Upcoming Event: Football versus Idaho on September 3, 2026
Football
vs Idaho
.png&width=31&height=31&type=webp)
The University of Utah Athletics
Defense Dominates In First Scrimmage Of Summer Camp
8/15/2001 12:00 AM | Football
Aug. 15, 2001
SALT LAKE CITY -
Utah's new offense, hampered by the absence of some key players, was no match for a swarming defense in the first scrimmage of summer camp, held late Wednesday afternoon at the McCarthey Practice Field. Early in the 90-play scrimmage, the attention directed at Utah's quarterback derby was diverted to a walk-on running back and an aggressive defense.
Lance Rice, who holds a slim edge for the starting quarterback post, completed 8 of 11 pass attempts for 38 yards. Ryan Breska, currently No. 2 on the depth chart, was 3 of 8 for 41 yards. Brett Elliott, the third QB in the picture, did not play after spraining the thumb on his throwing hand the previous day.
It didn't help that most of Utah's speed receivers were sidelined with injuries and that the defense made life miserable for the quarterbacks by blasting in for seven sacks. Absent from the receiving corps was all-conference candidate Cliff Russell, out with a knee sprain, as well as two junior college transfers and a freshman who are expected to make an impact this fall. Highly touted juco receiver Devin Houston sat out to nurse a hamstring pull. Paris Jackson, out with a bruised knee earlier in the week, missed the scrimmage due to a case of food poisoning. Freshman Morgan Scalley (knee injury) also watched.
The offense fared better on the ground, thanks to a walk-on JC transfer. With the top two tailbacks playing only the first 10 plays (Adam Tate rushed three times for six yards and Dameon Hunter had two carries for four yards), Butte College transfer Marty Johnson stole the show. Johnson barreled his way to 51 yards on 13 carries to lead all Ute rushers. J.R. Peroulis had nine carries for 28 yards.
Defensively, redshirt freshman linebacker Corey Dodds had two sacks for nine yards. Junior linebacker Jeremy Lyman had a sack, and a tackle for loss and transfer Kasey Jackson had a sack and two pass breakups. Desmond Davis picked off a pass thrown by reserve quarterback J.D. Jorgensen. It was the only misfire for the freshman QB, who otherwise did a nice job of directing the third string offense, completing his first four passes for 30 yards before throwing the interception.
"The defense played very well," said Head Coach Ron McBride, "But you expect that right now with a new offense, especially one that was missing all of its speed receivers. We gave a lot of running backs time to see what they could do. I thought Marty Johnson did a real nice job."
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - College football analyst Yogi Roth
Wednesday, May 06
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Utah Football Head Coach Morgan Scalley
Wednesday, April 29
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Utah Football legend Brian Johnson
Friday, February 20
Utah Football Head Coach Morgan Scalley Introductory Press Conference | 1.06.25
Tuesday, January 06