How Utah will rebuild its offensive line — and 3 more storylines to follow during Utes’ fall camp

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With less than two months to go until Utah opens the season against Idaho on Sept. 3, college football is drawing near.

Morgan Scalley will open his first fall camp as head coach on Aug. 3, which starts the countdown to kickoff.

While Utah brings back key pieces like quarterbacks Devon Dampier and Byrd Ficklin, running back Wayshawn Parker and linebacker Johnathan Hall, there’s plenty of new faces on the hill as the Scalley era begins, including offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven.

With fall camp beginning Aug. 3, here’s a look at four of the most intriguing storylines to follow.

Offensive line revamp

Perhaps the biggest storyline heading into fall camp is the development of the offensive line.

This year’s group, coached by new offensive line coach Jordan Gross, has huge shoes to fill after the 2025 front, led by first-round NFL draft picks Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, powered the Utes to a school-record 3,462 rushing yards.

It’s unfair to expect the 2026 O-line to live up to the standard set by the 2025 contingent, but for the Utes to contend for a Big 12 title, the group will have to at least play average.

The bad news? All five starters from 2025 are gone, either to graduation or to the NFL.

The good news? Utah has veterans that have been in the program for years, waiting their turn behind some talented players.

Now they get their opportunity to silence the doubters.

“Their development both in the weight room and on the football field has been awesome,” Scalley said. “I love the story of those guys that have been waiting their turn, have been grinding and getting the work in and finally have that opportunity and now it’s time. So that’s a group that I’m very excited about.”

Keith Olson, Alex Harrison, Zereoue Williams, Solatoa Moea’i and Roger Alderman each played at least 130 snaps last season, thanks to Utah’s large margin of victory in its 11 wins.

In Utah’s 44-22 win over Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl, fans got a peek at the future as Olson, Moea’i and Williams started and Alderman got extended run. Even without some of the stars, Utah’s line played up to its 2025 standard, clearing the way for 225 rushing yards and four touchdowns and keeping Dampier clean for the most part.

Harrison, Olson, Williams, Moea’i and Montana State transfer Cedric Jefferson will be the favorites for starting jobs. Utah felt confident about its returning players and added just two from the transfer portal — Ohio State center Isaiah Kema and Jefferson, who spent three seasons at Montana State and started all 16 games at right tackle for the national champions.

Five-star freshman Kelvin Obot should also figure into things, at least as a rotation player. Don’t sleep on Isaiah Garcia, the four-star from Corner Canyon now entering his sophomore season, either. After his season ended before it started last year due to an injury, Garcia impressed coaches in the spring and has an important fall camp on his hands. Alderman will also play a part in the rotation.

As it stands, the offensive line is the biggest question mark on the offense, and they know it. That should fuel them, Scalley says.

“This is a group that all they’ve heard since the season ended was, ‘How are you going to replace these guys? How are you going to replace these guys?’” Scalley said.

“And if I’m them, I have the same mindset. I’m motivated. It’s their opportunity to step up and the way things are looking, I’m very, very pleased with where we’re at. We just want to continue to fly under the radar and show up on game day.”

A deep wide receiver room

When was the last time Utah fans had this much optimism about a wide receiver room?

Of course, this year’s crop of receivers will need to prove it on the field, but the talent and depth looks to be there.

Braden Pegan, who transferred from Utah State, should be this year’s WR1. The 6-foot-3 receiver had a breakout season in Logan last fall, snagging 60 receptions for 926 yards and five touchdowns. After starting his career at UCLA, Pegan is back at the Power Four level and has a real opportunity to take the lead as Dampier’s favorite target.

San Jose State transfer Kyri Shoels (768 yards, 2 TDs) brings blazing speed and sure hands.

The race for that third option will be intriguing, with Ricky Johnson, Creed Whittemore and Larry Simmons each taking steps forward this spring.

Then there’s quarterback-turned-wide receiver Nate Johnson, who was the talk of spring camp, and returners Daidren Zipperer and Tobias Merriweather.

On paper at least, Utah’s wide receiver room looks pretty deep. How the depth chart shakes out will be interesting to follow.

“This wide receiver group’s one of the best, if not the best, we’ve had at the University of Utah since I’ve been there, which is a long time,” Scalley said.

The RB2 battle

There’s no question about it — Wayshawn Parker is Utah’s undisputed RB1.

The battle to get the second-most touches will be one to keep an eye on, though.

The two candidates, San Jose State transfer Steve Chavez-Soto and returner Daniel Bray, have differing styles, so each could be used depending on the situation, and there may not be a true RB2 this season.

Chavez-Soto, 6-foot and 205 pounds, could be used in short-yardage situations, similar to NaQuari Rogers last season. At San Jose State, Chavez-Soto rushed for 448 yards on 87 carries with seven touchdowns with a solid average of 3.85 yards after contact.

While he added some muscle and weight to his frame — he’s now up to 180 pounds — Bray fills the role of the speedy running back. In his freshman season, Bray impressed with 272 yards (6.8 yards per carry), including a 121-yard performance against BYU.

As he makes the leap from freshman to sophomore year, Bray will be an interesting weapon for McGiven to use.

“Bray, the biggest positive so far is him — what he’s doing, he’s built his body up, buying into the culture,” Scalley said during spring camp.

While Parker will get the majority of carries, the Utes need to have capable players behind him.

Who wins the starting defensive tackle spots?

Just like the offensive line, the defensive line will be revamped in 2026. After some spotty performances last season, Utah’s defensive tackles room needs to be better this year.

Gone are Utah’s 2025 starters — Jonah Lea’ea, Aliki Vimahi and Dallas Vakalahi — making way for the next generation to step up.

Karson Kaufusi and Pupu Sepulona both saw plenty of snaps in their freshman seasons, with Kaufusi totaling 13 tackles in 177 snaps and Sepulona tallying 13 in 137 snaps. Now, they could take on full-time starting roles.

Utah brought in help from the transfer portal in San Jose State’s Jireh Moe, Wyoming’s Lucas Samsula and Tennessee’s Jamal Wallace.

Moe, in particular, could challenge for a starting spot. Though he’s just a sophomore like Kaufusi and Sepulona, Moe consistently drew praise during spring camp.

The Utes don’t have a ton of experience in a vital position on the defense. A few players will have to make big leaps for Utah to live up to its potential.

In case you missed it

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From the archives

Extra points

• Will aftermath of Texas Tech’s offseason drama linger into the season?
• Big 12 team preview: 2026 season an inflection point for Kansas
• Big 12 team preview: After Matt Campbell departure, Iowa State enters rebuild

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