Scalley era will be starting without JHD. 
I have a sneaking suspicion where he will end up.
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Meh - just entering the portal doesn’t mean anything more than “I’m ready to test my value”. Maybe he goes elsewhere, maybe he’s back at Utah.
In the same vein, I’m hearing that Beck to Michigan may not automatically happen.
Nothing is guaranteed, but I suspect Otro is starting to work, behind the scenes.
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For a guy like Isaac Wilson who is a questionable P4 talent, yes.
For a guy like JHD who is a proven commodity, no.
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We’re accustomed to bracing when a good player enters the portal. BYU throwing money, again.
Here’s some reference, both for us thinking about JHD and maybe the post-Otro us:
Texas Tech’s DE combo of David Bailey and Romello Height got a combined $7M in NIL last year, among the $28M spent overall.
That investment definitely showed.
EDIT - I’m not saying we need to pay the DEs $7M. I’m just saying if we want to really compete, the Otro money needs to be utilized.
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Large monetary commitments to players returning from potentially devastating injuries are a lot of risk to athletic teams. TT paid 7m for DEs but I don’t remember hearing that either was rehabbing and “planning to be 100%.”
I have no idea what Daly’s NIL value is with such an injury. He was certainly elite prior to getting hurt. I hated to see him get hurt and hate to see him go but college football is clearly all business now.
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Per social media, Beck told the players he’s leaving. If it’s true, let’s hope Scalley has the new OC lined up and announces it quickly. Uncertainty isn’t great with the portal opening.
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I think there’s some subtle shade in this quote from Morgan, especially the last line.
“I am who I am. And I wear my emotions on my sleeve. I grew up an Utah man. My dad played at the University of Utah. I had family go to the University of Utah. And I grew up running around in those tunnels at Rice Stadium — when it wasn’t Rice-Eccles Stadium. And I’ve seen it transition. I’ve been there through all of it, and my dream has always been to take it to the highest level. The one thing that I’m so grateful for is that my logo has never changed, nor will it.
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Thamel sources saying that Beck has informed U officials that he is taking the OC at Michigan.
Now CBS sports reporting
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First and foremost, congratulations on the bowl win, no smack, no snark, just sincere congratulations. Bowl time, like OOC and March Madness is my school, my conference, my state, that order. A Utah win benefits the entire Big 12, so I’m happy you beat Nebraska. Even though the Cornhuskers have fallen way off from their glory days, it’s still a big name opponent and solid win.
If only ASU had taken care of business against Duke . . .
Second, I’m pleased that Morgan is finally calling the shots. My respect for him soared when ESPN showed him warmly congratulating Jake Retzlaff after what had to be a gut-wrenching loss in 2024. That’s class and dignity personified and someone I can hugely respect. He reminds me of Ron McBride. I didn’t like seeing Utah beat BYU when he was the coach but couldn’t help but respect him for his class and decency, especially when it came to his relationship with Lavell and the unmistakable mutual high regard they had for each other.
I think Morgan will be a wonderful breath of fresh air, still as determined as ever not to lose to BYU, but collaborate with Kalani in toning down the toxicity that has added a most unpleasant taste to the Holy War. I like him and hope he does well, one game per year excepted.
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Dang, was hoping for a miracle.
Now comes the player fallout….
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He told the team after the game.
Lots of people knew, most just didn’t want that to be the focus.
And, if you watched him during the game it was pretty obvious. His body language was one of regret, not having fun.
I also expect Harding to be gone.
Sounds like Isaac Asiata is getting the OL job at Weber.
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Scalley said “there’s a plan in place”. This seems like a coded reassurance, I’m sure he knew about departures coming.
I think Scalley’s situation with the Otro factor is significantly better than KW’s was after Urban left.
Watching Morgan’s post-game comments last night… he feels confident, and he’s definitely carrying forth the culture, Family. (How cool was it to see the Moment of Loudness in Vegas? Even the Husker fans were turning on their cell phone lights on.)
That said, the way the Portal and NIL work, every team in the US has a significantly different composition year to year. It’s a different era.
Savor this season, see how things unfold. We’ll be fine.
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Beck likely is only going to be at Michigan for a year if he has a decent year. He’ll get a head gig.
Guessing the other departures are
Harding
Simon
Detmer
Fred Whittingham
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A few observations about the offense.
- Beck came in and delivered on using the players here. Very, very astute coach, building his career impressively.
- Dampier was masterful, MVP for the year. Byrd was other-worldly, at times in situations hand-picked for that to be possible.
- The 2 things above were fueled by a seasoned OL, 2+ NFL players (who didn’t play last night) and a lot of hard work over multiple years.
- However, that same OL was stuffed by TTech’s DL, to the astonishment of Whit. “Never thought in a million years that would happen”. (Me: they paid a lot for that defense.)
It was gratifying to have the ingredients come together like that, but no guarantee it would repeat itself the next year.
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That’s one of his go to soundbites. 
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Yep. That will be very interesting to watch.
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The names I keep seeing thrown around for OC are Jonathan Smith and Aaron Roderick. Not sure how I feel about Smith, or what the hell happened to him at Michigan State. And Roderick? Utah’s been there, done that.
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Jonathan Smith would be fantastic. He was Chris Peterson’s OC at Washington. He made Oregon State a top 10 team. Michigan State should not have fired him after only two years. But these are the same people who gave a big contract to Mel Tucker. Utah should be so lucky as to get Smith.
This Oregon-Texas Tech game makes me glad Beck is leaving. Run mostly offense isn’t going to cut it.
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No to ARod. Let’s cut back on the inbreeding.
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Powell is supposedly gone.
Belief is Michigan gave him a brinks truck as he’d originally agreed to stay and would be associate head coach.
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