Ahead of their upcoming matchup against the Utah Utes in the 2023 SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl, the Northwestern Wildcats and head coach David Braun seem to be keeping things professional regarding comments on their opponent.
Braun, who personally experienced Utah’s program up close during a professional development opportunity years ago, recently made remarks on how he views the culture head coach Kyle Whittingham has created within Utah's program.
“I don’t think coach Whittingham knows this, but I commonly will use the Utah program as a model that I really admire in terms of the way that they’ve built that program, the way that they play complementary football and team football,” said Braun.
Any admiration for Utah held by Braun was put into practice, as the first-year head coach managed to turn around one of college football’s most dysfunctional programs.
Entering this year, Braun took over a Northwestern program that was in complete disarray. Despite the fallout of former Wildcats’ head coach Pat Fitzgerald’s hazing scandal, Braun led the team to one of their best seasons in recent memory.
With Braun as interim head coach, Northwestern achieved a 7-5 record in 2023. A record that is even more staggering once you acknowledge the fact Northwestern won only a single game during the 2022 college football season (1-11 overall).
For his quick turnaround of the Wildcats program, Braun was elevated to the position of full-time Northwestern head coach and earned Big-10 Coach of the Year honors.
Braun isn't the first head coach to hold Kyle Whittingham and the Utah program in high esteem. In all actuality, admiration from surrounding coaches seemed to be a weekly occurrence throughout the 2023 season.
Before the Utes’ game against Colorado in late November, first-year Buffs head coach Deion Sanders could be heard commenting on Whittingham’s status as a college football head coach.
“He’s a legend man,” Sanders said in a pregame interview. “He’s a darn legend. He’s a guy I truly respect. I truly admire and his consistency and persistence speak volumes. I love what he’s doing with that program. I love what he’s done with that program.”
Other head coaches like Arizona’s Jedd Fisch and Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham, expressed similar admiration for Whittingham’s coaching prowess and the program’s status as a “model” for football teams around the country.
Moreover, former Utah head coach, Urban Meyer, declared Whittingham, “the best coach in college football,” earlier in the season.
As the 2023 football season ends with the Utes' bowl game against Northwestern, the Utah faithful can relish the fact that one of college football’s best, the only head coach who rides a Harley Davidson into College GameDay, will continue to guide the program through the 2024 season and beyond.
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