Morgan Scalley isn’t losing sleep over Utah’s missing sack totals off the edge.
That might sound strange for a defense whose defensive ends have not recorded a sack through five games, but Scalley made it clear Monday that the number on its own doesn’t bother him. Utah’s ends - Lance Holtzclaw, Kash Dillon and Ethan Day - have still been active, combining for 37 quarterback pressures and 34 quarterback hurries. They just haven’t finished the job.
And for a Utah defense that has still done plenty of things right, Scalley is looking at the bigger picture.
“I’m not concerned one bit about the sacks.”
Utah entered its trip to Colorado with a 5-0 record and a defense that has leaned hard on stopping the run. The Utes are tied with BYU, Cincinnati and Texas Tech at 2.2 sacks per game, good for No. 52 nationally, and the team leaders in sacks are not defensive ends at all. Defensive tackle Karson Kaufusi and linebacker Elijah Ellis are both sitting on two.
The absence of edge sacks stood out in Saturday’s 41-24 win over Kansas. Jayhawk quarterback Isaiah Marshall had time to work and made Utah pay with 333 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception. His completion rate was only 55%, but when Marshall connected, Kansas found chunk gains.
Scalley pointed to both the performance of Kansas and the way Utah played defense. The Utes spent much of the day in a “cage rush,” choosing containment over aggression against Marshall, a dual-threat quarterback.
The result was exactly what Utah wanted against the run. Kansas managed only 58 rushing yards, with Marshall responsible for 21 of them. Utah forced the Jayhawks to live through the air, and Kansas responded with its best passing outing against the Utes this season.
“Yes, they’re throwing and when you can make them one dimensional, again, their strength coming in, they were No. 1 in the conference in rushing offense … and I think we limited them to 58 yards rushing. So you make them one dimensional doing something that you don’t think they do necessarily well enough. Now he did, he threw the ball and completed it,” Scalley said.
Utah did dial up more pressure in the red zone and at points late in the fourth quarter, and those moments produced some important stops. Even so, the larger trend remains: the defensive ends still haven’t hit home in the sack column.
That’s not something Scalley is treating like a crisis, though. He kept coming back to the same tradeoff - if the run defense is this strong, the defense can live with some missing splash plays off the edge.
The Utes are No. 9 nationally against the run, allowing just 78.8 yards per game. That has been a major shift from stretches of last season, and Utah has already faced two run-heavy opponents in its first two Big 12 games and shut both down.
“However, 51% completion percentage, make them one dimensional, 58 yards rushing. We’ll take that,” Scalley said.
“We will take that. Now are there some things that we need to clean up on the back end?
You bet. Getting set quicker, couple communication issues, penalties that gave him longer-yard situations.
So there’s definitely stuff to clean up there and we’ve got the guys to do it.”
He also framed the issue through Utah’s own history. In 2014, the Utes led the nation with 55 sacks, but that didn’t automatically make them elite against the run.
“In 2014, we led the nation in sacks. We had 55, and you know what?
Sacks go into rush defense. You know what we were in the country in rush defense that year?
With 55 sacks, we were 41st in the country,” Scalley said. “You know where we are in the country right now in rush defense?
We’re top 10.
“So if you were to say, would you rather have a good rush defense and less sacks? I’d say, sign me up right now.
Yes, I want sacks. Everyone wants sacks.
You want those disruptive plays. At the same time, if I’m getting max protection every single down and they’re trying to protect because they know we have good defensive ends, then OK, you just got to find ways to get sacks other places.
“I’m not concerned one bit about the sacks.”
Utah’s other major bright spot came up front on the offensive side. After a 283-yard rushing performance and keeping quarterback Devon Dampier clean 78.9% of the time, according to Pro Football Focus, the Utes’ offensive line was named the Big 12 offensive line of the week.
The group did allow two sacks, but its start to the season has been steady. Scalley praised the work of offensive line coaches Jordan Gross and Alex Gerke, and he said the unit has settled into a starting five of Zereoue Williams, Kelvin Obot, Alex Harrison, Keith Olson and Cedric Jefferson.
Williams has already separated himself as Utah’s top lineman and is drawing NFL draft buzz.
“You look at where we are right now in the Big 12, it’s 7.19 yards per play. That’s ninth in the country and first in the Big 12, and it doesn’t happen without a great offensive line,” Scalley said.
“So those guys are playing really, really well. Zereoue Williams playing really elite football and the rest of those guys are gelling.
”
There may be one more addition coming along up front, too. Isaiah Garcia has returned to practice this week after battling injuries throughout his college career. The former Corner Canyon four-star recruit has played only 21 snaps this season, missing the opener against Idaho and the last two games against Iowa State and Kansas.
“Good to have him back. Love Ike,” Scalley said.
In Other News...
Utahs Passing Attack Just Got More Dangerous After One Breakthrough Night
Utahs offense has leaned into sharing the load this season, with quarterback Devon Dampier helping drive a two-quarterback setup that also features Byrd Ficklin. In the win over Kansas, Ficklin filled multiple roles and the Utes kept showing the kind of unselfish approach coach Morgan Scalley has praised all year, one that has made the group harder to defend as the season has worn on.
The passing game found another gear in that one, too, as receiver Ricky Johnson, the Mississippi State transfer, delivered a career night and gave Utah a new threat on the outside. His emergence mattered not just because it added explosive plays, but because it suggested the Utes may have found another reliable piece in a passing attack that already looks more dangerous when everyone is willing to share the spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Utah Just Got An Important O-Line Boost Before Colorado
Utahs offensive line has been one of the quiet success stories of the season, even after losing all five starters from a year ago. That group earned a little extra recognition this week when it was named the Big 12s Beef of the Week after helping power a strong offensive showing in the win over Kansas, a sign that the Utes rebuild up front is holding up better than expected.
Now theres another encouraging sign heading into Colorado, with Isaiah Garcia back practicing after missing the last two games because of an injury. Garcia has been a key rotational piece for Utah, and his return gives the Utes a little more flexibility and depth on an offensive front that has already had to prove it can absorb change and keep moving. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Has A New Defensive Star And A Bigger Utah Concern
Colorados defense has found a jolt in Lamont Lester Jr., and the numbers have arrived fast enough to make him impossible to ignore. The defensive lineman has four sacks and 15 quarterback pressures in four games, enough to lead the Big 12 in sacks even though he already missed a game because of an ankle injury. He also posted a 91.2 Pro Football Focus defensive grade and picked up Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week honors after his debut, a quick rise that has given Colorado a genuine game-wrecker up front.
For Utah, the bigger concern is less about the rsum than the uncertainty attached to it. Lesters availability remains in question heading into the matchup, and if he is able to suit up, the Utes will have to account for a player who has made an impact right away and done it without much runway. If he cannot go, Colorado loses one of its most disruptive pieces, but until that status is settled, it is one more thing Utah has to prepare for without knowing exactly what it will face. [Read more 🡒]