Upcoming Event: Football versus Idaho on September 3, 2026
Football
vs Idaho
.png&width=31&height=31&type=webp)
The University of Utah Athletics
2024 Spring Football: Coordinator Corner
3/13/2024 4:09 PM | Football
SALT LAKE CITY – The weather on Tuesday may have been less than ideal—but it didn't stop the Utah Football program from getting after it on day one of Spring practice at the Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center.
As the players and coaches took the field for the first time, the vibes were high with the countdown now at 169 days until toe meets leather to kickoff the 2024 season against Southern Utah.
With the first practice in the books and having some time to look over film, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Andy Ludwig, plus defensive coordinator and safeties coach Morgan Scalley visited with the local media on Wednesday to share what they saw in Utah's first practice.
Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Andy Ludwig
On the strategy this Spring at quarterback…
"The strategy is to get the rust off of Cameron Rising and get Brandon Rose more comfortable in the system; (Rose is) in his third year in a good spot, and had a good day yesterday. We also want to acclimate Isaac Wilson to college football. He had a very good day yesterday. I'm excited about that group of three. Also, Luke Bottari is still in the mix with us, as is a new walk-on, Macloud Crowton."
On getting Isaac Wilson settled into the No. 2 role…
"He's here to compete and earn a position, whether that's the first team, second team or third team. He's a competitive young man. We're going to put him in a position for success."
On the wide receiver group…
"Dorian Singer had a good January and February in the strength and conditioning program. He got rave reviews from the strength coaches. In his first exposure in our on-the-field work, he looked very athletic with a good change-of-direction. Good speed player. He demonstrated ball skills yesterday. We're very excited about him. He's been around the block a little bit, so he has great experience and football intellect. We look forward to highlighting his skills and abilities."
On filling in some spots at running back…
"The process has just started, but there's good talent in that room. We know what Micah Bernard and Jaylon Glover are all about. Mike Mitchell is going to provide, we hope, some power and size in the backfield. Dijon Stanley has unbelievable juice and energy. Tremendous skillset there. We're looking for development out of John Randle Jr.; he has made some strides in special teams and has played for us, but we're looking for him to step up his role. Charlie Vincent is still available, as well as a couple other walk-ons. But I feel really good about the group. It's a competitive young group, but they've got to grow up fast."
On the offensive line…
"I feel really good about the length and athleticism, and the mass of the guys up front. We've got good players in that group. May the best five win—but we know we'll need to get on the bus with eight or nine players that are ready to play."
Defensive Coordinator/Safeties Coach Morgan Scalley
On the focus going into Spring ball…
"The focus is on creating depth. Some positions have great depth. At some positions, we've got new faces—safety, corner—really the secondary is the strong focus of finding guys. We've got good bodies and good athleticism. This is one of those Springs, at least in the secondary, where it's more about teaching and finding the right guys to give the reps to. You can only get a certain amount of guys ready. That's the early job of us as coaches, is to find those guys and make sure we're feeding them reps."
On Kenan Johnson standing out among the new guys…
"Kenan's a guy that has experienced a lot of college football. He has a ton of reps under his belt, and some good college football at that. For him, it's just about learning our scheme and our terminology. Communication is a big factor from corner to safety, really communication across the board. His experience and technique and having a ton of reps under his belt is the reason he's in that position. If you're going to go get a guy from the transfer portal, usually they're going to come in and be able to compete right away. He's taking coaching well and we're fired up for him."
On the process of developing a vocal leader similar to Cole Bishop…
"That type of vocal leadership comes with confidence. Confidence comes from reps. For a lot of these guys, knowing how to align is different than knowing what your assignment is, and how your assignment affects others. Part of that assignment can be you communicating with another person and letting them know what you're doing—so they know what they're doing. We put a lot of responsibility on the strong safety and the linebackers to communicate pretty much everything to everybody. Cole Bishop and Sione Vaki were very good with that because they were confident. The amount of accumulated reps will end up giving kids confidence. We need to make sure we find a good balance between install and letting guys play.
Does the move to the Big 12 bring any changes schematically?
"We're about halfway through scouting our Big 12 opponents. A lot of it is very similar to what we've seen…Right now, we're trying to get a early beat on who we're going to be playing in the front half of the season. Then the back half of the season, that is going to take care of itself with the film you see from the first part of [2024]."
What makes Tao Johnson a good fit at safety?
"Speed. He's got really good speed over the top. He's got great ball skills. We haven't necessarily had that over-the-top free safety since maybe Julian Blackmon. Cole and Sione were very good safeties and could play in the back end. But Tao, with his ability to cover ground, is really pleasant to see back there. Even on day one (of practice), he had a nice interception getting over the top. His ball skills, speed and athleticism will prove to be very beneficial for us."
FOLLOW UTAH FOOTBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
To get an inside look at the Utah Football program during its journey through the 2024 season, follow the Utes on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) along with visiting www.UtahUtes.com.
UTAH 360 APP
Fans can download the Utah 360 App, powered by the Crimson Collective, for inside access, game highlights, exclusive player interviews and more. The app is free on the App Store or Google Play with all content available on your desktop as well at utah.ftwin360.com.
