Morgan Scalley’s job of filling out the Utah Utes defensive line for the 2025 season became even harder last December, which is when defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa announced he was transferring to BYU.
The Utes already planned on having to replace defensive tackle Junior Tafuna and defensive ends Connor O’Toole and Van Fillinger, but the loss of Tanuvasa caused yet another hole on the defensive line that needed to be filled.
The Utes return some experience with defensive tackles Dallas Vakalahi and Aliki Vimahi. Vakalahi played in nine games with three starts last year as a true freshman, while Vimahi played in four games with two starts.
Utah started its spring camp on Thursday, and Scalley said solidifying the defensive line was priority one; he also said he’s optimistic about this year’s group.
“I love the defensive end depth,” Scalley said. “Defensive tackle, obviously that’s where we’ve lost some guys, but I am excited about the guys that we do have.
“Dallas Vakalahi, he’s everything that we thought he was going to be like. Aliki Vimahi is the other veteran that comes back. Then, we’ve got a bunch of young guys that we’re excited about that need to continue to hone in on the technique and scheme, but it’s very promising. It’s not like I’m sitting here worried about that position coming into the season. We just got to get them right and no better teacher for those guys than Luther Elliss.”
Logan Fano will take a leadership role as he returns to the defensive line. Utah pulled in Washington’s Lance Holtzclaw from the transfer portal and Paul Fitzgerald is returning for the Utes.
“Speed (and) athleticism,” said Scalley when asked what sticks out about his defensive ends. “They allow you to do different things in terms of dropping in the coverage and creating mismatches. You’ll see us in four defensive end looks, five defensive end looks at times, so it allows us to get a little bit creative. Love the depth that we have in there.”
Scalley mentioned that he feels comfortable with the players he currently has at defensive tackle.
“We’re probably down one scholarship-wise in the defensive tackle spot, so probably looking for portal to fill that need,” he said. “But other than that, I feel like we recruited the right guys. Now it’s (about) developing them and not giving them too much to think about.”
Cornerback is also a position that the Utes will have room to fill. Utah lost four cornerbacks in the transfer portal, but brought in Blake Cotton from UC Davis and Donovan Saunders from Texas A&M.
The most notable returning player in the cornerbacks room for the Utes is Smith Snowden. Snowden had 11 starts last season with 48 tackles. Elijah Davis also started in nine games last year and returned to Utah. Scalley noted that the early competition at that position is exciting.
“Very good progress so far,” Scalley said. “It’s apparent that we recruit the right guys to those positions. Love the length, the combination of length and speed that we have at those positions and we’re seeing some other guys emerge as well. So, the competition is a good thing at that position and Smith being able to play outside and play inside, that’s kind of the guy that leads the whole show. It’s a good competition in that room so far.”
