Tulsa's Kragthorpe in high demand

FORT WORTH, Texas — Two years ago, before Florida hired coach Urban Meyer away from the University of Utah prior to the Utes' appearance as BCS busters in the Fiesta Bowl, Ute players and coaches endured all the uncertainty that the University of Tulsa is now going through.

Golden Hurricane coach Steve Kragthorpe — of the Utah-based Kragthorpe clan whose patriarch, Dave, played at Utah State, coached at Brigham Young and has worked with USU's alumni association and athletic director — has achieved Urban Meyer status.

He's been mentioned as a candidate for nearly every big coaching vacancy in the country. His name's been linked in various ways to Miami, Stanford, Colorado, Arizona State, Iowa State and North Carolina.

All this as the fourth-year Tulsa coach is preparing his 8-4 team to face Utah (7-5) in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl Saturday at 6 p.m. MST at TCU's Amon G. Carter Stadium.

Kragthorpe was national coach of the year in 2003 after turning Tulsa around from a 2-21 record prior to his tenure.

If the 2004 Utes can be used as an example, the rumors about Kragthorpe will have little effect on the Hurricane Saturday.

"It's only a distraction if you let it be a distraction," said Utah senior All-America defensive back Eric Weddle, who plays his final game in crimson Saturday.

"We had great senior leadership that year that kept us focused. We were driven to go 12-0 and go to that bowl game. We weren't worried about who was coaching us because players win games, coaches just prepare you."

The Meyer case was a little different because he accepted the Florida job early and made most of the bowl preparations as co-head coach with Kyle Whittingham, his successor. The two worked well together, and the Utes buried Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl, 35-7.

But while rumors flew about Meyer potentially going to Notre Dame, where he had been an assistant, or Florida, there was plenty of uncertainty. It just didn't become detrimental.

"For us it created none," Whittingham remembers. "Our players were so focused, and it was such a mature football team we had that year, they weren't going to let anything distract them. They handled it very well.

"I don't know if every group of players would handle it as well as that group did, but it was not an issue with those guys. We had Morgan Scalley and those guys that were just phenomenal leaders, Sione Pouha and Alex Smith."