Utah Utes football: Red-White game will spotlight backups

Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham said today's Red & White Game at Rice-Eccles Stadium carries a two-fold purpose.

"No. 1, give the fans something to watch and get excited about," Whittingham said. "Secondly, the development of younger players — letting the twos and threes have a lot of reps and see if we can get some guys to step up and make plays."

As many as 21 players won't participate in the spring finale for precautionary reasons. Whittingham said guys who haven't seen live contact all spring won't play or are injured. Another handful of players will be held out because the coaching staff has seen enough of them and doesn't want to risk injury.

All of the Utes, however, will be available to sign autographs after the game.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Admission and parking are free.

The game, which carries the incentive of the losing team having to clean the football facility on Monday, won't follow a traditional format. There will be a few quirks.

For starters, the first two quarters will be 12 minutes apiece, while the second half will consist of two 10-minute periods with a running clock.

Scoring will also be regulated.

If a team falls behind by 10 or more points, it will get the ball back after scoring until the deficit drops below double-digits.

"We just wanted to keep it interesting," said Whittingham, who noted that one of the postseason all-star games follows a similar format.

There won't be any kickoff or punt returns in the contest. Opening drives will begin at the 35-yard line and punts will be kicked to the "air" with receiving teams taking over wherever the ball comes to rest.

Quarterback Brian Johnson will play for both teams initially before giving way to DeVonte Christopher (Red Team) and Chad Manis (White Team).

"He may play the whole first quarter, it may only be a couple of series for each team. We'll see how it unfolds," Whittingham said. "But he definitely won't play beyond the second quarter."

All quarterbacks will be off limits to would-be tacklers.