Casteel lives down joke, lives up to expectations

Brent Casteel may never live down the flippant comment he made before his freshman season when he said he was going to win the Heisman Trophy.

Following a sterling performance by Casteel in Saturday's Red-White Game, the first question he was asked by a TV reporter was about the Heisman.

The more mature Casteel quickly brushed off the question, but if he has a few games this fall like he did Saturday, he's going to be getting plenty of attention for the University of Utah.

The 5-foot-10, 193-pound junior was clearly the star of Saturday's game, which ended in a 59-7 victory for the Red and officially concluded spring practice.

Casteel scored three touchdowns, including a 68-yard run and a 75-yard pass reception from Brian Johnson. When the game was over, after the coaches had talked to the players, Casteel was surrounded by a dozen media folks.

"I had a good spring this year," Casteel said. "It's a great start for me."

A year ago, Casteel had a decent spring following a slow finish to his freshman season when he hardly played in the final two games.

He had an up-and-down sophomore season, but finished strong with five receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns against BYU.

"I wanted to improve in every aspect of my game," Casteel said.

"Running, route running, catching, blocking, making my teammates better and being a team leader."

Early in the game, Casteel got loose on a spectacular 68-yard run and then caught an 11-yard pass from Tommy Grady for a touchdown.

His favorite play was the 75-yarder from Johnson in the second quarter when he got behind the defense.

"I like it when I'm not touched at all," he said.

Casteel said he and Johnson have a good thing going between them but do more talking than practicing one-on-one.

"The chemistry between us is very good," he said. "We pretty much know what each other is doing. Brian does a great job out there and makes plays and we're following his lead."

GAME NOTES: Before the Red-White game, there was a flag football game between members of the MUSS as well as a game between former Ute players. Former quarterback Mike Richmond (1988-90) was the MVP of the contest, which included former Utes Eddie Johnson, Carl Harry, Antoine Sanders, Sheldon Deckart, D'Shaun Crockett, Cal Beck and Lance Rice. Former Ute Morgan Scalley officiated the game ... Among the former Utes on the sideline were Sione Pouha and Filipo Mokofisi, uncle of current Ute linebacker Malakai Mokofisi ... Utah's new play-by-play announcer, Mike Lageschulte, made his official debut broadcasting the game on the radio ... About 15 prospective high school sophomores and juniors were on hand for the game. Also the majority of the signees for this fall, including Snow College running back Matt Asiata, were on the sidelines and were treated to a barbecue afterwards.

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