Utah Utes football: Spring practice begins

In his first four seasons as Utah's head football coach, Kyle Whittingham didn't make a lot of staff changes.

He didn't have to.

Full-time assistant coaches Gary Andersen, Andy Ludwig, Charlie Dickey, Jay Hill, Aaron Roderick, Dave Schramm and Kalani Sitake stuck around and helped Whittingham get the Utes back to the Bowl Championship Series and national prominence.

Prior to last season, Aaron Alford and Morgan Scalley were the only full-time additions to the staff in Whittingham's tenure. They replaced Jay Boulware, who went to Iowa State in 2007, and Derrick Odum, who left for SMU in 2008.

Additional changes, however, have come since Utah's Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama.

Andersen became the head coach at Utah State; Ludwig left to become the offensive coordinator at Kansas State and then California; and Dickey is now an assistant at Kansas State.

Whittingham filled the vacancies by promoting Schramm and Sitake to the offensive and defensive coordinator posts, respectively, and adding John Pease, J.D. Williams and Blake Miller to the staff.

Having two new coordinators on a team that went 13-0 last season has added intrigue to Utah's spring practices, which began Tuesday at the Spence Eccles Field House.

"When you promote from within with your coordinators it provides for more continuity," said Whittingham, who noted that it was good to get back out on the practice field.

Besides benefitting the players, Whittingham is confident the 15 sessions will help Schramm and Sitake transition into their new positions.

"I think spring ball is a very good training ground for a new coordinator," Whittingham said. "Every day you are out there is a positive. Every day that you are out there is another day of experience you're able to have now."

It won't, however, totally prepare the coaches for everything they'll face down the road.

"There's really nothing that quite simulates the actual game situation," said Whittingham, who noted there are some similarities, though, to making calls in scrimmages and such. "Really, it's a matter of just getting comfortable in their roles."

Whittingham emphasized that neither will do so alone.

"They've both got very good staff backing them up," he said.

The coordinators agree.

"I think coaching is overrated. My job as coordinator is to organize everything. The coaches on this staff have done a great job recruiting great players," Sitake said. "We've got some speed on the defense and that has nothing to do with my coaching. My job is to make sure we've got our guys in good position to be successful and utilize their talents."

As for his first practice as defensive coordinator, Sitake said things went well and he was pleased with the effort shown by the players.