Deseret News
Published: Saturday, April 10, 2010 11:20 p.m. MDT
SALT LAKE CITY — And now for the defense ...
Eight days after the offense shined in Utah's first spring scrimmage, the guys on the other side of the ball had their day in the sun.
"We were embarrassed last weekend," said defensive end Trevor Reilly. "And that was the big m.o. for the week — bring your 'A' game and don't get embarrassed."
Mission accomplished.
In Saturday's scrimmage at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the defense picked off two passes and recovered a pair of fumbles. Reilly had three pass breakups, and his teammates racked up six tackles-for-loss.
"Last week, like Trevor said, the offense kind of got on us," noted linebacker J.J. Williams. "But (this time) we came out a little bit more fired up."
Williams headlined the effort by picking off quarterback Jordan Wynn and returning the interception 32 yards for a touchdown.
"It felt good, obviously," Williams said. "Everyone did their job. I went up to make a tackle, and the ball was just there for me and I took it."
The defense's four takeaways, he added, met the standard the Utes hope to accomplish each game.
"We hit and got a bunch of sacks, too. So it was a fun day," Williams said. "Everyone was flying around."
Defensive backs Greg Bird and Damian Payne accounted for the three other takeaways. Bird intercepted a pass from Terrance Cain, while Payne recovered two fumbles — off forces by Dave Fagergren and Conroy Black.
The defensive effort pleased head coach Kyle Whittingham.
"They stepped up," he said. "They came ready to play."
Williams, safety Justin Taplin-Ross and the defensive front were among the standouts Whittingham singled out. Taplin-Ross also excelled on special teams, where the senior blocked a field-goal attempt.
Whittingham said there were "a lot of good things today" including the takeaways and consistent tackling. Aside from the turnovers, he thought the offense was fairly productive as well — particularly in the red zone.
Cain completed 18-of-23 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns. The scoring strikes included a pair of connections with Westlee Tonga (59 and 15 yards), plus a 12-yarder to Brad Clifford.
Wynn was 15-of-28 for 182 yards. His lone touchdown pass was a 25-yard throw to Jereme Brooks. Early penalties, however, took a toll on the offense. The miscues became less frequent as the scrimmage ensued.
Wynn, though, is confident the Utes will fine-tune the little things.
"We're so close to being super explosive," he said while acknowledging the abundance of turnovers wasn't so good. "For the most part, I think we're where we need to be."
Contributions were plentiful with 13 receivers making catches and seven rushers gaining positive yardage. Quarterback Griff Robles topped the ground game with eight carries for 63 yards, including a 48-yarder. Shawn Asiata had the only rushing touchdown, scoring on a 6-yard run.
The receiving corps was led by Zach Wade with five catches. Clifford and freshman Fatu Moala each finished with four. Moala, the tight ends (who teamed for 10 receptions) and Wynn were among the performances Whittingham pointed toward as solid.
Freshman Fatu Moala had four catches for 74 yards.
