Utah Utes football notebook: Kalani Sitake likes the direction of his defense

SALT LAKE CITY — While the Ute defense might appear to be a bit down this year — on paper, anyway — defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake was encouraged after the first day of practice Thursday and excited for the upcoming season.

"I was pleased with the effort, energy and passion that we saw — our guys are ready to go," he said. "I like the direction we're going."

Sitake says "everyone has a right to question" the lack of returning starters on defense, but he says the Utes are actually well-stocked this year.

"Anybody that sees our practice knows that we have a lot of tools and a lot of people that we can work with," he said. "We'll find the best guys, and we'll plug them in there and get them ready to go. You've got to replace guys every year — that's part of football. We look forward to the challenge."

The only returning starters are defensive linemen Derrick Shelby, Sealver Siliga, Dave Kruger and cornerback Brandon Burton. However, others such as linebacker J.J. Williams, cornerback Lamar Chapman and safety Justin Taplin-Ross all saw considerable action last year and started at least one game.

"I think starting is overrated," Sitake said. "The way football is played now, the same 11 guys may not start against different teams, whether it's a spread team or a power team. Defensively, we use up to 24 or 25 guys in a game, and I'd like to use 40. We've just got to make sure we're all ready."

NINE-GAME PAC-12: Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham isn't answering any questions about the move to the Pac-10 this year, but Utah athletic director Chris Hill is.

Hill confirmed in an interview on KFAN radio Thursday that the Utes would be playing a nine-game schedule in the expanded Pac-12 next year. He also said that divisional alignments were discussed at the recent meetings but an announcement of division breakdowns would not come until about October.

UTE NOTES: The most popular interview at practice Thursday was quarterback Jordan Wynn. After several interviews with the local media, he was still doing a phone interview long after everyone else had left. ... Photo day will be Saturday at the Smith Center. ... Two-a-days begin Wednesday at the Ute baseball field and will conclude the following Friday. This is the eighth year the baseball field will be utilized, along with the McCarthey Practice Field and the stadium. ... The first scrimmage will be Thursday, Aug. 12, at the stadium. ... All practices and scrimmages are closed to the public.

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