Utah DC Morgan Scalley Targeted by USC Trojans to Fix Defense
Amid a turbulent season for the Utah football program, one unit has stood above the rest. The Utah defense has been one of the most formidable groups in the country, full of talented athletes, who have been tormenting some of the best offenses in the country all season long.
Besides obvious contributions coming from a number of extremely talented Utah defensive athletes, there is another name that deserves some of the praise for the Utes’ defensive exploits.
Morgan Scalley, Utah’s defensive coordinator and safety coach, is among the best coordinators in the country, and it seems as though his prowess is starting to garner outside attention.
Per Jason Scheer on X.com, on Nov. 20th, the USC Trojans reportedly made a “significant” offer to try and move Coach Scalley’s talents out of Utah and into “The Golden State”.
USC’s attempts to poach Scalley come near the end of a season where the team boasted one of the lousiest defenses in all of college football.
Up to this point in the season, USC is the 10th worst defense in the country in terms of points allowed, giving up an average of 34.9 points a game. They are the 14th worst in the country in total opponent yards allowed (438.8 yards per game) and are giving up passing touchdowns at a rate of 2.6 per game, which is the second worst average in the country (only team worse is Stanford with 2.7 passing touchdowns allowed per game).
Because of this historic defensive regression, USC relieved defensive coordinator and longtime colleague of head coach Lincoln Riley, Alex Grinch, from his duties, on Nov. 5th, after the team surrendered 101 points in two games.
It’s not a surprise that USC is targeting Scalley, who year in and year out, has consistently transformed Utah’s defensive unit into a force to be reckoned with. Scalley is as hard-nosed as they get, instilling a self-proclaimed culture of “RSNB” into the Utah program which stands for “Relentless, Smart, Nasty, Ballhawks”.
USC desperately needs a defense that plays smart, with a relentless passion and nasty temper, and it’s no secret that the Trojans have a financial upper hand on the Utah program. USC could, and most likely have offered, Scalley a contract that Utah would never be able to match.
However, Utah may have a bartering chip stronger than the money USC could offer.
Coach Scalley has proven before that he’s partial to the Utah program. An ex-Utah defensive back and captain himself from 2001-04, Scalley is a longstanding and integral part of the Utah football program as both a player and coach.
Moreover, Scalley and Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham are close, and it's been reported how much the two enjoy working together. Maybe the most important factor of all, there are also several rumors that Scalley would be the frontrunner for the Utah head coaching position if Whittingham were to retire in the near future.
