Urban Meyer speaks in hyperbole. We know this. If you ever find yourself at a brunch spot with the future College Football Hall of Famer and he doesn't say their croissants are some of the best he's ever had, assume they're borderline inedible and order something else.
But when Meyer anoints a coach as the best in college football, it's worth noting. Meyer spent 17 seasons as a head coach in college football and finished in the AP Top 5 in nine of them. Furthermore, 24 of his former assistants have gone on to head coaching roles of their own so far.
And in a recent episode of his podcast "Urban's Take with Tim May", Meyer said Utah's Kyle Whittingham is the best coach in the game today.
“I’ve said many times, Kyle Whittingham is one of the best coaches in college football. He’s the best. He’s the best coach in college football."
Meyer is biased when it comes to Whittingham. Whittingham was Meyer's defensive coordinator for his two seasons at Utah, then took over as head coach when Meyer got the Florida job after the 2004 season.
Nearly two decades later, Whittingham has built a Hall of Fame resume of his own. He's 160-75 with an undefeated season, eight AP Top 25 finishes and three conference titles. His Utes have won the last two Pac-12 championships and are in contention to win a third without franchise quarterback Cam Rising.
Meyer singled out praise for Utah quarterback Bryson Barnes, a "pig farmer" and former third-string quarterback, who ran for a key 26-yard gain to set up Utah's game-winning field goal against USC.
“If you watched the play closely, when he hit the safety, the safety takes himself out of the game. Bryson, you can tell stung, that’s it. That was a train wreck of two people, and he gets up slowly, but the way he plays, I just love to shake a guy’s hand because instant admiration for that guy,” Meyer said.
Utah has also transitioned safety Sione Vaki to running back while still fielding a defense that ranks 11th nationally in scoring.
“He is culture and discipline," Meyer said of Whittingham. "He’s tough, he’s tough as nails. His father was an NFL coach for a long time. And I mean, Fred Whittingham, one of the toughest cats, I met him before he passed away. I can go on and on about Kyle Whittingham and what he’s done, but he’s not one of the best, he’s the best coach in college football."
13th-ranked Utah (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12) hosts No. 8 Oregon Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox) in a critical battle for the final Pac-12 championship.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.