As the players and coaches took the field for the first time, the vibes were high with the countdown now at 169 days until toe meets leather to kickoff the 2024 season against Southern Utah.
Feels good to be back ?? pic.twitter.com/fGoWfKHlU9
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) March 13, 2024
With the first practice in the books and having some time to look over film, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Andy Ludwig, plus defensive coordinator and safeties coach Morgan Scalley visited with the local media on Wednesday to share what they saw in Utah's first practice.
Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Andy Ludwig
On the strategy this Spring at quarterback…
"The strategy is to get the rust off of Cameron Rising and get Brandon Rose more comfortable in the system; (Rose is) in his third year in a good spot, and had a good day yesterday. We also want to acclimate Isaac Wilson to college football. He had a very good day yesterday. I'm excited about that group of three. Also, Luke Bottari is still in the mix with us, as is a new walk-on, Macloud Crowton."
On getting Isaac Wilson settled into the No. 2 role…
"He's here to compete and earn a position, whether that's the first team, second team or third team. He's a competitive young man. We're going to put him in a position for success."
On the wide receiver group…
"Dorian Singer had a good January and February in the strength and conditioning program. He got rave reviews from the strength coaches. In his first exposure in our on-the-field work, he looked very athletic with a good change-of-direction. Good speed player. He demonstrated ball skills yesterday. We're very excited about him. He's been around the block a little bit, so he has great experience and football intellect. We look forward to highlighting his skills and abilities."
On filling in some spots at running back…
"The process has just started, but there's good talent in that room. We know what Micah Bernard and Jaylon Glover are all about. Mike Mitchell is going to provide, we hope, some power and size in the backfield. Dijon Stanley has unbelievable juice and energy. Tremendous skillset there. We're looking for development out of John Randle Jr.; he has made some strides in special teams and has played for us, but we're looking for him to step up his role. Charlie Vincent is still available, as well as a couple other walk-ons. But I feel really good about the group. It's a competitive young group, but they've got to grow up fast."
On the offensive line…
"I feel really good about the length and athleticism, and the mass of the guys up front. We've got good players in that group. May the best five win—but we know we'll need to get on the bus with eight or nine players that are ready to play."
Defensive Coordinator/Safeties Coach Morgan Scalley
On the focus going into Spring ball…
"The focus is on creating depth. Some positions have great depth. At some positions, we've got new faces—safety, corner—really the secondary is the strong focus of finding guys. We've got good bodies and good athleticism. This is one of those Springs, at least in the secondary, where it's more about teaching and finding the right guys to give the reps to. You can only get a certain amount of guys ready. That's the early job of us as coaches, is to find those guys and make sure we're feeding them reps."
On Kenan Johnson standing out among the new guys…
"Kenan's a guy that has experienced a lot of college football. He has a ton of reps under his belt, and some good college football at that. For him, it's just about learning our scheme and our terminology. Communication is a big factor from corner to safety, really communication across the board. His experience and technique and having a ton of reps under his belt is the reason he's in that position. If you're going to go get a guy from the transfer portal, usually they're going to come in and be able to compete right away. He's taking coaching well and we're fired up for him."
On the process of developing a vocal leader similar to Cole Bishop…
"That type of vocal leadership comes with confidence. Confidence comes from reps. For a lot of these guys, knowing how to align is different than knowing what your assignment is, and how your assignment affects others. Part of that assignment can be you communicating with another person and letting them know what you're doing—so they know what they're doing. We put a lot of responsibility on the strong safety and the linebackers to communicate pretty much everything to everybody. Cole Bishop and Sione Vaki were very good with that because they were confident. The amount of accumulated reps will end up giving kids confidence. We need to make sure we find a good balance between install and letting guys play.
Does the move to the Big 12 bring any changes schematically?
"We're about halfway through scouting our Big 12 opponents. A lot of it is very similar to what we've seen…Right now, we're trying to get a early beat on who we're going to be playing in the front half of the season. Then the back half of the season, that is going to take care of itself with the film you see from the first part of [2024]."
What makes Tao Johnson a good fit at safety?
"Speed. He's got really good speed over the top. He's got great ball skills. We haven't necessarily had that over-the-top free safety since maybe Julian Blackmon. Cole and Sione were very good safeties and could play in the back end. But Tao, with his ability to cover ground, is really pleasant to see back there. Even on day one (of practice), he had a nice interception getting over the top. His ball skills, speed and athleticism will prove to be very beneficial for us."
FOLLOW UTAH FOOTBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
To get an inside look at the Utah Football program during its journey through the 2024 season, follow the Utes on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) along with visiting www.UtahUtes.com.
UTAH 360 APP
Fans can download the Utah 360 App, powered by the Crimson Collective, for inside access, game highlights, exclusive player interviews and more. The app is free on the App Store or Google Play with all content available on your desktop as well at utah.ftwin360.com.
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
S
/ Football
QB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
CB
/ Football
CB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
S
/ Football
RB
/ Football
QB
/ FootballCrimson 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
Utah Football Head Coach Morgan Scalley Introductory Press Conference
Tuesday, January 06
Utah: 44 vs. Nebraska | POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE | SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Thursday, January 01