Ute kicker says he can go deep; really, really deep

Utah may or may not lack a consistent kicker this year. Coach Kyle Whittingham says it remains to be seen what will happen in a game situation.

But one thing placekicker Nick Marsh has is plenty of confidence.

He said on Friday that he has made a 67-yard field goal in practice, though his longest in a game was 49 yards — and that was in high school.

“I could probably hit most 60-yard field goals,” Marsh said. “If I have the wind at my back, I can probably make a 65-yarder, and if it’s just a scorcher (wind), I’ll try 70. I doubt they’ll let me go past 60, but I definitely feel I’m ready whenever. From 70 yards and in, I’ll attempt it.”

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This is an era of details, right?

Good. Then here comes the play-by-play from linebacker Brian Blechen on his bee-swallowing incident.

Blechen inhaled a bee on the first day of practice and had to leave after his throat became swollen.

“It was during warm-up drills and I was jogging,” Blechen said, “and I made a turn and it flew right into my mouth.”

He went on to say, “I felt it right in my mouth. It was kind of flying around and so I tried to bend over and cough it up, but the stinger stabbed me and I reflex-swallowed and it like ripped it from the stinger.”

Did it hurt much?

“Yeah, it hurt,” Blechen said. “My throat was pretty swollen for three or four days.”