If there’s one thing you can generally count on from University of Utah football, it’s that defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley’s defense will be good, if not great, most years.
Last season wasn’t the best year on record for Scalley’s defense, but the Utes still gave up just 20.7 points per game (No. 28 in the nation) and 329.7 yards per game (No. 30) in another good defensive season — especially when you consider that they were on the field more than usual due to a struggling offense.
The Utes were only truly blown out one time — 49-24 at Colorado — and were generally still in games late in the fourth quarter, thanks mostly to the defense.
There were definitely mistakes and things to clean up. Utah had too many missed tackles, especially early on, the pass rush never hit an elite level, partly due to injuries along the defensive line, and coverage was lacking at times.
Run defense and forcing turnovers, something Utah has historically excelled at, are also areas Scalley would like to improve in the 2025 season.
“I would say we weren’t good enough in run defense last year. ... We didn’t have enough takeaways,” Scalley said. “So those two things are the biggest thing for us. The ability to flip the field, turn the ball over. We did some good things (on) first downs, third downs, but we got to take the ball away and we got to be more stout in stopping the run.”
Post-spring, how is Utah’s defensive coordinator feeling about his unit?
“Very good progress. Love the emphasis on improved technique, just holding gaps, playing with inside hands,” Scalley said. “Love the toughness out of the young guys at the D tackle spot we saw this spring, and then the takeaways that showed up almost every day.”
While there’s still a good amount of returning contributors — Smith Snowden and Elijah Davis at cornerback; Tao Johnson and Rabbit Evans at safety; Lander Barton and Levani Damuni at linebacker; and Logan Fano, Aliki Vimahi and Dallas Vakalahi on the defensive line — Utah will be counting on a number of transfers and underclassmen to step up this season.
Here’s a position-group-by-position-group look at the Utes’ defense post-spring, along with a guess at the depth chart heading into fall camp.
Defensive line
Heading into spring camp, a lot of talk surrounded the defensive tackle position after Junior Tafuna graduated and Keanu Tanuvasa transferred to BYU. Instead of replacing just one starter at the position, Luther Elliss was tasked with replacing two veteran starters.
The good news for the Utes? They have two players with starting experience ready to step into the two vacant roles in Aliki Vimahi and Dallas Vakalahi.
Vimahi, a 6-foot-4, 296-pound senior that has been in the program since 2020, has 13 starts during his Utes career. He was limited to just two starts last season due to injury, playing in just four games with seven tackles, two tackles for loss and two pass breakups.
Toward the end of the season, Vimahi reminded Ute fans of what he can do when healthy, setting a career high with five tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss against Iowa State.
Vimahi will play a huge role as the veteran leader of a young defensive tackles room.
“He needs to continue to lead the young guys, and he’s been doing that well so far through winter and everything that we’ve been doing, and so very proud of him,” Elliss said as spring practice kicked off in March.
Vakalahi, who played in nine games and started three last season, is ready to take the next step as a full-time starter. After returning from a Latter-day Saints mission prior to the 2024 season, it took a little bit for Vakalahi to get fully back into the swing of things football-wise, but he turned into a reliable option, especially as injuries mounted.
In his true freshman season, Vakalahi racked up 16 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, and is poised to make a jump during his sophomore season.
In addition, he’s also taken on a leadership role, despite it being just his second year in the program.
“He’s doing a great job,” Elliss said. “I mean, he is helping out these younger guys, helping them see things. … We’ll go through the film and he’ll say, ‘Oh coach, what about this?’ That’s awesome to see him doing that.”
“Then taking the guys under his wing after practice, and not just Dallas, but really Jonah (Lea’ea) and Aliki, my three older guys that have had playing time and have been here for a little bit.
“All three of those guys have done an excellent job of trying to really help these young guys step up and get the game to where it needs to be.”
Behind the two projected starters are three younger players — redshirt sophomore Lea’ea and freshmen Karson Kaufusi and Sione Motuapuaka. Lea’ea, a converted defensive end, played in six games and notched two tackles, but will need to take another step forward.
Motuapuaka, a three-star from Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas, and Kaufusi, a three-star from Skyline High, will also be counted upon in the rotation at some point this fall.
To bolster the room, Utah landed freshman LSU defensive tackle Dilan Battle, who was with the Tigers during spring football, out of the spring transfer portal. Like Motuapuaka and Kaufusi, he’s not yet proven at the college level, but had a big offer sheet out of high school that included Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Miami, Michigan, Oregon and Texas A&M.
The development of the underclassmen is going to be a key factor for the Utes this season.
“I’m very excited about the room, very talented room, just young, but they’ll get it and they’ll come along really well,” Elliss said.
Logan Fano highlights the defensive end position after playing in all 12 games and starting nine of them. Last season, he had 35 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and a pass breakup and is primed to lead Utah’s defensive end room.
“He was still a little ginger last year in the beginning of the year, and he played a lot better throughout the year and he hit the ground running this spring and it’s been good to see him out there every single practice,” defensive ends coach Lewis Powell said.
In 2025, there’s going to be new faces at the defensive end position opposite Fano.
Right now, the three candidates for that starting spot are Paul Fitzgerald, John Henry Daley and Kash Dillon.
Fitzgerald, a redshirt junior who transferred from Utah State to Utah in 2024 and played 87 snaps, notching four tackles. At Utah State in 2023, Fitzgerald had 46 tackles and eight sacks, numbers Utah hopes he can reach in 2025 at his full potential.
Dillon, in his redshirt freshman season, and Daley, in his redshirt sophomore season, also have some experience from last season and should be in the rotation, if not challenge for a starting spot.
