Kyle Whittingham and the Utah Utes are taking a new approach to their offseason workload to reduce some offseason setbacks suffered in the past.
The group is taking more of an NFL-style approach to the offseason rather than hitting the ground running full speed in the fall.
“Yeah, we’ve done a few things,” Whittingham said at his Big 12 Media Days press conference. “We’re changing the format of fall camp to more of a ramp-up like the NFL does instead of just hitting the ground running. We’re gonna go two days, take a day off, go three days, take a day off, go four days, take a day off, so there’s a ramping effect there.”
While the workout adjustments are tailored to the entire Utah football program, the team is trying to take precautions to avoid situations like Cam Rising’s recovery from his knee injury. The team struggled in 2023 with Rising sidelined, and while the California native’s injury was suffered on the football field in the Rose Bowl, Utah is eliminating any unnecessary risk of re-injury in the offseason.
“Also, in the strength room, we’ve done some modifications in our lifting to try to prevent soft tissue injuries,” Whittingham continued. “We’ve looked at the warm-up and stretch routines that we do, so we’ve looked at every possible angle we have, and we’ll implement some of those this fall.”
Fans will have an opportunity to see the offseason changes take effect when Utah kicks off its 2024 season against Southern Utah on Thursday, August 29th.
