The Morgan Scalley era has begun. Here’s what stood out on Day 1

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Football is back.

On Monday, Morgan Scalley embarked on his inaugural fall camp as Utah’s head coach, kicking off the monthlong preparation for the Utes’ season, which begins on Sept. 3 with the home opener against Idaho.

There’s plenty of storylines to follow over the next month, from the offensive and defensive lines to the wide receiver room, but that will take time to shake out, and players emerging from position battles will only start to become visible after the team puts on the pads next week.

“When we start to hit each other and tackle and all that stuff, that’s when I really have a good understanding,” Scalley said.

What really stood out to the coaching staff on Day 1 was the work the players put in over the summer, both in player-run practices led by quarterback Devon Dampier and in the weight room.

Dampier took the initiative to gather the offense during the summer, when coaches are forbidden from running practices, to help the Utes keep improving.

“He’d go out, calling plays, holding guys accountable. If things weren’t right, he would be the first one to speak up and say, ‘Hey, we need to do better,’” said offensive lineman Alex Harrison. “‘Start over. Let’s start this drive over. Start it from the beginning, everybody.’ Making sure, really just harping on guys, making sure everyone’s getting in the film room.”

College football has turned into a year-round sport, from winter conditioning to spring practice to player-led practices in the summer, all culminating with fall camp and the season. Practicing in the summer helps the team continue to build chemistry with each other, especially for Dampier and his new group of wide receivers.

The summer sessions were also helpful for Utah’s offensive line, which will have five new starters this season.

“They always say July’s the time that kind of makes or breaks. Coaches are away. What are you going to do? Are you going to rise?” Harrison said. “Are you going to kind of take the month off? And Dev did a fantastic job of making sure we all stayed accountable and got in the film room and we did what we needed to do.”

Dampier’s leadership ensured that the Utes worked throughout the summer and as a result, the Utes hit the ground running on the first day of fall camp.

“So far, so good,” Scalley said. “Like I said, the speed at which they started to execute on Day 1, much better than what we saw even near maybe the mid to end of spring. So the player-led practices were a huge bonus.”

Though the Utes had a good Day 1 overall thanks to the offseason work, that didn’t mean things went perfectly — Scalley had a few notes for the team afterward.

“Are we running to the ball? Are we living our culture? It’s the behavior that I’m after. And probably not good enough today in terms of hustle, being relentless to the ball, relentless jogging off the field,” Scalley said. “This game requires a lot and a lot of discipline. And if we’re not holding them accountable, then the culture presents itself in a way that you’re not happy with. So not good enough today in that aspect.”

Aside from the progress from the player-run practices, the other thing that stood out to Utah’s coaches was the gains players made in the weight room. After spring ball concludes, coaches aren’t allowed to run practices, but the strength staff is allowed to continue working with players throughout the summer.

New strength and conditioning coach Steve Saunders, who joined the staff in February and was promoted to head strength coach after Greg Argust resigned in April, has produced good results.

“I think this is probably one of the biggest changes I’ve seen, at least for me,” Harrison said. “… I know a couple guys in our room who put on 20 pounds of lean mass, and that’s what we started right at the beginning of June, so that’s been two months.

“This has been probably one of the hardest summers when it comes to conditioning and weightlifting, but I think it’s one of the biggest jumps I’ve had since I’ve been in college. I don’t think I’ve ever felt better than I do right now.”

Dampier, who counts on his offensive line to protect him game in and game out, has seen the transformation the group has undergone under Saunders.

“Coach Saunders makes our workouts very orientated to the position and you can tell those offensive linemen, a lot of them lost about five, 10 pounds of fat and then also gained like 10, 15 pounds of muscle,” Dampier said. “So for them to have that transformation just in the summer, man, now they get to showcase it out here and be at their best.”

Will Utah add any newly eligible players from the class of 2022 after preliminary injunction?

Last week, a ruling by a federal judge in Colorado shook college football up once again.

Judge Charlotte Sweeney’s preliminary injunction requires the NCAA to grant one year of eligibility to players that graduated in the high school class of 2022 and have exhausted their eligibility.

The NCAA introduced new eligibility rules — five years to play five seasons — that will go into effect in the fall of 2027, but Sweeney ruled that players that “began to play in collegiate sports in the 2022-2023 season, competed in NCAA Division I sports, and completed four years of eligibility as defined by the NCAA’s prior rules by the conclusion of the 2025-2026 season” are now eligible to play one more year in the 2026-27 season.

🙏 https://t.co/Wo8UFTcIXR

— Na’Quari “NaQ” Rogers (@NaquariR) August 2, 2026

The ruling, though, doesn’t open up a new transfer portal window — the transfer portal closed in January. Only players that entered the transfer portal during the January window would be eligible to transfer.

One former Ute that is newly eligible, running back NaQuari Rogers, expressed interest in a return.

Rogers was part of a tandem with Wayshawn Parker last year, rushing for 387 yards and 11 touchdowns on 98 carries.

Asked Monday about the ruling, Scalley said that “we will explore anything that we feel gives us an advantage and can help us win football games.”

As for how many roster spots the Utes have, Scalley said they have “wiggle room” for one or two guys.

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