Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley likes what new safety Clayton Isbell brings to the defense.
Isbell transferred to the Utes after playing two seasons at Illinois State. His sophomore season, he collected 62 tackles and three interceptions.
Now, Isbell is making an impression in fall camp.
“He covers a lot of ground. He’s rangy. The more he understands our scheme, the faster he’s going to play. With that length, he poses some problems in man-to-man coverage against tight ends,” Scalley said.
“He’s shown up and done a nice job. He’s a guy that you can coach hard, too. Sometimes the newcomers, you coach them hard and they look at you like you’ve got 10 heads. But he’s another coach that was coached well.”
Isbell said that’s one of his strengths — learning from coaches.
“The coaches here love the players. You show love by the way they teach and the way they coach,” he said. “Through my college experience I’ve learned to trust coaches and trust the process.”
Safeties Cole Bishop and R.J. Hubert have been helping Isbell in camp.
“Anytime I have questions or when I mess up, they correct me and pick me up,” Isbell said.
How are the safeties faring in camp?
“The safeties are looking really good. A lot of experience,” Isbell said. “They may be young in academics but on the field they definitely have some time and have game experience. We’re looking good.”