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For the first time since 2006, there’s a new strength and conditioning staff in charge of University of Utah football.
Longtime football strength and conditioning coach Doug Elisaia, who was a mainstay at the university, decided to join Kyle Whittingham’s Michigan staff.
That gave new head coach Morgan Scalley something of a blank slate in the weight room.
Utah initially promoted Greg Argust, who had been with the Utes for over 20 years, to the head strength coach position. Argust led the team through winter workouts and spring football with good results.
“Cut down on the soft-tissue injuries. And really it was, I think, maybe a hamstring or two, a concussion, and then maybe a sprained knee,” Scalley said near the end of spring camp. “But other than that, with as much live work as you’re doing, stuff happens, but very pleased with how we came out of this spring ball.”
Shortly after spring camp, on April 27, Argust resigned, with Scalley promoting former Baltimore Ravens strength coach Steve Saunders that same day.
Saunders joined Baltimore in 2016 and was quickly promoted to “director of performance” in 2017.
A ringing endorsement
After the 2016 season, former Utah safety and NFL veteran Eric Weddle credited Saunders for his role in what he said was the healthiest he’s ever finished a season.
“A lot of credit for the way I played and how my body held up goes to Steve — the time and energy he spent with me, and the program he gave me for my specific body type,” Weddle said at the time. “He’s going to make our team 10 times better than it’s ever been.”
In 2018, Saunders was named the Ravens’ head strength and conditioning coach, coinciding with a run of team success that featured 10-plus win seasons in four of the next five campaigns.
In 2021, however, a rash of injuries to key players saw the Ravens miss the playoffs with an 8-9 record.
The NFL Players Association released its first-ever player report cards in early 2023 and Baltimore’s strength staff received the lowest marks in the league. Players gave the Ravens strength and conditions staff an “F-” grade for the 2022 season.
“30 of the 32 teams in the NFL gave their strength coaches fairly positive reviews. Baltimore was one of the two teams that fell well below the rest, and they were even significantly below the second-worst team,” the report card read.
“Players do not feel like the strength staff helps them be more successful. The team recently parted ways with head strength coach Steve Saunders, so we will be interested to see if this area improves in his absence.”
The Ravens and Saunders parted ways in early 2023, before the report card was released. In the next NFLPA report card, released after the 2023 season, Baltimore’s strength coaches improved to a “B.”
Harbaugh praise for Saunders
“He is one of the finest strength and conditioning coaches in the business,” former Ravens coach John Harbaugh said in a statement announcing the move. “His methods, passion and commitment are well proven throughout his career. Steve helped our players be the strongest and best conditioned athletes they could be. He is an outstanding coach, father, husband and friend. We wish him and his family all the very best going forward with their pursuits.”
Weddle, who was part of the defensive backfield with Scalley at Utah, has been a fierce proponent of Saunders. After Saunders was promoted to the head strength role, Weddle took to X to defend his former strength coach.
“If I ever became a (head coach), he would be my very first hire. That is how much I believe in him and the impact he will have on all the boys,” Weddle shared on April 27.
“I was the strongest and most explosive ever my (years) in Bmore. It was all Steve. He is a mastermind in strength and conditioning. Why have all his assistants from bmore now head guys doing his workouts. Lol. Its actually comical,” Weddle said in another post.
Weddle shared that he suggested that Scalley interview Saunders for Utah’s strength staff, also saying that he was the “scapegoat” for “COVID nonsense” in Baltimore.
Saunders, according to the Baltimore Sun, was suspended for a month in 2020 for “his conduct relating to a widespread COVID-19 outbreak in Baltimore.” Saunders, per the Baltimore Sun, “had not routinely worn a proximity tracker or mask, as required by NFL rules, and had not reported potential COVID-19 symptoms as he worked with players.”
Saunders, for his part, apologized to the Ravens’ team after the COVID-19 incident.
“He felt like he really just needed to make sure everybody knew that he just wanted to do better and just didn’t want to put anybody in that position, and (he) learned a lot from it and all those different things,” Harbaugh said, per the Baltimore Sun. “And I really appreciated him for doing that. He went right back to work, and the guys went right back to work with him. They know he’s great at what he does.”
Saunders was hired by Scalley to be part of Argust’s staff in February, and was a key part of the Utes getting through spring ball mostly injury-free, even with more live action than in past springs.
“I’m also a firm believer in ‘by their fruits, ye shall know them,’ and I take a look at what he did with our group this past spring,” Scalley told the Deseret News in a recent interview. “He’s been with our players. Our players love him. He’s made them stronger. He’s made them faster. He worked with the offensive and defensive line and you had guys make unbelievable gains and their change in body.”
Now the former NFL strength coach is the main man in charge of making sure Utah’s players are the strongest and healthiest they can be.
“I’m extremely excited about Steve Saunders and he brings a wealth of knowledge, having worked with some of the best athletes in the world,” Scalley said.
“Steve is a guy that has, much like every single one of us, has a history, has a history of good, has a history of what people would perceive, not knowing the situation, as maybe not so good. I’m a believer in finding out for myself because when I have close friends, confidants, when I have people that come to me and say, ‘You really need to talk to this guy,’ I respect that.”
A passion for what he does
Scalley said his relationship with Saunders started about a year ago.
“Just asking him, why do you do what you do? He has a love and a passion for what he does. Much like I have an energy, he has an energy,” Scalley said.
The key to Saunders’ approach is that everything in the weight room is geared toward making them the best football players, not necessarily the strongest weightlifters.
“He is incredible at explaining the why. Why do we do what we do in helping these young men become the best football players they can become, because that’s what you need in the weight room,” Scalley said. “We’re not becoming the best weightlifters we can become. We need to develop into the best football players. He has an answer to the why in everything.”
In recent years under Kyle Whittingham, the Utes have been bit by the injury bug, including high-profile players like quarterback Cam Rising.
Football is a violent game with lots of injuries, and what effect strength staffs have on preventing injuries is hard to quantify. Still, it could be good for the program to have a fresh start under the new strength and conditioning staff.
“I am so fired up for Steve and his tenure here and cannot wait for what this summer is about to show,” Scalley said.
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