Kyle Whittingham says Pac-12 is in 'a great spot'

There’s plenty of chatter about the future of the Pac-12 amid realignment talks and a media deal that still hasn’t come despite on the way “soon” for some time. But according to Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, the on-field product is still high quality.

Whittingham provided his assessment of Pac-12 during the league’s media day on Friday, pointing out how successful it was in 2022. In the final College Football Playoff rankings, six Pac-12 programs ranked in the top 25 — led by Whittingham’s Utes at No. 8. Only the SEC had that many teams ranked to end the regular season.

That’s why Whittingham thinks the Pac-12 is in good position heading into the 2023 season.

“I think we’re in a great spot,” Whittingham said. “Any time you can have half the league ranked in the top 25 at the end of the season going into the next year, I think that’s strong. I don’t know if there’s a league in the country, maybe the SEC, that has that representation and that strength where you got half your league ranked in the top 25.”

The Pac-12 is also home to three of the top 10 passing offenses last year, including Washington, which finished No. 1 in the country in passing yards per game. In fact, this year could be even better on that side of the ball.

Why the Pac-12 is ‘the conference of quarterbacks’ in 2023

On the field, it’s shaping up to be a big year for the Pac-12. Whittingham raved about the quality of quarterbacks earlier in his remarks, too. Multiple highly touted quarterbacks are back, including Utah’s Cameron Rising. He led Utah to back-to-back conference championships and rather than test the NFL Draft waters, he’s back for another go-round with the Utes.

By returning, though, he’s joining the ranks of some other big names.

The star of the group is Caleb Williams, the USC quarterback fresh off a Heisman Trophy season in 2022. He wasn’t the only Heisman contender in the Pac-12, though. Michael Penix Jr. had a huge season for Washington after transferring from Indiana and finished ninth in the Heisman voting. Another transfer who had a big year in 2022 was Bo Nix, putting together career numbers at Oregon after arriving from Auburn and setting himself up for another jump in 2023.

The other two top passers in the Pac-12 last year — Arizona QB Jayden de Laura and Washington State’s Cameron Ward — are also coming back. Rising finished No. 8 in the conference in passing a year ago, but is the only other quarterback in the top 10 to return in 2023.

Not only are the top five passers returning, but three programs dove into the transfer portal and brought in some impressive talent at quarterback. DJ Uiagalelei is now at Oregon State after leaving Clemson, Sam Jackson transferred to Cal from TCU and Shedeur Sanders followed his father, Deion, from Jackson State to Colorado. The three came in as the No. 4, No. 6 and No. 10-ranked quarterback transfers this cycle, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings.

George Kliavkoff: A media agreement is coming soon, league wants to ‘get the right deal’

The other big storyline around the Pac-12 this year is the ongoing media rights negotiations. After USC and UCLA announced their plans to leave for the Big Ten, the Pac-12 announced plans to start exploring a new media partner. That was a year ago now, and the league still doesn’t have a deal.

Rumors have swirled for some time about potential partners. Apple and ION Televsion are among the names to come up, and On3’s Eric Prisbell previously reported the Pac-12 has to weigh exposure vs. expansion in negotiations. Because there still isn’t an agreement, realignment rumors persist.

Then, shortly before media day, reports said commissioner George Kliavkoff wasn’t planning to announce a deal in Las Vegas. He explained why during his opening remarks, reiterating an agreement is on the way. The goal is to avoid rushing to strike a deal.

“I know there’s been never-ending speculation about the timing of our media deals,” Kliavkoff said. “In the end, we’re on track to announce our deals at about the same time as everyone would have anticipated and predicted before the news of conference realignment. The Pac-12 board of directors has met regularly throughout the process and has been united in their commitment to one another and to the Pac-12. This commitment and patience will be rewarded with an announcement in the near future.

“Getting the right deal has always been more important to our board and to the conference than getting the expeditious one.”