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When he first showed up in June, even the veterans wanted to know what Zack Moss had been doing in the weight room. The 5-foot-10 freshman running back looked like he had been training for a bodybuilding competition.
"Everybody raves about my shoulders — I don't get it," he said, attempting to seem modest.
But Moss,http://bit.ly/1Sorfwj";> the third member of a distinguished group of freshmen from Hallandale High School in Florida, was preparing to shoulder a load of the running back production, and he got his number called Saturday night in the second half against BYU.
With 12 carries for 58 yards,http://www.sltrib.com/sports/4338683-155/utah-football-joe-williams-fumble-opens";> he asserted himself squarely in a running back battle with senior Joe Williams and junior Troy McCormick, and he could be starting as soon as Saturday against San Jose.
His high school teammates-turned-Utes, Demari Simpkins and Tyler Huntley, have been cheering him on.
"It's all cool. We're all friends," Moss said. "They're just telling me to keep it going and get the spot."
Moss has been working at a disadvantage the past few weeks after suffering a leg injury that kept him from fully practicing for two-and-a-half weeks. That's affected his conditioning: Despite his powerful physique, he still has to work on his stamina, particularly now that he's playing at altitude instead of his South Florida hometown.
There are differing skill sets between the backs: Williams has speed, and Troy McCormick is slippery and can catch passes out of the backfield. Moss, by comparison, might be in the most traditional mold of back, a power runner with some shiftiness. He said running backs coach Dennis Erickson has been telling him to work on squaring up his shoulders when he runs, which will give him better balance and help him move through creases faster.
But what Moss brings to the table already is a good start, Kyle Whittingham said.
"We thought he had those capabilities, but it's only one game where he had 10 or 12 carries so he has to do it again," he said. "We saw glimpses of that through the early part of fall camp and then he went down. He was out for several weeks. When he came back, we weren't really sure if he was going to be ready this week to contribute or not. We gave him a few carries and it appeared like he was ready so we kept feeding him the ball."
It looks like they still will.
Bolles looking for a bounce-back •http://bit.ly/2boW33W";> For the former five-star lineman, his second start at left tackle was a little rough.
Garett Bolles was one of the main culprits for penalties against BYU, including unnecessarily roughness, false start and holding. For a big chunk of the fourth quarter, the Utes replaced Bolles with sophomore Jackson Barton, resulting in the most successful running drive of the game.
Whittingham said after the game that he still "believes completely" in Bolles. So does his left guard, Isaac Asiata.
"I think Garett is going to be one of the best offensive linemen that's ever come through this program," he said. "He's came from a JuCo, he's getting used to things still. I still think he's a hell of a physical player, a great player. He's done a lot of good things. Once he can figure out the finer things — back-to-back penalties is rough, but who hasn't had penalties?"
It's worth noting that Bolles had other strong plays. Utah continues to see potential in his athleticism and 6-foot-5 size, and Whittingham said overall, he was much happier with the offensive line's performance.
Asiata had a bone to pick with one of Bolles' flags, when he drove BYU's Harvey Langi into the ground on a particularly high-energy effort.
"The kid was just trying to do his job," he said. "You've got to let go and re-engage. I thought he had a great physical play and got a pancake. It is what it is, you can't go back and change it. But like I said, I like how physical he is."
Sunia Tauteoli earns Pac-12 honors • Interestingly, by Utah's internal standards, junior linebacker Sunia Tauteoli wasn't even the player of the week on his own team. https://twitter.com/Utah_Football/status/775462518797967362";>That honor went to cornerback Reggie Porter, who picked off a pass and allowed only one completion all night, according to Whittingham.
Asked whether he would rather win Utah's player of the week or the Pac-12's, Tauteoli laughed: "I'd rather win the game over both of those."
There's no doubt Tauteoli helped do that on Saturday night. His pick-six helped Utah get off to a good start — one the team would need as the offense struggled. He also played a key role in limiting Jamaal Williams to 58 yards rushing, and he was in on the final tackle of Taysom Hill on the key two-point conversion attempt.
The 25-year-old linebacker has known for some time that http://bit.ly/2aghgiB";>he would have huge shoes to fill with Gionni Paul, Utah's all-conference playmaking backer, graduating last year. But for Tauteoli, the key was to not compare himself to anyone.
"It's just football," he said. "I've played it for 15 years, same old sport. You take the ball away, you're good."
'Nice leather pants,' re-examined • The post-game comments aren't usually headlines, but Whittingham stumbled into one when he addressed sideline reporter Shannon Spake with the parting comment: "Nice leather pants."
His words became blog posts online,http://thebiglead.com/2016/09/10/kyle-whittingham-to-shannon-spake-nice-leather-pants/";> hitting The Big Lead and other media sites — some with vague musings on the awkwardness of the comment, and some critical of the difference between the difference in how coaches treat male reporters vs. female reporters. Whittingham said he was surprised at the reaction, and offered an explanation, transcribed below:
"That boggled my mind. I'll address this one time, and one time only. At the postgame interview, I'm sitting there looking down because I have a hard time hearing, trying to focus on the question. I see the leather pants, and I'm like, 'Hey, that's kind of cool. You don't see that very often.' And so, that thing in to the other, you know, "Nice leather pants." You know, "Thank you." Very innocuous, just a compliment. I guess some people have too much time on their hands or something. But that was it, nothing more to it or less to it than that. It did get some run, didn't it?"
Other odds and ends:
• There's some depth chart movement at receiver this week: Tim Patrick switched sides from Z to X receiver, and is now backed up by Alex Dana. Raelon Singleton becomes the Z receiver starter backed by Saiosi Wilson. The movement implies that Tyrone Smith, who is Utah's second-leading receiver with five catches for 91 yards, is not available. Caleb Repp was also seen in street clothes last weekend instead of suiting up for the game, so Utah may have some depth issues at receiver only two games in.
• Casey Hughes is now listed as a corner, moving over from safety. He's listed as Dominique Hatfield's back-up. Hatfield has missed the last two games with injury.
• A move that the Utes made during last week's game: Troy McCormick is now a starting kickoff returner alongside Julian Blackmon.
• Kylie Fitts was injured against BYU and didn't play the second half. Kyle Whittingham would only say that Fitts is not injured for the season. No other updates were available. Fitts has 1.5 sacks this year.
• There's "no change" in status for Cory Butler-Byrd this week, who remains a part of team activities but is suspended from games. Whittingham said he would give advanced notice if there will be a change in his status.
• SJSU coach Ron Caragher has an interesting connection with Ron McBride, coaching with him at Kentucky. Caragher said his history with McBride, coaching together between 2003 and 2004, helped him become more familiar with Utah's football tradition. Also worth mentioning: McBride is an SJSU alum who was a team captain as a senior in 1962.
kgoon@sltrib.com
Twitter: @kylegoon