Utah football coach Sharrieff Shah gives 'gracious' assessment of Utes defensive backs group

Despite what the box scores indicate, Utah has some work to do in the secondary

Utah Utes cornerback Elijah Davis (9) and Cal Poly Mustangs wide receiver Michael Briscoe (10) battle for a pass during the second quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

While advanced stats from some sports analytics companies paint one picture, a good old eye test can create an entirely different image of how a player or unit of a team is performing.

Utah cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah appeared to prefer the latter method when assessing the Utes' defensive backs group through the first two weeks of the season on Wednesday ahead of their Week 3 matchup at Wyoming.

"If I had to grade us right now as a unit, it'd be like a C-," Shah said. "And that's being really gracious on the grades. It could have easily been lower."

Despite the box score numbers — Utah allowed, on average, 147 passing yards and an opposing quarterback completion rate of 50% against UCLA and Cal Poly — and what the ratings at Pro Football Focus might indicate, Shah saw too many inconsistencies and not enough discipline from the Utes' secondary in their wins over the Bruins and Mustangs.

"We were out of position too many times, and good teams will make you pay," Shah said. "Better quarterbacks who are more accurate will make you pay."

The Utes' 14-year cornerbacks coach added that "the baptism" for integrating the team's newest defensive backs hadn't been "as hot" as he expected, outside of a few positive plays from a few players, namely sophomore nickel back Jackson Bennee.

Aug 30, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; Utah Utes safety Jackson Bennee (23) on offense misses catching a pass against the defense of UCLA Bruins defensive back Jadyn Marshall (18) during the first half at Rose Bowl. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The 6-foot-2 Holladay, Utah, native filled the stat sheet while logging snaps on both sides of the ball in the Utes' first two games of the season. In addition to lining up at wide receiver some, Bennee recorded a combined 10 tackles (team-high) and posted an average of 2.0 passes defended, which led the Big 12 and ranked No. 5 among Football Bowl Subdivision players heading into Week 3.

Bennee, who previously spent time at safety as a freshman, tallied three pass break-ups and had a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown in Utah's home opener, extending the program's NCAA record of 22 straight seasons with at least one pick-six.

That performance helped Bennee reach the top of PFF's cornerback grades post-Week 2. It didn't, however, get him off the hook with his position coach.

"We moved him inside [to the nickel] with the thought and expectation that he would be able to use a lot of his natural ability, his length, his speed, to just make some plays. And he's done that," Shah said of Bennee. "It doesn't really account for the things that he hasn't done, because we're still just a ways away."

Utah's statistics against the pass would suggest otherwise — three interceptions off three different quarterbacks while allowing one touchdown through the air in two games — but those numbers don't account for the couple of pass interference penalties called against the Utes in the Cal Poly game, nor do they reflect the few chunk plays UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava made with his arm and legs in the season opener.

The Utes' efficiency on defense certainly won't hold up against stiffer competition either, according to Shah.

"We just weren't consistently good," Shah said. "We lost our eyes so many times trying to think that, 'Oh, maybe I can get a feel for what that quarterback is looking at.' It makes no difference."

"Just having a level of discipline for a more sustained period — that's what we need. Because I'm just telling you the receivers that we're going to play in a few weeks, it'll hurt you."

Indeed, the road doesn't get easier for the Utes in Big 12 play; their first opponent, Texas Tech (2-0), ranked No. 4 in the league in total passing yards and No. 2 in total offense through its first two games of 2025, as Red Raiders quarterback Behren Morton completed 73.9% of his passes without throwing an interception in wins over Arkansas Pine-Bluff and Kent State. West Virginia signal-caller, Nicco Marchiol, who Utah will see on Sept. 27, was also among the conference's top five players in completion percentage (69.6%) after two games.

Looking ahead, the Utes will also face Baylor's Sawyer Robertson, Kansas State's Avery Johnson and Kansas' Jalon Daniels to close out the regular season. All three Big 12 quarterbacks ranked among the country's top 10 in passing yards heading into Week 3, with Robertson (859) and Johnson (763) checking in inside the top three (Daniels was No. 10 with 679 passing yards; albeit, he and Johnson played three games while most quarterbacks only had two games under their belt).

"I'm cautiously, patiently optimistic that we'll learn at a rate that's going to be faster," Shah said. "Because it doesn't get any easier for us."