Across the country, some college football teams have canceled spring games, citing reasons from injury risk to concerns over the transfer portal and other teams picking off talent that perform well in the spring game.
Nebraska kicked off the trend, canceling its spring game in February. More programs like Michigan State, NC State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and USC followed.
In Utah, BYU won't have a spring game and Utah State will forgo the tradition this season.
"My primary intent is both to protect and retain our current roster and to keep our schemes and strategies unknown from our opponents for as long as possible," USU coach Bronco Mendenhall said . "I look forward to connecting with Aggie Nation this fall as we wrap up fall camp."
Utah — which has become more secretive, especially in regards to injury information, in the past decade — isn't joining those programs, forging ahead with plans for the annual "22 Forever" spring game at Rice-Eccles Stadium on April 19.
"You can't be scared to do everything. We got to get guys better. That's our No. 1 objective. And there's a lot of guys in this program right now that could use this spring game to get better," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.
Whittingham said that fans won't see a lot of starter-level players in the spring game, with the program instead using the scrimmage to continue to develop the younger players.
The format of the game may also be changed.
"It may not be a game format as far as a Red-White (game), might be offense versus defense. You maybe have to modify, but it's going to be a valuable opportunity for a lot of our guys," Whittingham said.
The Utah football staff had conversations about whether or not to go ahead with the spring game, but ultimately decides it was still valuable for the program.
"We still got about five practices beforehand, if we get banged up and can't field enough guys, that would be a reason to modify or change the format completely," Whittingham said. "But we got enough guys, like I said right now, that would benefit from the work that we think that offsets any other implications of the game."
Tickets to the "22 Forever" spring game are $10 per ticket in the bleachers sections and $22 per ticket in the chairbacks section, with all proceeds benefiting the 22 Forever Memorial Scholarship.
The biggest priority for Utah this spring has been developing a pecking order in the wide receiver room, and it looks as if a leader has emerged.
Whittingham said Tuesday that if the Utes played today, sophomore Zacharyus Williams would be the team's "WR1."
"He's the guy that's making the most plays, getting open, running the best routes, catching the football clean and is really dangerous after the catch," Whittingham said.
Williams started to show flashes of his potential — especially his ability to gain yards after the catch — toward the end of his freshman season, with his best game coming in the final game of the year against UCF, where he notched six receptions for 72 yards.
"I do believe I had a good game, I do use that as a confidence boost, but I still got to earn my spot, still got to earn my spot and come out here ready to work," Williams said.
That YAC ability continues to be Williams' hallmark, with Whittingham noting that if Utah had to, it could play him at the running back position.
"That's one of his main attributes is after the catch, he can make some people miss and get some that YAC yardage, run after catch yardage. He's also very good on the jet sweeps," Whittingham said.
Already, Williams has formed a good relationship with quarterback Devon Dampier, and he noted that the New Mexico transfer's communication in the huddle and leadership has been excellent.
That connection has been on display in the media observation periods and in the team's scrimmage, with Dampier finding Williams for multiple passes, including a deep shot.
So far, Williams seems to be excelling in Beck's offense, something Utah hopes will continue.
"It's a lot different," Williams said of the new offense. "Playing style is a lot different, but I just can't wait for you guys to see it."
