Utah Defense Seems Hell-Bent On Being Better In 2025
Mar 27, 2025, 8:11 PM | Updated: 8:43 pm
Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley. Photo by Utah Athletics
SALT LAKE CITY — After two weeks of interactions, it’s clear that Utah’s defense isn’t looking for sympathy, excuses, or a pat on the back for “almost” last season.
Not after a disappointing 5-7 record, not after watching their calling card—toughness—get questioned. Players have almost had a no-nonsense demeanor in their interactions with the media.
“We were not good enough in run defense last year and didn’t have enough takeaways, so those two things are the biggest things for us,” defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley said.
His defensive leaders have echoed many of the same sentiments: They know they need to improve next season.
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Utah’s defense seems determined to be better
“After how last season went, it feels good to be back out here to shake some of the bad taste out your mouth,” said defensive end Logan Fano.
Truth is, Utah flat-out left wins on the table. Most of Utah’s struggles stemmed from offensive struggles, but the defense knows they let down at times, too.
“You don’t come to Utah unless you want to win football games,” Fano said, dead serious. “Last year, we didn’t live up to that expectation, and our 5-7 record has been a big thing for us so far. We don’t want to repeat that.”
And they won’t — not if Morgan Scalley has anything to say about it. The longtime defensive coordinator sees the positives but knows they must improve in those two key areas.
“We did some good things, but we’ve got to take the ball away more and be more stout against the run,” Scalley said, straight to the point.
The defense got pushed around more than it should have, and when the ball was up for grabs, they weren’t the ones walking away with it.
That’s not Utah football.
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Morgan Scalley’s stronger emphasis on havoc plays
“We did a good job of creating pressure; sacks can be misleading,” Scalley admitted. “But the amount of pressure we were creating, forcing the quarterback to get rid of the ball early, I thought we did a good job of that last year. It’s just those situations where you see the ball on the ground, and we don’t come up with it. A couple of other situations like that, and we don’t pick up the ball — those are game-changers and why turnovers are a big emphasis this spring. We’ve got to finish those.”
Unfortunately, the numbers don’t paint a good picture regarding those havoc plays.
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-4 turnover margin — the first time in the red since 2018.
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24 sacks — the fewest since 2017.
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138 missed tackles — Utah’s worst tackling year since 2016.
So, this spring? The defense is in full-on, no-nonsense mode. The rallying cry isn’t about fancy schemes or shiny new terminology. It’s about taking Utah’s hard-nosed identity and returning to form — by finishing.
“We’re involving a ball in every drill. Doing our turnover circuits and making a more concerted effort with our second, third guy popping the ball out,” Scalley said. “We’re definitely spending more time figuring out ways to flip the field.”
Linebacker convert Johnathan Hall acknowledged the increased focus on takeaways.
“The defensive emphasis has been talking all about takeaways, takeaways, takeaways,” Hall said. “We didn’t get enough last year, so that’s our mission statement this year. It’s been a very big point of emphasis this offseason.”
Relentless, Smart, Nasty, Ballhawking, Finishers?
Utah’s defense is still tough. Still violent. Still capable of bullying opponents for four quarters. But that identity took a hit this year.
What they lacked in 2024 wasn’t scheme or swagger — it was that final blow. The kill shot. The final play that flips the field or silences the crowd or wins the darn game.
In four games last season, Utah held onto leads late in the game. Unfortunately, they could not make the individual plays to stop the drives necessary to finish the game with a win.
Utah was up 16-13 with 3:19 left in the third quarter against Arizona State. Against Houston, Utah was 14-7 with 5:05 left in the third quarter. They were up 21-19 with 1:56 left against BYU. And they were up 28-24 with 5:51 left against Iowa State.
“I think we’re all tired of what happened last year,” Utah free safety Tao Johnson said. “We’re all ready to turn it around, and we’ve been very committed to that. We’ve got to understand that we set the bar wherever we go.”
That’s what Utah is after. Not respect — they already earned that years ago. Not hype — they don’t care. They want to make sure when the ball’s there to be had, when a sack is there to be finished, and when a game is there to be won — they finish it.
