Utah Utes football notebook: Looking at Plan B for center position

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said that starting center Zane Taylor "is going to be OK" and that his knee injury late in Saturday's 38-10 win over UNLV was "nothing major."

Whittingham wouldn't say, however, that it's likely Taylor will play in this weekend's game at New Mexico. That would be optimistic, he noted, before adding that the Utes should get the all-conference candidate back within the next couple of weeks.

In Monday's practice, they went to Plan B — moving right guard Tevita Stevens over to center. Sam Brenner was then inserted into Stevens' old spot.

"Tevita's ready to go. That's the move that will most likely be made if we need to go in that direction. Vyncent Jones is also ready to go," Whittingham said. "Both of those guys are very capable."

Stevens has never played center in a game, but he did make about 35 percent of the snaps in fall camp and has since continued to take reps in practice.

"It's nothing new, knowing that if Zane goes down that I was going to come in," Stevens said. "I've never played a game yet. It's going to be different, but I'm ready. I've got a whole week to prepare."

It's part of a scenario that may work out just fine for the 14th-ranked Utes. With starting quarterback Jordan Wynn's status questionable because of a thumb sprain, backup Terrance Cain may get his second consecutive start.

"It's actually kind of nice there because that's who I was working with the whole time," Stevens said. "I've always been snapping to Terrance. So ... there's no misstep there."

Whittingham acknowledged that Stevens was given reps at center for a reason.

"We tuned him up. You always want to have a contingency plan if things go haywire on you," he said. "And so he did take a bunch of reps there."

The Utes, Whittingham explained, are always determined to put their five best linemen out of the field — whatever combination that requires.

"You just want to have Plan B if you are forced to go that way," he said.

MWC HONORS: Utah senior Shaky Smithson was named Mountain West Conference Special Teams Player of the Week. He returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown in Saturday's 38-10 win over UNLV.