's an easy road trips
as from a from a you know, to wear and
tear on a on a team traveling. But you know,
so if if if the team's going to show up
and they got to show up and show out, then
then I do as well. Uh they look, Yeah, I'm
not a I'm not a fan of Laramie Wyoming. Uh
(24:35):
none of it excites me. But we're gonna go. We're
gonna go get or done.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
I appreciate the enthusiasm before us let you lose. What
should we hope Saturday looks like? I know you say
quality opponent, Scott, but Utah is a twenty five point favorite.
Uh so I want to hear from you what we
think Saturday should look like. If you're a Utah football
fan and then attendant to the question, According to the numbers,
(25:00):
none of these three teams that Utah will play in
non con are very good.
Speaker 3 (25:03):
That's just what the data says.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
I'm not trying to be disrespectful any concern that maybe
this non conslate does not prepare the group for conference
play when Tech comes into town.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
It's it's always a concern none of the teams will
be like like Texas Tech that in that you know
they're gonna they're gonna just come at you throw in
the football and and they're they're gonna it's gonna be
wide open. I mean this last week, I thought cal
Poly actually gave an effort and they they even threw
the ball down the field, uh, and took some shots
(25:35):
and and they were they were successful on some of them.
And and so these defensive backs, you know, maybe haven't
seen that in game situations. I hope, I hope they
see more of that this week. I remember a few
years ago, Utah played an absolute cupcake non conference schedule.
First first game of the year was that USC, and
(25:56):
they those wide receivers at USC just ran ran the
youth out of the building. And they just they did
not they hadn't seen talent like that. And and ucl
a USC is playing a freshman quarterback, their third string guy,
and just and uh, it was an ugly day for Utah,
and I think a lot of it was because of
(26:16):
not not being prepared for the speed of the competition.
And so although this is probably you know, Wyoming's not
on par per se with with UH with Texas Tech,
it's it is an improvement over over last week and
so and it's a tough environment. So you you know,
you got to go and and battle and and for me,
(26:37):
it's about this week. It's all about that kind of
the dress rehearsal, so almost putting it all together and
just starting some momentum that you can build on moving
into the next week. Because the game's at ten o'clock
in the morning the next week, so you know, you
really got to be ready and you got to be
firing on all cylinders when you when you step into
(26:59):
that game. And part of that is just still building
that confidence with this with this team, that getting that
game confidence and the momentum that they've they've really built
and that that to me, it's about momentum building to
prepare for the regular season.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
All right, Scott, thank you, my friend, appreciated good insight.
There have a good Weekend'll chat.
Speaker 3 (27:20):
Soon, Bud.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
You got it. Take care, Spence Hid.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Scott Mitchell, former Utah quarterback, dropping some good analysis on
Utah's two and oh start and not a big fan
of Laramie apparently I know Porter was offended there. But
Utah will take on Wyoming coming up on Saturday. It
is a six o'clock kick. Want to remind you that
our pregame coverage we'll begin at two o'clock on Saturday
(27:44):
here on the radio station, Port will have you taken
care of there, and then Bill Scott and slylell have
the call for you as Utah is a healthy twenty
five point favorite over Wyoming. And then it gets real
Texas Texas Tech rolls into town and Fox Big noon
kickoff will be here.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
It's a ten am kick.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
We will effort Gus Johnson and Joel Clatt on the
program either this week or next before conference play gets going.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
So it's about to get real.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
But the start for Utah fans probably couldn't be much better,
as they are too and
Scott Mitchell stops by for his weekly visit on a
Monday afternoon. Scott, my first question right out of the
gates is what's your best Monday night football memory as
a player? What's your worst Monday night football injury's memory
as a player?
