Rowe ready for the Cougars | The Salt Lake Tribune

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Wanted to catch up with safety Eric Rowe after practice Wednesday and see how he is feeling now that the hamstring injury that forced him to miss the BYU and ASU games is finally healed. So I waited, and waited, and waited some more. Rowe, as is often customary, was one of the last guys to leave the practice field as he took numerous reps with the ball machine. A freshman All-American last year, Rowe said he wanted to be sure he was ready for the Cougars. "With this game coming up, we've got to start catching the ball," he said. "We don't have time to drop it and we need to make every opportunity count." Rowe, who has 33 tackles and two pass breakups, said he and his teammates are determined to start making more interceptions. The Utes only have three this year. "We've been making more plays in practice," Rowe said. "We know we need to start getting some and with this pass-type offense, we've got to be ready for them." As for his own play, Rowe said he feels he is finally 100 percent. "I'm good," he said. "We're all juiced up after getting a win. As a team the defense is feeling pretty good." But in the case of Rowe, a little extra practice never hurts. - Lya Wodraska