Utah Utes football: Ute gridders return to practice field

Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig acknowledged it felt great to be back out on the field. On a near picture-perfect Tuesday weather-wise, the Utes resumed spring football practices after taking 12 days off.

"Every part is good," said Ludwig. "It is what it is. Let's just go."

The Utes, who open the season Aug. 30 at Michigan, spent the better part of two hours running drills and installing schemes. They'll have their first full tackle practice Thursday and will be on the field at least three times over each of the next four weeks.

"We expect to get better each day, obviously," said head coach Kyle Whittingham.

As is usually the case this time of year, he added, the defense is ahead of the offense.

"I'm happy with the way the defense is running around," said Whittingham. "We've got a lot of speed on the defense."

Utah also has some vacancies to fill. Though most of the starters return, graduation took its toll at several positions, including tackle, safety and linebacker. The Utes are also looking to solidify their depth at cornerback.

"There's many, many spots that are wide open and at the end of the day they're really all wide open. But you would sure hope the kids that come back — that worked their tails off — hold their spots," said defensive coordinator Gary Andersen.

"Everything's open in spring football and always will be. But we definitely have some positions where we've got to look at people to come in and play."

The key, he continued, is to find players who develop a good understanding of Utah's somewhat complicated scheme and are able to play fast and run.

"There's a lot of competition across the board," said Andersen.

Thus Thursday will be a big day.

"That's really when you start to see some separation — when you do the live drills," said Whittingham. "We'll have to see how things progress."

Though the Utes are taking a conservative approach with players like defensive end Paul Kruger, safety Robert Johnson, wide receiver Elijah Wesson and Matt Asiata, who are overcoming injuries, they're eager to see how things go once the pads are on.