The second of Fresno State's three game opening juggernaut is against Utah. Sandwiched between games verses No. 15 USC and No. 22 Nebraska, could the game against Utah be somewhat overlooked? Hardly. Since joining the Pac-12 Utah's non-conference record is 8-1, with the lone loss coming against in-state rival Utah State on the road in OT back in 2012. With star quarterback Travis Wilson receiving his medical clearance (though this summer he was cited for underage drinking) Fresno State will need to play out of their minds to compete on the road in Salt Lake.
We recently had the opportunity to chat with Shane Roberts from Block U to get some insight on what to expect from the 2014 Utes.
First off, the big news is Travis Wilson receiving his medical clearance. What does that mean for the team and for the fans?
The Travis Wilson news is huge, not only for Travis but for Ute fans. This was not your average injury for a football player, like a sprained ankle or even a torn ACL. This was an injury to an artery in his brain. When that news came out, it wasn't about if Travis was going to be able to play football, it was if he was going to be ok and live a healthy life. So when he was given the clean bill of health, Ute fans were ecstatic.
Also, Wilson is a giant man and he can move. I watched the highlights verses Oregon State. Does anyone want to tackle this guy? How can he be stopped? What are some of his weaknesses? He's an exciting QB to watch and just plane scary from an opponent's point of view. Plus he's a California kid, so personally I'm pulling for him to do well, even if it is for an out of state school.
When it comes to Travis on the field, when he's healthy, he's a high level Pac-12 quarterback. Last season, before he went down with a hand injury and then his head injury, Wilson was averaging 273 yards per game, with almost a 63% competition percentage, and 13 touchdowns. That was through the first six games, and he lead the Utes to a 4-2 record, including a big win over Stanford. He's very aggressive and loves to push the ball downfield and goes for the big play often. Not to mention his teammates love him. His teammates call him the ‘Bulldog,' and rally around him. They actually voted him as a team captain as a true sophomore. Only Alex Smith has had that honor at Utah.
As you pose in your question, Wilson isn't scared to pull it down and run. At almost 6' 6" tall, Wilson is deceivingly fast and shredded teams last year with his legs, when he was given the opportunity. He's a a tough runner too, he's not scared to get up in there and get the tough yards, and is also a willing blocker in the run game. Just find his decleating block versus Cal in 2012 and you'll see what I mean.
As for his weakness, which is also a strength, is his aggressiveness. He tries to fit throws into tight windows and is quite the gambler. Sometimes he doesn't like to make the safe play, like a check down, and tries to force it to his number one guy, Dres Anderson, down the field.
Speaking of California, Utah has a pretty strong California influenced roster and a strong Pacific Islander influence, which are both prevalent on Fresno State's roster. Any cross over or tie-in's between players that you know of? Hopefully that makes for a hotly contested game.
As far as I'm aware there isn't a ton of cross over between Utah and Fresno. There is a big Utah connection with current Fresno OC Dave Schramm, who is a former coordinator/running backs coach at Utah. Schramm was at the U for about six seasons, and groomed some great running backs here at Utah.
Josh Quezada has a bit of history with Utah as well. Utah was a finalist for Quezada coming out of high school, but he decided to go to rival BYU. Quezada played Utah twice while with BYU, going 0-2 against the Utes, while having 17 carries for 37 yards in those two games, including a fumble in the 54-10 beat down Utah gave BYU in 2011.
Who are some of the players the casual fan maybe has never heard of that you expect to take the next step this season? Anyone we should be looking out for?
Two names to keep an eye out for offensively, Devonte Booker and Kaelin Clay. Two JC transfers that give some much needed depth and skill at both running back and wide receiver. Booker is my favorite to eventually take over the starting spot at running back, with his combination of speed and power. Kaelin Clay is being touted as one of the fastest Utes to ever suit up. He gives some serious speed and play making potential in the wide receiving corps.
Defensively, a name to keep in mind is Gionni Paul, a transfer from Miami. He was the Hurricanes leading tackler two years ago as a sophomore. He is a playmaking linebacker that will help anchor the Utes defense.
What's the feeling on bringing Dave Christensen in as the OC? Obviously he had a lot of success with Brett Smith at Wyoming and is someone that knows Fresno State fairly well.
The initial reaction to Christensen's hiring was mixed at best, because OC has been a revolving door since joining the Pac-12. Since spring has ended and we are beginning to prep for fall camp, the excitement for Coach Christensen's offense has been growing among Ute fans. He is bringing discipline to the offensive side of the ball, and will hopefully bring out the potential that we all know this Utah offense has. The hires he's made have been great as well. He has brought in a new offensive line coach, Jim Harding, and the line is responding very well to his coaching. He also brought in Taylor Stubblefield at wide receivers, and he's really honing in their route running capabilities and making them more consistent.
Were you guys as perplexed about beating Stanford and then losing to basically everyone else in the Pac-12 last year? What happened? How did that happen?
Utah has always matched up well with traditional power football teams - see Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Nobody will line up and run over the Utes. Utah's d-line is just too good, and Utah has put the most defensive backs in the NFL than any other program over the last decade. So the Stanford match up wasn't that scary. After Stanford, the injuries caught up to QB Travis Wilson. Wilson got beaten and battered against the Cardinal. He actually bruised his hand really bad, and could barely grip the ball. He wasn't able to really play at all versus Arizona and USC. Then against ASU his hand was finally improving, but then he got a concussion that revealed an injury to an artery in his brain that ended his season. All while that was happening Utah last their all-conference tight end, Jake Murphy. Once he went down teams were able to focus on Dres Anderson and neutralize him. And amongst all that, Utah's o-line really started to unravel. The left side was a swinging gate, and no matter who was playing QB had enough time to make the proper decision on any given play. It was just a domino effect that of bad o-line play and injuries that brought the Utes down. With all that said, outside of the Oregon game, Utah was in every game, they just were missing too many pieces to get over the hump.
What's the feeling about Fresno State coming to town? We have some history with you guys over the years. Any excitement for the game?
The feeling around Fresno State is pretty low key right now. Utah fans are just exited to see this new look team against Idaho State. While Fresno and Utah do have some history, especially from the WAC days, so much has happened in the last 15 years that I'm not sure if a lot of fans are aware of the history. Utah fans are definitely aware of what Fresno has been doing recently, especially with USU up the road. I think it's fair to say we've always cheered for Fresno to beat Boise.
Fresno is definitely seen as a very challenging opponent coming into Rice-Eccles Stadium. A lot of fans are curious of what the team will look like without Carr at QB. Once the ISU game is over, then the interest and excitement for Fresno will climb exponentially. I think a lot of fans like to see some of the old conference foes on the schedule, whether from the old WAC days or the Mountain West. It will be a fun matchup, there's no doubt about that.