Weddle did a little bit of everything for Utes

SAN FRANCISCO — You'd think the Most Valuable Defensive Player of the Emerald Bowl would get a little more respect that Eric Weddle did Thursday night.

The press box announcer had problems with his name all night, calling him "WEE-dle," "We-DELL," and "Widdle," everything but "WED-dle," as he's been known by throughout his three-year career at Utah.

Weddle was a jack of all trades again in the Utes' Emerald Bowl victory, playing cornerback, returning punts, running the ball, passing the ball, holding the ball on kicks and even running the ball off a fake field goal.

Weddle's biggest job was watching Georgia Tech's all-American receiver Calvin Johnson, and he did a superb job holding him to just two catches for 19 yards.

"I took it as a challenge, because no one gives you a chance," he said. "You want to prove everybody wrong."

About the only thing Weddle did wrong was throw an interception in one of his stints as a quarterback. After a botched play, he was trying to throw it away, but had it intercepted in the end zone from 50 yards out.

"I didn't get enough oomph into it," he said.

ANOTHER QUARTERBACK: Utah coach Kyle Whittingham declined comment on his team's impending quarterback controversy calling it a nice problem to have. He did, however, draw laughs in his postgame press conference by adding Weddle's name to a pool of candidates for the job that includes Brett Ratliff, who is coming off of the best passing performance in Utah bowl history, Brian Johnson and Tommy Grady.

A PLACE IN THE SUN: Utah linebacker Spencer Toone said even if this wasn't his team's best season, it deserves a place in history.

Asked how the 2005 Utes might be characterized, he said, "I think as one of the teams with the most character."

He continued, "You know what? We're not going to be characterized as the best team, but as one of the most high-character teams."

MOMENTS TO REMEMBER: Ute defensive coordinator Gary Andersen said despite last year's historic Fiesta Bowl season, this year's club provided its own memories.

"These kids had every type of life experience you could have," he said. "They had the lowest of lows when we lost three in a row and now the highest of the highs."

Asked whether finishing as they did this year is as sweet as rolling through every game, as they did last year, he added, "There was a lot of sweetness. Every year is different, but this year provided some very, very sweet memories."