Utah’s defense walked out of the Arkansas game with something every coordinator wants this early in the season: proof that the work is starting to show up on Saturdays.
The Utes bothered the Razorbacks at the line of scrimmage, challenged receivers downfield and played with the kind of edge that can turn a promising defense into a dependable one. Two games into the year, Utah is already seeing the shape of its foundation, and assistant Luther Elliss said that starts long before kickoff.
“Guys are running, playing hard, playing physical,” Elliss said. “And anytime you get that as a foundation piece, a lot of good things are going to happen.”
That foundation is being reinforced by how Utah rotates its defenders. Elliss said the substitutions are about development, but they also help keep the front fresh enough to keep sprinting and pursuing throughout the game. In his view, even a better player can lose some of his edge if the tank starts running low.
“So we want to keep guys fresh, keep them going,” Elliss said. “Guys at 60-70% in the tank aren’t going to play as effectively as guys at 100%, so we just want to keep that rotation and play at high level.”
The same idea carries over to the secondary, where readiness matters no matter when a player gets called on. Chenault said no one can afford to assume their number won’t come up.
“Whenever your number’s called, you got to step up to the plate,” he said. “You don’t ever want to think that you’re not going to get in the game.”
One of the more noticeable pieces of Utah’s defensive night was Jireh Moe, whose work against Arkansas matched what the staff believed it was getting when it targeted him in the transfer portal. Elliss said the coaches liked the disruptive film and the splash-play potential, even with concerns about his size.
“You see this guy that’s a Tasmanian devil, just spinning and beating guys,” Elliss said.
That showed up on one of Moe’s successful plays against Arkansas. After stuttering and seeing the blocker lean inside, he went to a spin move. Moe said Utah’s ability to shut down the run helped open the door for more chances to chase the quarterback once Arkansas leaned into the passing game.
“As you can see, we stopped them in the run, then they converted to the pass a lot,” Moe said. “We just had to get home, which we did.”
Elliss also stressed that Moe’s value goes beyond anything that ends up in a stat line. Sometimes the win is setting the edge, wrecking a block or making life harder for someone else to finish the play.
For Moe, though, the Arkansas game was also personal proof that size does not have to define production.
“It’s just a blessing, another opportunity to show what I got and just to prove for us undersized people, undersized athletes, that we can do it too,” Moe said.
Up front, Lance Holtzclaw has been the tone-setter in Utah’s pass rush through two games. He said his success comes from seeing how the pieces around him fit together - the tackles, linebackers and safeties all affect where the openings appear.
“Just kind of understanding the spacing, understand what our guys are doing, what our opponents are doing,” Holtzclaw said.
Holtzclaw also likes being moved around the front, where different alignments put him in position to work with different teammates. He said the next step is learning how to set up rushes so defenders can play off one another instead of chasing separate results.
“So I think if we start getting together and start playing like that and start playing with each other rather than just everybody out there trying to go get theirs, it’ll definitely open up some holes for us,” Holtzclaw said.
The back end has fed off that pressure. Utah finished with 13 pass breakups against Arkansas, a number that reflected a secondary willing to challenge everything thrown its way. Chenault said the group’s confidence comes from understanding its roles and recognizing that the defense rises or falls together.
He also pointed to the trust he has built with Jackson Bennee at nickel. Knowing what Bennee is going to do allows Chenault to play more freely outside, and he said that comfort cuts both ways.
There is still room to clean things up, especially when it comes to recognizing formations and anticipating routes before the snap. Those details matter even more when the secondary is asked to hold its ground behind an aggressive rush.
Utah now shifts to Utah State with that Arkansas performance in the rearview and a clear list of things to sharpen. Elliss wants cleaner technique and execution.
Holtzclaw sees more room for the pass rush to grow as the front learns to operate together. Chenault is focused on his pre-snap recognition.
Holtzclaw expects a competitive game and said Utah wants to bring the same approach it has used against everyone so far. When asked what stood out about the Aggies’ offensive line, his answer reflected the confidence this defense is carrying into the matchup.
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