The University of Utah football team kicked off its Big 12 play with a solid 31-17 road victory over Iowa State on September 26, and they had a truly unique guest cheering them on: Elder Ronald A. Rasband, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Talk about bringing some serious good vibes to the first road trip of the season!
A Special Presence in Ames
Utah head coach Morgan Scalley, himself a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, couldn’t have been happier to have Elder Rasband in Ames. Scalley described him as a “humble servant” and said the entire team was thrilled to have him there. “Fantastic. All our guys, I educated them on who he was, obviously our LDS players know who he is. Just to have his presence and it was fun just catching up with him,” Scalley shared on Monday at his weekly press conference. Turns out, Elder Rasband is an Olympus High grad and a University of Utah guy who attended the school before leaving to work in marketing for Jon Huntsman Sr.’s company. He even got an honorary degree from Utah at their commencement ceremony this year! Scalley’s comment that “our guys loved it” really tells you about the positive atmosphere around this 4-0 Utes squad.
Rested, Healthy, and Ready for a White-Out
Coming out of their only bye week of the season, the Utes are looking “fairly healthy,” according to Scalley. The 4-0 team used the break not just to heal up from the bumps and bruises of four straight weeks of football, but also to clean up mistakes from that Iowa State win and get a head start on preparing for Kansas. Scalley made sure practices were physical and fast, preventing any rust from setting in. “First of all, you can’t just not practice, and practices have to be physical, they have to be fast,” he explained. He even praised the team’s culture, noting they didn’t need motivation to practice hard during the bye week. That’s the kind of dedication that keeps a team rolling!
Now, the Utes are geared up for a massive home game this Saturday against Kansas at Rice-Eccles Stadium, and it’s going to be wild. This is believed to be the first-ever “white-out” game at the stadium, kicking off at 8:15 p.m. MDT. Scalley is pumped, saying, “This is going to be a big one this week. We expect Rice-Eccles to be packed in a white-out, so we’re excited for that. But it should be a pretty awesome environment for a Kansas team that is physical.” Expect an electric atmosphere as the 4-0 Utes look to keep improving and dominate their next opponent.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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