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Oh? Man, that's a great question. And I love Monday
night football and had some awesome games. We started going
three in Detroit. We were playing the World champions forty
nine ers toasted him. Went to Dallas playing the reigning
world champ Dallas Cowboys beat him in overtime. Those were
some big Monday night games, huge, huge games, so they
(00:40):
were so fun. I think the one, though, that I
loved the most was the very first one, and it
was when I was playing for the Miami Dolphins. It's
one Monday night football kind of reigined the world. I mean,
it was the biggest of big deals to be on
Monday night football. And I drove to the stadium and
the blimp was playing the stadium and we were playing
(01:02):
the Raiders, and it was like, oh wow, this is different,
and it was just it was just and I didn't
even play in that game, but it was just, Okay,
this is the pageantry of Monday night football and and
just really got to take sport. So yeah, and I
was fortunate to do that. Probably worse Monday night was
I think we played in San Diego one year and
(01:27):
we lost that game. I didn't play very good in
that game, so but I was I was pretty good
on Monday Night. I actually like Monday night football.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
So as a player.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
So as a player it does land differently, like as
a consumer you watch Monday night football, it feels different
and feels like a production and a big deal. As
a guy that played on Monday night football under those lights,
it does have an extra level of gravitas.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Oh one thousand percent. I mean, look, you know when
the stage your front and center on the biggest stage,
and that was that was really the biggest stage in
the regular seat and for the NFL, and everyone watched,
you know, there weren't any other games going on. It
was after hours, you know, so people weren't at work,
and in fact it was It was kind of funny
(02:11):
in Detroit because because it was late at night, you know,
it started at nine o'clock on the on the East coast,
and so it gave people, you know, a good a
good day to kind of get liquored up. And on
a normal Sunday you'd have like one, maybe two fights
on a one o'clock game. On Monday. Fight on Monday
night it was at least five, and it'd go to
(02:33):
maybe seven fights would breakout in the stands on a
Monday night. But oh gosh, Monday night was just was
was awesome.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Good stuff.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Monday Night football tonight between the Bears and the Vikings
comes away in just a bed. You can hear it
on our station. All right, Scott, let's move over the eats. Now,
I'm gonna ask you a question. I've asked a couple
of guests today through two games. What do you feel
like you know about this football team.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
You know that they're there's guys that are going to
consistently perform for you. You know they're always going to
be there. You know this defense is going to show up.
You know that. You know you're gonna see you know,
the stars have a line. The stars are gonna come out,
They're gonna make plays for you. You're gonna have guys
that make plays defensively, you know, and they haven't totally
(03:21):
all shown up yet, but you know, Lander Barton is
going to be there. You saw a little bit of
what Jonah Hall Is looks like this year from from
this last week. Uh, there's you know, they're just they're
just really really solid. You're going to get a great
pass rush this year from this team. Uh, you didn't
see that a lot. And they're just so deep, you know,
is they're not relying on a guy or a guy
(03:42):
and a half on that edge to get to get
a pressure on the quarterback. You're gonna have a quarterback
that's gonna be elusive. Uh, he's going to keep you
in a lot of plays offensively, and you you know,
you have a very very deep and and very solid
offensive line. You What I know is I just know
(04:04):
that this team is going to compete every week to
win every game really that they play the rest of
this year.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Through two games, Scott, what are you still hoping to
learn about Utah football?
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Well? And I think they were trying to figure it
out a little bit on on Saturday. I don't I
don't know if they're If they are or I am
comfortable with with the just the plane throw game. You know,
no play action, no rollout, no the drop back and
(04:40):
read the coverage and make a throw. I don't. I'm
not comfortable with that. I don't think they are. I
don't think it's Devin dampier strengths. I think he can
do it. I don't think it is going to be
something that they're going to totally rely on. I think
they're still trying to figure out. You know, everyone talks
about the receivers and you know, getting the ball to
(05:02):
them at which which I you know, it's still somewhat
of a question mark, you know, but Ryan Davis looked good,
Tobias meriwether they got the ball to those guys. I
don't know that Devin Damn Pierfields is comfortable with it.
So it's it's him. It's it's him as much as
it is them, And I don't know it yet. I
don't know if they are comfortable with it.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
So let's hone in on the quarterback, the position you
played at the highest of levels. Just I'll last you
kind of the same question through two games, the.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Good and the bad, about Devin.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
What what you've liked and what you're still hoping to
either learn about him or see him progress with?
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Well? What what Devin does so extremely well? Is he
just and it's a sup and it's a superpower. Is
he he just he avoids sacks. I mean, he did
get sacked the one time, but that's just very very uncharacteristic.
It's not going to happen a lot during the year.
He's going to extend a lot of play. He's super,
(06:01):
super elusive. Uh And and I just have really liked that.
I love how just his personality, his persona and I've
described it from the time he got here is this
is this outward facing personality and and it's infectious. And
he wants to be under the lights. He wants to
(06:23):
be the quarterback. He wants to be the guy that
makes plays. And his demeanor is something that I think
his teammates and coaches have certainly latched onto. He's he's
a guy that's uh, you know, loves playing football. And
it just shows it's still the thing, and it's it's
(06:45):
really it's throwing the ball in a traditional in the pocket,
you know here, drop back, read it, and throw it
kind of thing. It's still a work in progress, and
I mean it's the one thing, I guess, you know,
to answer your question, but it's not one that I'm
overly concerned about because you can generate and create great
(07:06):
offense and you don't have to do that. I mean,
Tyler Huntley wasn't that kind of player. Neither was Cam Rising.
