So here’s the deal, I’m avoiding bad-mouthing Whit but I’m getting really close.
I think the change was needed, Whit’s conservative playstyle was losing us a game or two every year.
Scalley appears to want to keep the D mantra while working on more of an air attack which we need. The Beck Offense is really gimmicky and I think people will figure out how to defend it sooner or later however … I think with that godmode O-line we had any O Coordinator would’ve looked good.
Anyways, I’m starting to think we can start referring to Whitt as “He who shall not be named”.
They guy literally took 80% of the coaching staff and some really, really good players with him. Yeah, I’m disgusted with him. I understand that he has a job to do at Michigan and therefore needs a staff and some players. But gutting the program he was part of for THREE DECADES is nuts.
It seems to me like many of the Scalley hires are upgrades on those who left. I am not worried about that. And a bunch of those players may have left regardless. I am more interested in those guys who want to stay. Yeah it is disappointing to have some good players leave but every year for years when guys have left others have stepped up and the teams have been fine. 2024 being an outlier in terms of performance. I remember hand wringing over guys like Devin Lloyd leaving or Clark Phillips or Marcus Williams but others stepped up and did great.
KW gave Utah his all while he was here and was supported and paid handsomely for it. He doesn’t owe Utah anything. Conversely, Utah and its fans don’t owe him anything. They have given all he is owed. Unless he starts bashing Utah I won’t bash him publicly, but I also feel no desire to cheer him on.
I can totally understand taking coaches, pulling some players with him, but the Moa/JJ Buchanan approach was what put me over the edge. Having Moa wait to announce so we couldn’t offer JJ a little more to keep him so they could get both was a low move. The ‘we don’t tamper’ thing went out the window and I guess he’s embracing the ‘UM way’.
This seems like a logical twist. However, isn’t it also true that Utah could have taken the JJ money after he announced and offered more to Moa to entice him to stay? Doing either, giving Moa money to JJ or visa versa would probably throw the budgeted amounts for players out the window. It has been intimated that John Henry was upset because Utah gave Holtzclaw more money. Without an unlimited budget I imagine you need to be very careful when handing out $$ offers not to get to where you are getting things out of balance.
That’s true - Utah has taken an approach of valuing positions. I wonder if it’s a range based on production or experience that they may bump it up, but they may set a high limit (esp. for an incoming FR or even SO like JJ). I think Moa was announce/sign with UM pretty quickly so maybe we couldn’t even counter-offer, but an incoming FR that committed to TN, then Utah, and UM before even playing a college snap - good luck with that. Probably bad practice to be chasing and causes other problems with other players who don’t play the game and are ‘loyal’ and end up perceiving they got less than they could have. $ ruins things.
Dampier returning is bigger than people realize. As soon as he arrived last year he started having breakfasts with other players, adding people, building trust, building cohesion.
That story about he & his younger brother (who’s on the spectrum) demonstrates legit leadership, not just saying and doing the right things, but doing them naturally.
I know KW saw Rising as the “alphas of the alphas”, but the compassionate leadership style of Dampier is really powerful, because it builds a deep trust. It’s a very inclusive style, like with his little brother he wants people to know they have a story that’s worth telling. That touches people. Even football players.
This was the #1 priority among players coming back, IMO.
The Utes have lost 5 defensive and 1 offensive player to the portal who played significant roles in the 11 win season on top of losing the entire OL, TE and 3 defensive starters to graduation and the NFL.
They have brought in a recruiting and portal class that looks full of potential. Retaining DD, Byrd, Wayshawn and others is great, but they will need to do one hell of a coaching job to compete with TT and BYU at the top of the BIG12.
Will we fall to 0-12? Unlikely. Will we go 10-2? Unlikely. 7/5, 6/6 or 5-7 sound more likely and the idiot who sits 2 rows behind will start yelling fire Scalley midway through the second qtr of the Arkansas game.
Offense looks like an upgrade, outside of the O line which of course is critical. Lot of O line talent, but a question mark.
The crazy thing is that I really don’t know what to expect from the D - particularly the line - and it may be the team’s weakness. How weird is it to be saying that for Utah football.