Eagles' Eric Rowe thrilled by Utah's surprising start
Utes' 4-0 start due in part to last year's squad, says rookie's former position coach.
UTAH IS ONE of the surprise stories of the first month of the college football season.
The Utes are out to a 4-0 start, which includes an eye-opening 62-20 win at Oregon last Saturday. That victory, plus last Sunday's interception against the Jets, of course, have made this one of Eric Rowe's best birthday week's ever. He turned 23 today.
"I got my Utah shirt right there," he said, laughing, earlier in the week, "will be repping it today, and probably for the rest of the year. We're just keeping the momentum rolling from last year."
Sharrieff Shah, the Utes' cornerbacks coach, said the leaders of last season are directly responsible for this year's success. Utah, at No. 10, has its highest ranking since joining the Pac-12 in 2011.
"Last year was special," Shah said. "We're playing all of these perennial powers. We beat UCLA when they were ranked. We beat USC when they were ranked. We beat Stanford. We got those wins, and so now it's no problem to go up to Autzen Stadium and play Oregon. We're confident."
The Utes went 5-4 in the Pac-12, their first winning season in the league. They finished 9-4 after rolling Colorado State, 45-10, in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Rowe, at No. 47, was the highest Utah player drafted in 2015. Nate Orchard, a linebacker, was taken by Cleveland at No. 51. Right tackle Jeremiah Poutasi, No. 66 by Tennessee, is the only NFL starter among Utah's 2015 draftees.
"The seniors now saw the leadership of the guys last year and realize we're not playing (opponents') tradition," Shah said. "We're playing 11 guys on the other side of the field. The cornerstone ingredients last year are the reason we're winning this year."