They weren't guys that were just going to sit in
the pocket, per se and throw. Maybe Cam a little
bit more than Tyler, But where they were really special
is just making plays when nothing was there. They were
really good at converting third downs and a lot of
(07:28):
times converting it on their own. And Devin's the same
type of players. So yeah, it's a concern, but it's
not a deal killer for me.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Offensive line continues to look the way that we all
thought that they would. Of course, Jaron Kump held out
for precautionary reasons. Just got to continue the conversation in
this same vein your impressions of this highly touted offensive
line through two football games so far.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Well, they've certainly lived up to the expectations, and they've
they've talked about the depth they have. They got eight
to ten guys that can really play. You know, I
think it almost looked like the twos were better than
the ones on Saturday across the board, not just on
the offensive line, but when they were interspersing a lot
of other players in that second half. You just didn't
(08:15):
see a drop off anywhere. But you know, and and
that's the way it was with that offensive line. And
typically you don't sub guys during a game with the
offensive line, and you don't want to. But if you
can have eight or nine guys, that's huge because you're
you're always going to get somebody nicked up. You're always
gonna you know, there's someone's gonna get hurt and a
(08:38):
lot of times, and you want to be able to
just go on and not have any you know, any changes.
You don't want to be limited because you're you really
are as limited as that week that weakest guy, and
you you you have to protect that guy if he's
if he's not up to stuff. And and I don't
think that's the case with this offensive line. So it's
(08:59):
just got incredible depth that just allows you to continue to, uh,
you know, play play your same offense and do everything
that you want to do.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
You reference your gentle concern about maybe not enough comfortability
with you know, just a classic passing game. Devin Dampier
after the game, then coach with this morning, we're gonna
play coaches comments. In a bit, UH talked about some
of the mental errors that manifested a little bit of
versus cal Poly. I started the show off with this guy.
(09:29):
You know, I just think human nature, and I want
you to talk about this as a former player.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
You go to the Rose Bowl, you smoke Ucla.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
It was one of the games on the opening weekend
that so many people were excited about because there were
so many duds and not great matchups. I don't think
Ucla is very good, but that's not the point of
what I'm asking you. These are young people, and I
just think it's like inevitable after an opening day's statement
like that to look ahead to cal Poly and just
think like we're gonna smoke them.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
And you know, to me, look, I I know the standard.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Is the standard, and the coaching staff ups up there
wants these players to be focused at all times.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
But a couple errors versus.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
A team you're gonna beat by a million really isn't
overly concerning to me other than your you know, expression
of what you said with the true passing game, any
anything else stand out that you want to see cleaned
up before conference play?
Speaker 2 (10:22):
What what's I guess the most shocking too. So to
answer your initial question about is it is it human
nature that we kind of get full of ourselves and
we look past the next week when it's when it's
like that, Yeah, of course, and does that happen, Yes,
did it happen probably to some degree. Uh, But the
(10:44):
other the other components that are kind of built into that,
and and I think it was a little bit of
the The offenses didn't run like a smooth, smooth machine,
you know, every single series, and and part of that
is I think I think that Utah was trying to
work on something not necessarily. Okay, let's just put this together,
(11:05):
like we're going to go for a drive, uh, and
march down the field. You know, when they played UCLA,
they've been preparing for that game for weeks for months
probably so, so they were really clear on what they
were going to run, and they were just they were
you know, it's like, man, we're gonna we're gonna fire
every bullet in our gun, and we've got our gun
loaded and we are we are ready to go. And
(11:27):
this week it's more like, hey, you know, we got
a couple of guys a little banged up. We're gonna
hold them out. We're gonna hold guys out that maybe,
you know, like Logan Fano could have played, but he didn't.
And so you see that as a player and you go, oh, well,
the coaches aren't really you know, they're not really taking
this game as seriously as and and so sure there's
(11:48):
a message one that's not you know, stated, but it's
a subliminal message that's sent out there, not intended to be,
but certainly the message is received. Coach is like, yeah,
this isn't you know, because if it's a if it's
a regular conference game, all those guys are playing, Sharon
Cump's playing, Logan Fano's playing, Local Faci's playing you know
(12:10):
whoever was sitting out. So that's one side of it.
