Utah Utes football: Offensive line doing a good job
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's offensive line pitched a shutout in Thursday's season-opening win over Pittsburgh. Facing a defense that led the nation in quarterback sacks a year ago, the Utes didn't give up a single one in their 27-24 overtime victory.
"They did a good job. Going into the game, that's all we were hearing about was how good the Pittsburgh defensive line was," said Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn. "They were a solid group, but our offensive line was prepared. They just stuck to their assignments and did a good job."
The Panthers averaged 3.62 sacks per game in 2009 and recorded at least one in all 13 games they played.
"We were ready for all of their blitzes, ready for all the individual moves that the down linemen had," said center Zane Taylor. "We practiced and went over them so many times and watched enough film that it was kind of second nature by the time we got out there."
Film study and the scout team, he added, played a huge part in the line's success against Pitt and end Greg Romeus, the reigning Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
"One of our goals was having no sacks on the quarterback, and so that's huge — a team leading the nation and then holding them to zero," Taylor added. "We still had a couple of pressures, but we clean that up for the next game."
As the Utes prepare for Saturday's Mountain West Conference opener against UNLV, the offensive line does so with a sense of accomplishment.
Right tackle Tony Bergstrom insists, however, no one is satisfied.
"It was good. It was really rewarding. We've worked really hard during the offseason on all of our technique and blitz pick up," he said. "We had a really good scheme going against these guys, and I think it's a good start. It's a really good start, I think, and that's about all it is in my head right now — just a good start."
The focus now, he continued, is on UNLV.
It's an approach head coach Kyle Whittingham appreciates.
"That's what it is: a good start. We've got a lot of football left, obviously, but they played well as a unit on Thursday night," he acknowledged.
The line, composed of starters Taylor, Bergstrom, left guard Caleb Schlauderaff, right guard Tevita Stevens and left tackle John Cullen, drew plenty of praise from Whittingham. He said they were very assignment-sound. Besides not allowing a sack, Whittingham noted that their efforts in run efficiency were good.
"We just went into the game with a good plan," Whittingham said. "The players have worked hard in all practices leading up to the game, and that was the end result."
All five starters graded out at 75 percent or better.
"We definitely felt proud of ourselves," Taylor said. "There are a lot of things to clean up, but we won the game, and that was the biggest goal.
"We really don't think about it until it happens. Kind of like being an O-lineman, nobody really knows who they are until they mess up," Taylor said. "So when we are doing our job, we don't really sit and admire our work. We just focus on the next play and keep going."
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