What UCLA Can Expect From Utah's Defense

DeShaun Foster and the Bruins are almost out of prep-time before game 1.

Jul 9, 2025; Frisco, TX, USA; Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham speaks with the media during 2025 Big 12 Football Media Days at The Star. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

We're only a week away from UCLA's first game of the 2025 season. They'll be facing the Utah Utes and defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, a mastermind of delivering winning schemes and formations.

"Defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley has made a living off of Utah’s defense," said the Daily Bruin.

• "In his 10 years leading the defense – and 18 years as an assistant coach for the Utes – Scalley’s bread and butter has been staunch defensive lines that win in the trenches by forcing negative plays behind the line of scrimmage and ballhawking secondaries that haunt opposing quarterbacks.

• "Scalley’s defense consistently reaches the tops of leaderboards and instills fear in its opponents. The Utes have ranked first in the Pac-12 in rushing defense five times, and ranked top five in the country three times. Their total defense has ranked in the top half of its conference in eight of the past nine seasons, including second nationally in 2019."

The strategy:

The scariest part of Utah's defense heading into this game is their secondary, which looks even tougher than it did in 2024.

• "Utah returns almost the entirety of its starting secondary, including cornerbacks Elijah Davis and Smith Snowden and safeties Rabbit Evans and Tao Johnson," DB continued. "The quartet made up five of the team’s 12 interceptions from last season and held opposing offenses to just 20.7 points per game and 200.3 passing yards per game – ranking No. 2 and No. 5 in the Big 12, respectively."

Jul 24, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

However, if DeShaun Foster and UCLA want to come out on top, they're going to have to target Utah's biggest weakness: the pass rush. The key will be getting QB Nico Iamaleava going early and in momentum.

• "Luckily for redshirt sophomore Nico Iamaleava, though, the Utes may struggle to rush the passer. Utah ranked seventh in sacks last season in the Big 12. They also did not add any new starters up front nor on the edge, meaning existing players will have to buckle down, or reserves will have to rise to the occasion."

UCLA has been prepping nonstop for this game, and they're going in confident. With a "new-look" Bruins, this will be their first opportunity to showcase what this team was hyped up all season to be.

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