Things are starting to come into focus for first-year head coach Morgan Scalley as the Utes round the corner into Week 3 of spring practice.
The pads have been on for more than a week, giving coaches a clearer view of the new players’ capabilities in game-like situations. Utah held a scrimmage on Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium, where the offense performed well, according to Scalley.
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“I’m excited with the progress. You’re seeing the offensive line continue to make strides. … I think offense maybe got a little bit of the better of the defense in some of the scrimmage work we did on Saturday,” Scalley said.
In Tuesday’s work, the defense bounced back, which is exactly what Scalley wanted to see.
“As long as it’s back and forth, not that one side is dominating the other, that’s kind of what you’re wanting to see is competitive football,” Scalley said.
One player that stood out in Tuesday’s practice was tight end Hunter Andrews, who is returning from an early-season injury last year. Nate Johnson also had a catch-and-run for a touchdown and Creed Whittemore made a one-handed snag on a deep ball from Devon Dampier, which was the highlight of the practice.
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In the backfield, Wayshawn Parker, Utah’s RB1, has been a steady and reliable presence for the offense.
“Love what I saw out of Way today. Physicality, leadership. When things aren’t going right, he’s the guy that you can hand the ball to and he’s going to give you everything he’s got,” Scalley said.
Speedy sophomore Daniel Bray has also been turning heads.
“Bray, the biggest positive so far is him. What he’s doing, he’s built his body up, buying into the culture. He had a play in the scrimmage on Saturday where (receiver Kyri Shoels), you see Shoels going for a touchdown on that deep ball and he sprints and gets out in front and blocks,” Scalley said.
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“That’s what you want to see. It’s team football. It’s understanding. It’s all our job to advance the ball. So that was fun to see, but Bray, I love his progress.”
Scalley also mentioned San Jose State transfer Steve Chavez-Soto and freshman LaMarcus Bell as making progress, but said they need to keep working on catching the football.
“They can run, they run hard. It’s just, you have to have the ability to split out and be versatile so that teams can’t just key in on, OK, when he’s in the game, he’s pass protecting or running. So it’s those backs becoming more complete backs,” Scalley said.
As for the players blocking for them, the offensive line is making progress.
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Keith Olson (295 snaps), Alex Harrison (143 snaps) and Zereoue Williams (156 snaps) are all veterans at Utah, and so is Solatoa Moea’i, who got plenty of blocking experience (335 snaps) primarily in the “Y” tight end role. Add in Montana State redshirt sophomore Cedric Jefferson, who started at tackle for the FCS national championships, and you have a good base of experience.
Five-star freshman Kelvin Obot is also in the mix for a starting job.
“All of them are making progress. You had Obot go down early just with a little bit of an ankle deal, but he’s only missed one practice. He was back today. He’s every bit of that that we saw in his recruiting film,” Scalley said. “Ced’s coming along, he’s doing a really good job. I mean, Jordan (Gross) is such a good teacher with those guys and they’re having a lot of fun. You’re seeing progress at every single position.”
While Scalley is pleased overall with the progress the offensive line is making, the centers — Alex Harrison and Isaiah Kema — need to be more consistent with their snaps.
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“That affects the entire efficiency of an offense if that ball is high, if it’s off-target. So between Alex and Isaiah, we got to get that figured out,” Scalley said.
As for the players going against them every day, Scalley pointed to defensive tackles Karson Kaufusi and Pupu Sepulona as players needing to make the freshman-to-sophomore jump.
Kaufusi played 177 snaps and registered 13 tackles and half of a sack last year, while Sepulona played 137 snaps with 13 tackles.
“Really, I’m looking at Karson Kaufusi as a guy that needs to make that jump from that freshman to sophomore. The good thing is that leadership-wise, he’s a pleasant surprise. He’s the guy that didn’t necessarily expect to become that guy that has become that guy,” Scalley said.
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“… Pupu, another guy, freshman to sophomore year, really needs to make that jump. That’s where we’re going to make our money this year — offensive, defensive line, how we develop those guys and get them ready for the season.”
Jireh Moe, the San Jose State defensive tackle that totaled 28 tackles and 1.5 sacks last season, is another player challenging for a starting spot in a defensive tackles room that got an overhaul after an underwhelming season last year.
“Jireh Moe is exactly what we wanted. And he provides a little bit of athleticism and twitch and the ability to slant and do some things with him,” Scalley said.
While there are plenty of things for the Utes to work on through the remainder of spring ball, Scalley is happy with how things are progressing.
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“I’m pleased with the progress. Seven down, eight to go. Some situational work, some two-minute, some four-minute, some of that stuff that we’re introducing to the guys. Yeah, feel very good about the progress made,” Scalley said.
