SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Another shoulder injury has ended the football career of Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn.
Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham made the announcement during his weekly news conference on Monday.
"He's talked to his father and he's going to move on with life after football," Whittingham said. "He's fought the good fight. This is the fourth time he's injured his shoulder, and enough is enough. We're all on the same page. If he was my son, I'd probably encourage him to do the same thing."
Wynn, who was not at the press conference, was knocked out of the game during the first half in an overtime loss to Utah State University on Friday night. He will most likely need surgery.
"I know what it's like to have the game taken from you," said tight end Dallin Rogers. "I had a season-ending injury, so I know where he's coming from."
"I felt pretty bad for him," said safety Quade Chappuis. "It's been hard. He's one of my really good friends, so it's tough."
Wynn ends his collegiate career with 4,637 passing yards, 33 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in 22 games.
Senior John Hays and freshman Travis Wilson will both take snaps in practice for the Utes as they prepare to take on 25th-ranked Brigham Young University on Saturday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Hays will most likely get the start because of his experience. Last season when Wynn went down, Hays stepped in and went 6-3 as a starter. He also led the Utes to 20 points against Utah State after Wynn failed to lead the offense to any points against the Aggies.
"I think that he's markedly improved," Whittingham said about Hays. "We've got a lot more confidence in him now. I wouldn't say we had a lack of confidence in him last year, but there was just a lot of the unknown."
"You always know that Jon is going to put his heart and soul out there," added tight end Westlee Tonga. "You know that he'll never leave anything on the field when he's out there."
With a full year under his belt, Whittingham said they won't have to change much of the offense for Hays like they did last season.
"We don't think we have to do that this year," Whittingham said. "With Jon Hays a year more experienced, we feel like we're not going to have to modify hardly at all."
Last season, running back John White set a school record with 316 carries. Whittingham doesn't see White's workload increasing too much just because Wynn is out again.
"John White is always going to be a major part of our offense every week no matter who the quarterback is," he said. "Right now, we think Jon is very capable as a thrower, so we're not going to have to do the things we did last year."
Travis Wilson, who has already thrown for one touchdown and ran for two more this season, will also see action. Wilson, who impressed coaches with his ability to pick up the offense quickly during training camp, may eventually become the full-time starter.
"In practice, the gap is very small," Whittingham said about the difference between Wilson and Hays. "In scrimmages, the gap is very small. But, people react very differently when you're the guy. Right now, Travis hasn't been the guy, he's been the supplemental guy."
So from losing to Utah State, to losing their starting quarterback, to now having to face BYU, it is a little chaotic right now for the Utes.
"No doubt the adversity bug has hit us," said Rogers. "But coach Whitt has instilled in us a mindset of grinding and hard work. If you just keep on being humble and work hard, things will always work out in your favor."
"You can't panic," Whittingham added. "You have to continue to stick to what you believe in and not make wholesale changes. Often times, that will do more damage than good."
