Utah
New U. corners arm selves with 'a little swagger'
No fear: Eugene Oates and Shaun Harper say they're ready to face opposing receivers
By Michael C. Lewis
The Salt Lake Tribune
He has never started a major college football game, but stands a good chance of changing that when the Utah Utes open their season against an Arizona team desperate to improve its passing game with the help of two new heralded receivers at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Friday night.
So Eugene Oates must be pretty nervous, right?
Guess again.
Though Oates and fellow cornerback Shaun Harper stand to occupy the spotlight against the Wildcats as newcomers to the starting lineup - either one could start, depending on the formation in which the Utes open - neither said he's feeling any extra pressure, despite knowing that his performance could help either extend the Utes' school-record 16-game winning streak, or end it.
"No pressure at all," Oates said.
Whoever does get the start will join six other new starters on defense, though it's possible none of them will have as visible an impact on the course of the game.
Coach Kyle Whittingham always has asked his cornerbacks to play mostly man-to-man defense, meaning Oates, Harper and returning starter Ryan Smith often will be on their own in the open field trying to contain Arizona's Syndric Steptoe, B.J. Vickers and Mike Thomas.
If the Utes allow those receivers to make a few catches, the Wildcats - last in the Pac-10 Conference in passing last season, and second-to-last nationally in scoring - probably will achieve their goal of opening up some running room for talented running backs Mike Bell, Gilbert Harris and Chris Henry.
"We pride ourselves on being able to play man coverage," defensive coordinator Gary Andersen said, "and that's what those guys need to be able to do."
And how.
Steptoe led the Wildcats by catching 30 passes for 446 yards and three touchdowns as a sophomore last
season, despite having to adjust to two quarterbacks after returning starter Richard Kovalcheck took the job at midseason from Kris Havner - who played against the Utes last year when the Wildcats had not yet started focusing on their passing game.
Vickers, meanwhile, joined the Wildcats in the spring as one of the nation's most heralded junior college receivers, and freshman Thomas has dazzled coaches in camp, and has run the 100 meters in 10.3 seconds.
"Anytime you can stretch the defense and have that vertical threat, it's problematic," Whittingham said.
Having played only as a backup as a junior transfer last season, Oates would be a true newcomer to the starting lineup, whereas Harper started five games - including the Liberty Bowl - as a redshirt reshman two years ago. He did not play as much last season, though, with departed starters Gerald Fletcher and Bo Nagahi sharing the position for which he and Oates have been battling throughout training camp.
"I'm pretty much right back at it," Harper said. "Just feel like I did my freshman year, when I started that first game at Utah State. So, I'm ready to go. I'm ready to play. I can't be any more excited for the game to come around. I'm just ready to go out there and 'D' guys up, that's it."
Harper actually took a recruiting trip to Arizona while still in high school in San Diego, but liked neither the hot weather nor coach John Mackovic.
"Utah was the place for me," he said.
Oates thought so, too.
A native of Jacksonville, Fla., he wound up at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas after failing to qualify academically out of high school. That's where the Utes found him - the same place they discovered senior safety Tim Harris - before anybody else.
"Utah was the first team that gave me any kind of look," Oates said. "So I just stuck with them. They stuck with me and I stuck with them."
Now, everybody is hoping those decisions pay off.
"It's all about confidence," Harper said. "You have to have confidence. You have to have a little swagger to you, know what I mean? You have to go out there, know what you're doing, know the assignment and just play your technique. If we all play our technique, then I don't think we can be beat. That's just how I look at it. If we go out there and just play our game, then I don't think anybody on our schedule can play with us. Let's put it that way. That's how much confidence I have in my guys."
Yep, that's quite a bit.
And it doesn't sound like much anxiety is seeping in there, either.
"Naw," Oates said. "It's time now. It's game time."
That's it for Friday Games!!
JT
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