But then the other side of it. Think of like
when you're in a golf tournament and you have a
practice round and you and there and you go out
in a practice round and you go, I need to
work on this aspect of my game. I'm not I
don't really care about my score today. I just I
care about developing this this part of my game. And
(12:31):
I think that was a little bit of what was
going on, and it was it was it was it
was a lot of throw uh and early in in
that game with Devin Dampier, and they were trying to
get the receivers involved and which is which is awesome.
And I just looked at it as, hey, they're in
a practice round and they're working on you know, their
short game right now or whatever, and and they're doing
it with with these wide receivers, and so it made
(12:54):
things a little disjointed that I don't think would normally
be there. And and really one of blessing to be
able to do that, to to go out and to
work on aspects of of your you know, your your
your your personnel and your repertoire and and and and
you know that that's that to me is why these
(13:15):
games are so awesome and they're such you know, there's
such a blessing to me, Spence. The biggest impressive thing
I've seen now from this, this whole Utah team is
how well they've executed in trying to get all these
guys involved, like you only have so many reps to
practice this every week, and and to get Hunter Andrews
(13:37):
involved in, to get Nate Johnson involved in Ryan Davis,
and to get to buy like you got to practice
those plays with those guys, and a lot of times,
you know, it takes a minute before you get comfortable
with that many guys. So that the execution offensively with
all the different things they've been trying to do so far,
(13:59):
I think is just it's been mind blowing to me
quite frankly.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Jason Beck is a play caller through two games, what
stands out, what's unique, what's new, what's different, what's special?
And you referenced a couple of times maybe keeping some
things close to the chest. You think, what you know,
once conference play starts, we're going to see even more
of an expanded Jason Beck playbook.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
So I talked to Kyle about this after the game
and just said, you know, how hard is it for
defensive coach with the type of things you're doing offensively
and you can't just dial into one player or one
you know, you can't dial into Devon Dampierre because Devin
dan Pier is surrounded by some you know, talent, and
and they don't care where they've got it. I mean,
(14:43):
they've they've brought guys over from the defense and smith Snowden, Jackson, Benny,
you know Blander. I mean those are three very talented guys,
and they're none of the offensive guys. And then you
throw in some of these other you know, these other
guys offensively. I mean Sean Parker, you know, he scored
two touchdowns in the game untouched. Uh and and and
(15:05):
he's I think he's just a great I love the
running backs, you know, to carry Parker and both of
both those guys. And so it makes it so hard
to dial into into one thing. And so what it
forces you to do is you kind of have to
go vanilla. You gotta just you just have to, you know,
(15:25):
just make sure you're just assignment free and you just
try to slow it down and just say, you know,
we're not going to stop it. Let's just you know,
eliminate big plays. Let's make them work for everything they have.
And that and that puts the vote, that puts the
the the advantage to the offense, because you know, you're
not gonna get a lot of crazy looks. And the
(15:46):
challenge to all that, though, is can you keep everyone happy?
You know? Can you keep you know, because there's guys
like Smith Snowden who are very talented or way Shan
he goes, you know, man, maybe I need more touches.
You know, I can't into a rhythm, I can't really
get to the best part of my game un until
I have too many touches. And so I think it's
(16:07):
a challenge to keep everyone happy and to keep everyone
productive and to really keep everyone's mind in the game
when you're spreading the ball around. And that's all about ego, right,
and so if everyone can kind of supplant their ego
and just go I'm going to just I'm gonna be
ready and I'm going to take my little shot, my
little one part of this offense, it can be a really,
(16:29):
really fun and really productive offense.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
I think a lot of conversations Scott, as you know,
and Scott Mitchell's with us on the program on a
Monday leading up to the season about the wide receiver
room and targets for Devin with your eye as a
guy who played the quarterback position, how's it going, what's
the progress? Are there one or two targets that Devin
is peer Devin appears a little bit more comfortable looking
(16:53):
at And are there any targets that as a former
quarterback you look at and say, yeah, they clearly understand
the assignment.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Well, I mean you saw you saw him get involved
with with Tobias Meriweather and and uh, you know, and
and again it's like you're getting him comfortable, You're getting
him assimilated into things. He's he's certainly a playmaker. And
and of course Ryan Davis who played with Jason and
(17:23):
and uh and Devin at at New Mexico, he really
popped off the page uh and and started to make
some some good plays. And you know, the guy that
they are really high on is Jackson Benny as a
wide receiver and and he and you haven't seen quite
seen that yet. And I think he's I think he's
(17:43):
one of the guys offensively in the wide receiver position
that you might see a lot of this week, and
you might see a lot of moving forward. And then
the guy who's been out is Gadrian Zipper And and
he's a real talent and and I hope to see
him come in because because with this offense, and one
(18:05):
of the things they talked about they missed in the
first game was was chunk plays. And it's crazy the
impact chunk plays have get. If you get one play
over fifteen yards in a drive, it's almost guaranteed you're
gonna score like that statistic is one of the most
telling signs of offensive production or chunk plays in a drive.
