Utah coach Kyle Whittingham would like to know by Thursday — exactly one week prior to the Aug. 30 season opener at Oregon State — if Matt Asiata will be the Utes' starting tailback.

The highly touted running back, who was an All-American at Snow College, missed most of camp with a sprained foot.

"Matt's being integrated into the system. He's involved in a little more practice time each day," Whittingham said. "Hopefully in two or three more days, he'll be 100 percent in and we'll be able to make a decision at that point."

Asiata is battling senior Darryl Poston and juniors Ray Stowers and Darrell Mack for the job.

"All four of them have been working extremely hard and that's a positive," Whittingham said. "Competition is a good thing."

Offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig said it's made all of the running backs better.

"It's a stronger position now than it's ever been — because of the improvement of the players that have been in the program and the addition of Matt Asiata and (true freshman) Eddie Wide," Ludwig said.

"So it's a good, deep position right now."

As for the depth chart, he's hoping to get it settled pretty quick — preferably a week before the opener.

However, it's just not a tailback thing.

"We're evaluating every player, every day. Every player in the offense gets evaluated every day," Ludwig said. "We're going to try to get the best 11 players on the field."

JOHNSON HONORED: Utah junior Brian Johnson is one of 35 quarterbacks in the nation named to the 2007 Davey O'Brien Award national watch list.

Though flattered, Johnson said it doesn't mean a lot right now.

"It'll mean more in December, if I'm still on it. It's a huge honor, though, definitely a huge honor," Johnson said. "But it doesn't mean anything until you play on the field. You've got to prove it on the field first. I'm really just excited and looking forward to Oregon State."

EMPTY PIT: Perhaps the best news for Utah Tuesday was a lack of lingering injuries. The infamous "Pit," where injured players reside and workout during practice, was empty.

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E-mail: dirk@desnews.com