Behind them are Washington transfer Lance Holtzclaw and Oregon transfer Jaxson Jones, who round out the room and give Powell six playable bodies.
While the starters are solid, the depth behind them continues to be the biggest question mark heading into next season, with a lot hinging on how the younger players and new faces develop.
Linebacker
Last season, on paper, it looked as if Utah was going to have one of the best linebacker rooms in the Big 12, but Karene Reid missed time with an injury and Levani Damuni missed the entire season, which dealt a blow to the potential of the group.
Though Reid graduated, Damuni returns along with Lander Barton and Johnathan Hall. The key with this group will be staying healthy, and if they do so, they should be the strength of the defense.
This is a make-it-or-break it year for Barton if he wants to follow in the footsteps of brothers Cody and Jackson and head to the NFL after this season.
While it was an up-and-down year for Barton last season as he took more responsibility with Reid and Damuni out, by the end of the season, he was back in form, especially against UCF, where he totaled six tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. A game prior, he had a pick-six that kept Utah’s nation-best streak alive.
“He’s in as good as form as I’ve had him in the last four years. He will be the first to admit his body feels great, his mentality’s great, his mindset is great,” linebackers coach Colton Swan said. “We’ve got to achieve a lot of things production-wise to get him in where he wants to be at that next level, and I think he’s ready to do that from a mental and physical standpoint, so it should be a really good season for him.”
Damuni, who stepped into a starting role in 2023 after Barton’s season-ending injury and ended the season with a team-high 87 tackles, is ready to go after missing all of last season. He’ll be LB2 and form a formidable tandem with Barton.
As for Hall, after converting from safety to linebacker a season ago and earning valuable reps, he had an entire offseason training specifically as a linebacker, and combined with the 337 reps at the position last season, should see an improvement from last year.
“Obviously he got quite a bit of reps last year, but he’s definitely expanded his knowledge,” Swan said.
Cornerback
Scalley wasn’t fazed when confronted with the loss of cornerback Cam Calhoun, who transferred to Alabama after a successful first season at Utah, and Zemaiah Vaughn, who completed his eligibility in 2024.
“This happens every year. ‘Oh you lost this guy, you lost that guy, how you going to,’ and every year I think we’ve proven that we can do a pretty good job of reloading,” Scalley said.
Smith Snowden, who was the full-time starter at the nickel positon last season and had 48 tackles (four for loss), two interceptions, eight pass breakups and a forced fumble, is the star of the group. Whether he plays nickel or outside, Scalley has said that Snowden is rarely going to leave the field.
“That means a lot. For my coaches, to hear that they have trust in me to play all these downs,” Snowden said. … “Just consistency, just continuing to grow my craft and show them that I can get better.”
Elijah Davis, who stepped into a starting role after Kenan Johnson was lost for the season on one of the first plays of the opening game, is on track to retain that starting outside corner spot.
A season ago, Davis played in all 12 games, contributing 29 tackles, two interceptions and two pass breakups.
“Just getting those game reps. Game reps meant everything,” Davis said. “That’s all I needed was game reps. And I feel like once I got those, confidence went through the roof, I feel like I can guard anybody.”
With two starting spots solidified, there’s one more open spot, with a lot of competition. Utah hit the transfer portal hard this offseason, bringing in UC Davis’ Blake Cotton, Texas A&M’s Donovan Saunders and Garden City’s Jeremiah Caldwell. Utah also added Auburn cornerback JC Hart in the spring portal.
Either of those three could get the starting nod, and all three could see time depending on the situation.
Safety
Tao Johnson headlines the safety group after transitioning from nickel to free safety last season. Johnson is the kind of rangey free safety that Scalley loves in his defense, and he had a great season in 2024 with 70 tackles, an interception, forced fumble and four pass breakups.
The expectation is for Johnson to continue on his upward trajectory as he enters his second season starting at free safety.
Rabbit Evans emerged last year at strong safety, totaling 34 tackles and a pass breakup, and is penciled in as next year’s starter.
“Tao and Rabbit both gained weight. That was something that they wanted to get stronger and gain weight,” Scalley said. “The seasons, they wear and tear on you, and you got to be able to, particularly the safety position, you have to pack the pounds on because you’re going to be hit and you’re going to be in the box quite a bit. So loved what they brought to the table.”
Behind those two are Nate Ritchie (19 tackles, two tackles for loss) and Nate Tilmon, the four-star recruit who had an impressive spring.
Utah should have another good safety group on its hands in 2025.
Utah’s projected 2025 defensive depth chart
Starter; backup
- DE: Logan Fano (R-Jr.); Kash Dillon (R-Fr.)
- DT: Dallas Vakalahi (So.); Karson Kaufusi (Fr.)
- DT: Aliki Vimahi (Sr.); Jonah Lea’ea (R-So.)
- DE: Paul Fitzgerald (R-Jr.); John Henry Daley (R-So.)
- LB: Lander Barton (Sr.); Kana’i Lopes (R-Fr.)
- LB: Levani Damuni (Sr.); Trey Reynolds (Jr.)
- LB: Johnathan Hall (Sr.); Moroni Anae (Sr.)
- CB: Donovan Saunders (R-Jr.); Blake Cotton (Sr.)
- CB: Elijah Davis (R-Jr.); Jeremiah Caldwell (R-Jr.)
- NB: Smith Snowden (Jr.); Jackson Bennee (So.)
- FS: Tao Johnson (R-Jr.); Nate Tilmon (Fr.)
- SS: Rabbit Evans (Sr.); Nate Ritchie (Jr.)