(18:29):
And they didn't have any in the first game, which
is what makes that game so impressive, and they did
have some last week. But these receivers with speed that
can get down the field can get you those chunk plays.
And they can do it because you tas so good
at running the football and that play action with chunk
throws is a deadly combination and yet to be seen
(18:50):
and could be a thing that they're kind of holding
back right now, maybe a little bit, but you know,
I'd love to see a little bit more of that.
You know, right now it's kind of been man, let's
just kind of get everyone touching the ball and hypercentage
throws and you know, easy throws, and so seeing some
of the down the field stuff is I think is
(19:12):
part of this offense evolving as it moves forward.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Interesting you bring that up, because I want to move
over to the running backs next, and way Sean has
both the longest rush and the longest reception of the
year fifty two yarder of the house. It's actually this
only catch all year than a forty three yarder as well,
but Nacari has more carries twenty three to way Sean's seventeen.
Devin is actually second on the team with twenty. So
with these two running backs, it's always good to have
(19:38):
a couple, right. I Mean, it's one thing if you
have Derek Henry and you have a bell cow. But
what do you like about these two and what are
the similarities, what are the differences, and what do you
make of the distribution so far?
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Well, I love I love the combination of these two guys.
And I've loved the downhill running like it's really impressive.
And guys who run down hill to me or guys
that are pretty confident, you'll find some guys that are
run down downhill and they're they're going to run into
the first thing they see. And and these guys have
(20:11):
you know, they just hit the hole so quickly. Of course,
you have an offensive line that really helps to find
where the hole is. But uh, you know, they're just
going to get you four or five yards pretty much
on every carry, and they and and yet you can
see that there's that ability to to bust you know,
(20:31):
a play for for a big game, and so and
they they haven't. I don't. I don't think that you know,
having a full game to really focus on that. I mean,
you did see it the one time with Wai Shan.
But I love these guys. I love how they run.
Uh and and the fact that you have two of them. Uh,
(20:52):
it's just it's just going to put constant pressure on defenses.
You're not going to get a guy that gets tired.
And and and Waiver says, the game goes on and
even as the season goes on, and they both have
such a great attitude about everything, you know that one
guy's not going to be complaining over the other one.
And they're They're one of those things you're gonna I
think you're going to see a lot of this year,
(21:13):
both of those guys, and they're going to bring a
lot of a lot of run production for this Yutah team.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
I'm hoping that we don't need to see the backup
quarterback other than when the game is over. But so far,
when we have seen the backup quarterback, it has been
Bird Ficklin and not Isaac Wilson. Coach Witz spoke both
postgame then today about the potential of preserving Isaac's redshirt,
which I don't even know that matters in this day
and age of college football. But what's your understanding of
(21:39):
the dynamic right now as far as the QB two situation.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Well, if that's the case, you know with uh and
and that's the reason that they were going with Bird
because I thought it was more of, well, we're going
to run the football more now, and I think Bird,
for Fickland is a better runner than than Isaac is
and and so that that was what I thought was happening.
But then you watch him get out there and he's
(22:04):
just running the offense like normal and running it like
a freaking superstar. I mean, man, I'd liked his arm
in spring and through camp, but to see it show
up and and it's very accurate through the ball, very well.
M's on the ball better than Devin. Might be a
better pure passer than Devin is, but you know, just
(22:28):
doesn't have the experience to me what I saw, And
I you know, I said it when it happened. I said,
this is this is the future of Utah football right here.
I mean, I wouldn't even say that they found a backup.
I think they found a super a new a new star.
Or future star in this offense because he he fits
it so well and and it was just impressive to
(22:49):
see how, you know, how he handled kind of every
situation he was in. But but that kid's talented.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
I don't know this for sure, but I think there's
probably me on this bone. During your illustrious career at
the University of Utah, did you ever make the trip
to Laramie, Wyoming?
