Turn off the lights, because Utah’s offensive line seems perfectly fine doing its best work out of view.
That’s the reality around a group that is trying to replace an entire starting unit after last season’s veteran line drew plenty of attention and sent two tackles to the NFL in the first round, with a third lineman recently landing on an NFL 53-man roster. This year’s version doesn’t have that same built-in shine. In fact, it has spent the offseason operating with almost none of it.
Starting tackle Zereoue Williams said that suits him just fine.
“It’s a lot of working in the dark, and I’m really happy that it is that way because that’s personally how I like to work,” Williams said. “I don’t know how we can show it before game day, but just in practice, we’re just trying our best to just do what we can do to build chemistry, and I think that’s really coming along really well.”
The same theme came from center Alex Harrison, who has waited six seasons for this opportunity.
“It’s great,” he said. “I mean, it’s working in the dark.
It’s people - nobody believes in us. Nobody knows what to expect, and it’s we don’t have anything to prove to anybody; we’re gonna prove it to ourselves.
The bar’s been set from last year and years past, and we’re just here to live up to our own standard that we’ve set in our own room.”
That room will be tested right away Thursday against Idaho at Rice-Eccles Stadium. It’s the kind of opener that can’t settle every question, but it can absolutely stir up more if things go sideways against an FCS opponent.
Head coach Morgan Scalley said there will be mistakes, especially with players rotating as Utah settles on its starting five. What he wants to avoid are the kinds of penalties that can wreck drives.
“We just want to play clean. Want to play clean, and you’re not going to be perfect, but aggressive,” Scalley said.
“We want to be physical. We don’t want to be soft.
And for me, success is running the ball well and playing clean.”
There’s plenty of reason for uncertainty, but there’s also a foundation here. Utah’s offensive line isn’t starting from zero, even if it is starting over in terms of the names penciled into the first unit.
Four returners - Williams, Harrison, Solatoa Moea’i and Keith Olson - are expected to be part of the five-man group, and together they logged 930 snaps last season. Transfer Cedric Jefferson brings another 945 snaps from Montana State.
That’s a real baseline, even if it’s not the same as the group Utah leaned on a year ago. The four returners combined for just a bit more than Spencer Fano’s 822 snaps last season, which tells you how much production and experience the Utes are trying to replace.
Freshman five-star Kelvin Obot is also pushing to get into the mix, so the competition isn’t done yet. Still, Harrison sees a group that can handle the rotation and keep moving.
“Every single one of them are trustworthy, and they all know what they’re doing,” he said. “I’m excited to play with them.”
Utah has also already shown a glimpse of what that depth can look like. In the bowl win over Nebraska, Fano and Caleb Lomu sat out to preserve draft stock, and the offensive line still held up.
That doesn’t settle anything about the 2026 season, but it does offer a starting point. The line has mostly been built in the background, with little turnover over the last few years and backups steadily developing while the spotlight stayed elsewhere.
Now the lights are about to come on.
Thursday is the first chance for Utah’s new front to show that all that quiet work means something. Perfection isn’t the standard.
A clean, physical performance is. And Scalley said he likes what he’s seen from the group led by Jordan Gross.
“I’m so impressed with the job that Jordan Gross has done with this front, and that is hopefully going to show itself on Thursday,” Scalley said.
In Other News...
Utah's First Rout Under Morgan Scalley Still Left One Big Concern
Utah opened the 2026 season in style at Rice-Eccles Stadium, rolling past Idaho 66-14 in Morgan Scalleys first rout as head coach. The Utes were efficient enough to put the game away quickly, with both quarterbacks Devon Dampier and Byrd Ficklin seeing action and the offense producing big plays throughout the afternoon.
Wayshawn Parker gave the start an immediate jolt, finding the end zone three times early as Utah built a cushion that never really came under threat. Even so, the clean final score masked some early unevenness up front, where both lines had moments theyll want back before settling in and improving as the game went along. [Read more 🡒]
Utahs Backfield Suddenly Looks More Dangerous Than Anyone Expected
Utahs offense left no doubt in a 66-14 win over Idaho, and the most encouraging part for the Utes may have been how many ways they were able to run the ball. The victory set school records for rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, with the backfield piling up production well beyond the usual lead option. Wayshawn Parker was at the center of it, finishing with 71 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while several other Utah runners chipped in meaningful yardage.
Morgan Scalley had plenty to like afterward, especially the way Parker handled the moment and the overall depth in the running back room. For a team that wants its ground game to travel week after week, Utah suddenly looks as if it has more answers than expected, and this performance only raised the stakes for figuring out how the workload will be split moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Utah Just Unveiled Another Dangerous Weapon On Offense
Utah spent its season opener against Idaho showing just how many ways it can stress a defense, and Wayshawn Parker quickly became one of the nights most dangerous answers. The running back finished with 94 all-purpose yards in the 66-14 win, and he was part of an offense that looked anything but one-dimensional, with the Utes leaning on both the ground game and the passing attack to keep Idaho from settling in.
The broader picture was even more encouraging for Utah: the Utes rolled up big yardage in both phases and had multiple players involved in the scoring, while the defense helped tilt the game early with Trey Reynolds interception setting up the first points. For an offense still showing its full shape, Parkers breakout was the kind of opening statement that suggests there may already be another reliable threat waiting to emerge as the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]