Utah Utes football: Race to become next starting quarterback begins

It's encore time for the Utah Utes.

Less than 10 weeks after capping an undefeated season with a 31-17 win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, they're back at it again.

The Utes open spring practices today.

"There is no down time," said head coach Kyle Whittingham. "But if we have this problem every year, it would be just fine with us."

To keep the good times rolling, though, Utah has a couple of vacancies to fill.

Topping the list is finding a replacement for quarterback Brian Johnson, who claimed Most Outstanding Player honors in his final game with the Utes.

"It's the biggest question mark," Whittingham said. "The quarterback position is so important to any football team and having that guy in place is so critical."

Utah's cupboard isn't bare, he added, with four strong candidates competing for the job.

Junior Corbin Louks, who was Johnson's backup last season, is the early frontrunner. Junior college transfer Terrance Cain, redshirt freshman Devonte Christopher and true freshman Jordan Wynn round out the contenders.

All of the players are enrolled in school and will participate in spring practices.

The cupboard isn't bare, Whittingham noted, so it'll be a case of just finding someone to emerge from the pack.

"We are going to find out about all these guys," he said while pointing out that Louks will go in taking snaps with the first unit. "It's an open competition. By no means is anything solidified."

As such, there's no timetable to name a starter.

"We're not going to make a decision until we are sure," Whittingham said. "If that means we continue the competition in the fall, then so be it."

In a perfect scenario, though, the Utes would prefer to have the depth chart solidified before spring ball is complete.

"All four guys are going to get a shot. We're going to look at all of them," Whittingham said. "Obviously the upperclassmen have the upper hand with Corbin's experience here and Terrance's experience at the junior college."

Even so, the others are still very much in the mix.