Six former Utes detail a culture of intimidation, alleging coaching staff pressured them to play through injuries.
There has always been an emphasis on winning for the Utah Utes football program. This was a standard established by Kyle Whittingham, but it certainly didn't start with him either. The Utes' foundation has been based on maintaining an advanced level of physicality. It's become the identity of the team for decades throughout several rounds of conference realignments. However, there are multiple former Utah players with a different story to tell.
Six former Utah football players raise questions about how the program handled their injuries in a new report by the Salt Lake Tribune. Each of them felt pressured to be on the field when they weren't ready to go.
Edge rusher Van Fillinger, wide receiver Mycah Pittman, running back Jaylon Glover, tight end Miki Suguturaga, defensive lineman Tevita Fitu and one anonymous player claimed Whittingham and his staff pushed them out on the field. In some cases, players said their injuries were misdiagnosed by team doctors. The bombshell report sheds light on the ugly side of trying to compete at the highest levels.
This first came to the surface back in 2024 after a tweet by Lorilyn Rose, the mother of Utah QB Brandon Rose, who shared an account of his injury during the Holy War with BYU.
"Brandon will be having surgery today," she wrote on X. In (Saturday's) night game in the 2nd quarter just before halftime, he tore his Lisfranc ligament. They gave him heavy pain meds and a steel-plated insole so he could continue playing. The Dr couldn’t believe he was really even able to walk. This is extremely painful, and your foot is totally unstable. Fortunately, with surgery he will make a full recovery and come back stronger than ever."
The thought of having Rose play while being doped up on pain meds is unfathomable.
In 2022, Fillinger injured his leg in practice. He heard a "snap" before dropping to the field and was unable to walk. He was diagnosed with an ankle sprain. However, it was much worse. An X-ray revealed a season-ending tibia fracture for Fillinger. While trying to fully recover from the injury, Fillinger claims the ankle in that same leg was "just destroyed." His doctor recommended six weeks on the sidelines, prompting Utes defensive ends coach Lewis Powell to agree to let him redshirt.
Three weeks later, Utah edge rusher Logan Fano went down with an ACL tear. That's when Fillinger says Whittingham wanted to bring him back from injury prematurely.
“Coach [Lewis Powell] came into rehab one day, and he said, ‘Hey, Van, coach [Kyle] Whittingham is not going to let you redshirt,’” Fillinger said. “I’m thinking, ‘What the hell? I’ve already been out three games.’”
Fillinger said they threatened to dismiss him from the team for non-compliance. He felt there was no other choice but to play.
Some Utah parents started speaking out after the 2024 season. There was one conversation I had at the time with the parent of a Utes starter, who painted a similar picture of wanting players to play through the pain. Whittingham allegedly refused to redshirt an injured player before telling them to hit the transfer portal.
The Salt Lake Tribune detailed injuries between 2020-24. In those five years, the Utes won two Pac-12 championships, resulting in back-to-back Rose Bowl appearances for the program. This was also during the height of the COVID pandemic in college sports.
In a joint statement to The Tribune, Utah Athletics and University of Utah Health said: "The health and well-being of student-athletes is a “top priority” and that return-to-play decisions are made through a collaborative process between physicians, athletic trainers and the student-athlete.
“The University of Utah Department of Athletics follows all university and national guidelines to ensure student success and safety,” the statement said. “We routinely evaluate our processes and welcome the opportunity to make adjustments if we determine our policies are not meeting expectations.”
Whittingham left Utah to take over in Michigan last year. A University of Michigan spokesperson said, “Coach Whittingham or his coaching staff did not make medical decisions [at Utah]. He followed the lead of the medical team."
No. 21 Utah opens the 2026 season next Thursday against Idaho (9 p.m. ET, ESPNU).
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