Morgan Scalley is feeling more confident in Utah's defense but communication will be key heading into the season

In week three of Fall Camp, Utah's defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley addressed the media, focusing heavily on what the defense needs to work on going into the season.

Question: What did you guys try and get done inside with that humidity and how effective do you think it is?

Morgan Scalley: "Well, it's as effective as we can get it. It was like anything, with crowd noise that you try and simulate, trying to get it as hot, humid as possible in there. Obviously you don't have the sun beating down on you. That's the one thing that they don't have, but it's just making sure they understand you know what that's going to do to your breath. Okay, what that's going to do in terms of losing fluids, and how you need to hydrate, just doing everything we can again to simulate what they may expect in Gainesville."

Question: Going back to Saturday. What was your takeaway from the scrimmage? How did your unit look?

Morgan Scalley: "Man I love the effort. Love the energy. You can tell some situational football stuff. We're just not playing intelligent football enough in the red zone. Communication is a big deal as well that we're you know, we're just not good enough communicators. Now, these last two practices, man, a ton of improvement, particularly from some down the line guys that struggled in the scrimmage. You know, we held some of our our vets that we know can play. And what we're trying to get at is you know, you look at last year, depth was a big deal. That's gonna continue to be a big deal when you play the schedule that we play. You have to have depth in every single position."

Question: Are you feeling confident in your linebackers right now?

Morgan Scalley: "Oh yeah. Coach Swan is a great teacher, and you got a lot of buying in that group. Mohamoud, he's the transfer, he's a smart savvy football player, Karene Reid has played a lot of snaps for us. Lander Barton was here in spring. You know, he's the one that's gonna have to get the game experience, right? Because there's nothing like playing under the lights and all the sudden people are cheering and booing you. And so that's the thing that he's got to get used to, but I feel good about this group...they've done a good job creating some depth there."

Question: Kyle singled out Connor O'Toole as a guy that's popped a little bit in camp for you this year, obviously switched positions from offense to defense. What do you see?

Morgan Scalley: "Not only Connor, but you take a look at Jonah, you've got Chase Kennedy, you've got, I mean, just some different, quicker bodies off the edge that we haven't necessarily had, and just provides a little bit more speed off that edge. It puts some pressure on those tackles, right. They're a little bit twitchier getting off that line of scrimmage...but he's really taken advantage of the weight room, of our fueling station. That's a guy that's put on 30 pounds and still, he's fast off the edge. So we're excited about him and the depth we have at the defensive end spot."

Question: Does that put more responsibility on your plate, having so many players that are versatile and can play different roles on that defense?

Morgan Scalley: "Well that's just putting guys in the right spot, trying to put your best 11 on the field and also understanding, what's the best 11 in this situation? Situations plays a big part in what an offense is going to allow, and sometimes you've got these third down packages, where an offense that's going quick tempo, you don't have the time to get them on and off the field. So you know, we do have some options. We have some versatility at the safety spot. Got a guy like Cole Bishop that can play in the box, can play back. Clayton Isbell is another guy thats come in, who provides some physicality in the box, some length, and some range up top so, we have some versatility and we're going to use it. But that's for you to find out."

Question: Kyle has talked about Miki Suguturaga and how he's had probably some of the best improvement over the year. What are you seeing from him and do you agree with that assessment?

Morgan Scalley: "Yeah, he's a lot like Mika [Tafua], he's honed his game. He understands he's not the fastest off the edge, but he's quick, right? And he uses that to advantage quickness and strength and power. And he uses that to his advantage. So he's got his, you know, his toolbox and what he's going to use in the pass rush game. When he takes on tight ends, they're not many tight ends that are gonna overpower him. So you know, again, a lot like Mika, he's providing a lot of physicality and some quickness to do some things off the edge."

Question: When are you guys going to start to sprinkle some Florida in or are you already sprinkling some Florida?

Morgan Scalley: "Again, this week is a continuation of let's improve the fundamentals and technique. Let's figure out you know, you've thrown a lot at them. And so now it's just a matter of okay, no more installation. Now let's watch him run around, let's focus on the fundamentals and techniques. And then next week, we'll do a little bit more Florida preparation."

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