SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 Sports) - Utes quarterback Jordan Wynn missed his third straight day of practice, sitting out the final scrimmage of training camp with a tired arm.
Wynn and head coach Kyle Whittingham insist there is no cause for concern, even though Wynn is coming off of two shoulder surgeries in the past two years.
"He could have played [a game] today and he could have played yesterday," said Whittingham. "We're still 12 days out and we have a chance to get the soreness out of it, so why risk it becoming chronic? There's nothing structurally [wrong]. It's just a tired arm. He's been throwing his fastballs all fall camp trying to put more zip on the ball and consequently just got a little bit worn out."
"It's nothing to worry about," said Wynn. "I want to be ready in two weeks and I want to be able to play the whole season and throw the ball hard all year. We're just being smart with it."
Wynn expects to be back to full practice on Monday.
"I told the training staff how I was feeling and they talked to Coach Whitt," Wynn said. "He made the decision, so by no means am I just taking myself out. I want to be out there."
Jon Hays and Travis Wilson took the majority of snaps in Saturday's scrimmage, and Hays has won the backup job for now with Wilson relegated to third string or possibly a redshirt year.
"More or less," said Whittingham about Hays becoming the backup. "It's not absolute, but right now when the depth chart comes out on Monday, that will most likely be the case. He has the experience from last season and all those ball games that he played in for us."
"I'm seeing everything better now," said Hays. "I'm seeing the safeties better, seeing the rotations, blitzes, everything. The game is starting to slow down for me, so I just have to go out and execute."
The offensive tackle questions have also been answered. Miles Mason will be the starting left tackle, while Percy Taumoelau has won the right tackle job, with Jeremiah Poutasi serving as the primary backup.
Running back Jarrell Oliver has also impressed in camp and may share the backup job with Kelvin York.
While the Utes have made progress in fall camp, they know there are a lot of improvements to be made before the season opener August 31st against Northern Colorado.
"We're farther ahead in our playbook than we were at this time last year," said wide receiver DeVonte Christopher, but we still have a long ways to go. We're not ready yet. We need to compete and all times, hustle, be the 2012 Utes and not worry about what the past Utes did. We have a long way to go."
