Molded by his father’s toughness, Kyle Whittingham has Utah aiming for even greater heights in 2024 season

Kyle Whittingham is surprised that you’re surprised. The Utah coach had just mentioned his dad, Fred, as the underpinning of the program during the Big 12 Media Days in July. When pressed for more information later by a media member, Whittingham shot an incredulous look that screamed “How can you not know who Fred Whittingham is?”

Easy, really. Few of us raised four sons, two of them who played in the NFL. Few of us survived eight years in the league after coming out of Cal Poly undrafted. Few of us coached a combined 12 years at BYU and Utah, experiencing a bitter rivalry from both sides.

And very few of us walked the walk each day in practice like Fred Whittingham — at least in the state of Utah’s football hinterland.  

“He’d stand out there in short sleeves and short shorts in 2-degree weather,” said Hans Olsen, one of Fred’s former players at BYU. “He’d look at everybody like, ‘You’re a bunch of candy asses if you tried to throw even a hand warmer on your belt loop.'”

When Kyle Whittingham answers questions about the physical nature of his program, the story always leads back to his dad. As season No. 155 of college football begins, Utah not only has positioned itself as the team to beat in the new Big 12, but also a team that could play in any conference because of what Fred Whittingham left behind.

That would be a piece of himself on that field and inside the soul of his son.  

“My father was a physical guy,” Whittingham said. “He always emphasized being tough, being physical.”

None of us, then, have injected the fierce physicality into Utah football that Fred did. His spirit defines the program to this day, hovering over the 48-mile strip of Utah highway between Salt Lake City and Provo that separates Utah and…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/molded-by-his-fathers-toughness-kyle-whittingham-has-utah-aiming-for-even-greater-heights-in-2024-season/

Author : Dennis Dodd

Publish date : 2024-08-26 17:02:30

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