Utah Utes football: Cain gains on Wynn as battle continues

Utah's starting quarterback job is still up for grabs.

True freshman Jordan Wynn and junior college transfer Terrance Cain are splitting reps entering today's closed scrimmage at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

"Terrance has had an excellent last two days, and like I've said, it's a competition. Nobody's a starter," said head coach Kyle Whittingham. "It's what you've done lately, and Terrance has won the right to take more snaps. So now they're basically splitting reps."

Neither of the quarterbacks has dropped off, he said, it's just a matter of Cain looking exceptionally sharp as of late. Wynn, who is No. 1 on the newest depth chart and Cain, the No. 2 quarterback, are each slated to take 40 reps in Utah's second scrimmage of camp.

"The better Terrance plays, the more snaps he gets. The better Jordan plays, the more snaps he gets," said Whittingham, who downplayed the significance of the scrimmage — albeit a little bit — when it comes to choosing a starter.

"It's not judgment day," he said. "It won't completely define the situation, but is one more step in the process of evaluating."

And that, explained offensive coordinator Dave Schramm, is an ongoing process.

"Like Coach Whit has said: 'Nothing is set in stone,' " Schramm said. "Those two guys have got to battle it out, and we'll see where it ends out."

The coaching staff has encouraged the players to make choosing a starter a hard decision. That would mean that both are doing a good job in camp.

"They're battling, they're learning and they're getting better," Schramm said. "This thing, like we've said all along, will play itself out."

Scrimmages and every drill the quarterbacks perform are being graded and evaluated.

Additional reps, Cain explained, give you more chances to make plays.

Although he's still going for the No. 1 spot, Cain noted that it's beneficial for both quarterbacks to continue to progress.

"It's always good to see Jordan doing well and myself doing well," he said. "Because we are pushing each other and making the team better."

Corbin Louks, meanwhile, is still testing the waters at the safety position after being relegated to No. 3 on the quarterback depth chart. He joined a couple of others in getting some extra work with position coach Morgan Scalley after Monday morning's practice.

"Good stuff. I don't have any doubt in my mind that he can succeed there," Whittingham said. "It's just a matter of him deciding that's definitely what he wants to do. We're still in the decision process with that."

What has been decided, however, is that several projected starters will once again not participate in today's scrimmage. As was the case last week, many will be held out for precautionary reasons.

This scrimmage will also be tightened to the point where not all of the reserves will see action. Battles for positions on the travel squad will be emphasized.

Utah's final scrimmage is set for Saturday and will focus more on season-opening opponent Utah State.

e-mail: dirk@desnews.com