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Okay, Spence, I've been trying to figure out how I
can miss this game. I've never had a good day
in Laramie, Wyoming, and that includes when I wasn't playing football.
I've actually been through Laramie several times driving, and I
kid you not every single time Blizzard almost shutting down.
(23:30):
I eighty when I've driven through Laramie, Wyoming. I spent
a month there, one night in a hotel, and and
just not really great memories of Laramie. I just shake
my head. I've shook my head for years. I think
we had the COVID year. Maybe it was this game
(23:51):
got it got canceled at one time, and I was like,
cancel it, never bring it back again. That being said,
I think there's a great test for you to because
it's a very hostile place. It's a it's it's a
tough road environment. It's a good opponent you're facing. It
will be a good last tune up to get you
ready for conference play. And and it's not that far away,
(24:14):
you know, So it's a it's an easy road trips
as from a from a you know, to wear and
tear on a on a team traveling. But you know,
so if if if the team's going to show up
and they got to show up and show out, then
then I do as well. Uh they look, Yeah, I'm
not a I'm not a fan of Laramie Wyoming. Uh
(24:35):
none of it excites me. But we're gonna go. We're
gonna go get or done.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
I appreciate the enthusiasm before us let you lose. What
should we hope Saturday looks like? I know you say
quality opponent, Scott, but Utah is a twenty five point favorite.
Uh so I want to hear from you what we
think Saturday should look like. If you're a Utah football
fan and then attendant to the question, According to the numbers,
(25:00):
none of these three teams that Utah will play in
non con are very good.
Speaker 3 (25:03):
That's just what the data says.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
I'm not trying to be disrespectful any concern that maybe
this non conslate does not prepare the group for conference
play when Tech comes into town.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
It's it's always a concern none of the teams will
be like like Texas Tech that in that you know
they're gonna they're gonna just come at you throw in
the football and and they're they're gonna it's gonna be
wide open. I mean this last week, I thought cal
Poly actually gave an effort and they they even threw
the ball down the field, uh, and took some shots
(25:35):
and and they were they were successful on some of them.
And and so these defensive backs, you know, maybe haven't
seen that in game situations. I hope, I hope they
see more of that this week. I remember a few
years ago, Utah played an absolute cupcake non conference schedule.
First first game of the year was that USC, and
(25:56):
they those wide receivers at USC just ran ran the
youth out of the building. And they just they did
not they hadn't seen talent like that. And and ucl
a USC is playing a freshman quarterback, their third string guy,
and just and uh, it was an ugly day for Utah,
and I think a lot of it was because of
(26:16):
not not being prepared for the speed of the competition.
And so although this is probably you know, Wyoming's not
on par per se with with UH with Texas Tech,
it's it is an improvement over over last week and
so and it's a tough environment. So you you know,
you got to go and and battle and and for me,
(26:37):
it's about this week. It's all about that kind of
the dress rehearsal, so almost putting it all together and
just starting some momentum that you can build on moving
into the next week. Because the game's at ten o'clock
in the morning the next week, so you know, you
really got to be ready and you got to be
firing on all cylinders when you when you step into
(26:59):
that game. And part of that is just still building
that confidence with this with this team, that getting that
game confidence and the momentum that they've they've really built
and that that to me, it's about momentum building to
prepare for the regular season.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
All right, Scott, thank you, my friend, appreciated good insight.
There have a good Weekend'll chat.
Speaker 3 (27:20):
Soon, Bud.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
You got it. Take care, Spence Hid.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Scott Mitchell, former Utah quarterback, dropping some good analysis on
Utah's two and oh start and not a big fan
of Laramie apparently I know Porter was offended there. But
Utah will take on Wyoming coming up on Saturday. It
is a six o'clock kick. Want to remind you that
our pregame coverage we'll begin at two o'clock on Saturday
(27:44):
here on the radio station, Port will have you taken
care of there, and then Bill Scott and slylell have
the call for you as Utah is a healthy twenty
five point favorite over Wyoming. And then it gets real
Texas Texas Tech rolls into town and Fox Big noon
kickoff will be here.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
It's a ten am kick.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
We will effort Gus Johnson and Joel Clatt on the
program either this week or next before conference play gets going.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
So it's about to get real.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
But the start for Utah fans probably couldn't be much better,
as they are too and
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