BIG 12 FOOTBALL COMPANION GUIDE • ALPHABETICAL 15 OF 16
2026 Season Snapshot • Salt Lake City, Utah
11-2 (Las Vegas Bowl champions)
BIG 12
Live schedule, lines and results for Utah.
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HEAD COACH
Morgan Scalley — 1st season at Utah
LIFETIME COACHING RECORD
First head-coaching job
A former Utah star player and defensive coordinator for 9 seasons (twice fending off outside interest from USC), Scalley was named head-coach-in- waiting in 2024. Talks to retain Kyle Whittingham for 2026 collapsed over money and control — Whittingham wanted $9M and $20M in NIL funding, Utah offered $8M with Scalley holding recruiting/roster authority. Whittingham left for Michigan instead, elevating Scalley immediately.
UTAH ATS RECORD
No single published career ATS figure
Utah finished 2025 at 11-2, its best season in years, capped by a Las Vegas Bowl win over Nebraska. The offense scored 41.2 ppg (4th nationally) and set school records for rushing yards (3,462) and rushing TDs (41) — a real, historic offensive breakthrough right before the coaching change.
HEAD COACH SALARY (2026)
$5.1M
TEAM NIL VALUATION (EST.)
Not disclosed
PRIMARY NIL COLLECTIVE
Not publicly named
Coach salary per Deseret News/KSL (5-yr, $27M deal, up to $36M with incentives; $1M from multimedia partner JMI, $500K from Under Armour built into base). Utah's total 2026 assistant coaching pool is $6.075M, bringing total football coaching investment to over $11.5M. Utah has not disclosed a team NIL figure; Whittingham had separately requested $20M in NIL funding during his failed retention negotiation.
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Jason McGiven • 1st season • Run-heavy multiple
Expected to run a similar offense to departed OC Jason Beck's 2025 system, which produced school records in rushing. Returns the ideal foundation: Dampier, Ficklin, RB Wayshawn Parker, and 4 returning offensive line starters.
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Multiple • Scalley's system continues
Scalley's own defensive system, refined over 9 years as coordinator, continues under new play-callers even as he steps up to head coach — real defensive continuity through the transition, unlike almost every other position on staff.
2025 RECORD
11–2 (Las Vegas Bowl champions)
Las Vegas Bowl: W 44-22 vs. Nebraska. Utah's best season in years, driven by a historic offensive turnaround (41.2 ppg, 4th nationally) — immediately followed by the Whittingham-to-Michigan departure that reshaped the program's 2026 outlook.
HOME FIELD
Rice-Eccles Stadium
Artificial turf (FieldTurf CoolPlay), Salt Lake City. A program that just posted its best season in years, now tasked with proving that success belongs to the program and not just the departed coach who built it.
| SLOT | PLAYER | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB1 | Devon Dampier | Sr | ★★★★★ | TOP TRANSFER New Mexico transfer (three-star out of HS); 2025 Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year and Manning Award finalist. 2,490 pass yds, 24 TD, 835 rush yds, 10 rush TD; passed on the portal to return for 2026 despite the coaching change. |
| RB1 | Wayshawn Parker | — | ★★★★★ | Three-star signee (Grant Union HS, Sacramento, Calif.; 1,907 rush yds, 24 TD as a senior). Washington State transfer; part of a backfield that helped Utah set school records for rushing yards (3,462) and rushing TDs (41) in 2025. Third-Team All-Big 12 in 2025. |
| WR1 | Ryan Davis | — | ★★★★★ | New Mexico transfer who followed Dampier to Utah; Utah lost its top two 2025 receivers, leaving Davis as the clear top returning target. |
New Mexico transfer (three-star out of HS); 2025 Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year and Manning Award finalist. 2,490 pass yds, 24 TD, 835 rush yds, 10 rush TD; passed on the portal to return for 2026 despite the coaching change.
Three-star signee (Grant Union HS, Sacramento, Calif.; 1,907 rush yds, 24 TD as a senior). Washington State transfer; part of a backfield that helped Utah set school records for rushing yards (3,462) and rushing TDs (41) in 2025. Third-Team All-Big 12 in 2025.
New Mexico transfer who followed Dampier to Utah; Utah lost its top two 2025 receivers, leaving Davis as the clear top returning target.
| PLAYER | POS | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 returning starters | OL | — | ★★★★★ | A genuine program strength: Utah returns four of five starters off a line that helped set school rushing records in 2025, real continuity behind an otherwise-changed coaching staff. |
A genuine program strength: Utah returns four of five starters off a line that helped set school rushing records in 2025, real continuity behind an otherwise-changed coaching staff.
| PLAYER | POS | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Front seven under Scalley's system | DL | 70% DE / 59% DT returning experience per roster metrics; benefits from Scalley's own long-running defensive system continuing even as he moves to head coach. |
70% DE / 59% DT returning experience per roster metrics; benefits from Scalley's own long-running defensive system continuing even as he moves to head coach.
| PLAYER | POS | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secondary elite continuity | DB | ★★★★★ | 96% returning experience at safety and 72% at cornerback per roster metrics — genuinely excellent continuity in the back end, one of the best-positioned units in the conference. |
96% returning experience at safety and 72% at cornerback per roster metrics — genuinely excellent continuity in the back end, one of the best-positioned units in the conference.
2025 ATS
9-4
69.2% cover rate — 7th of 82
2025 Straight up
11-2
Point differential +291
Scoring environment
60.2
Combined points per game — 9th highest of 82
Home / road ATS
4-2 · 4-2
Totals 9-4 O/U (5-1 home, 3-3 road)
Points scored / allowed
41.3 per game scored (2nd) · 18.9 allowed (13th)
Margin & schedule
Margin of victory +22.4 (4th) · Strength of schedule +2.4
SRS power rating
+20
4th of 82 — projected points vs. a league-average team on a neutral field
Offensive SRS
+15
3rd of 82
Defensive SRS
+8.5
15th of 82
Points (margin of victory)
+22.4 · 4th of 82
Against the spread
9-4 (69.2%) · 7th of 82
Totals (combined PPG)
60.2 · 9th of 82
Computed from CollegeFootballData 2025 results and closing consensus lines.
Saved Just J research for Utah.
Whittingham's requested $9M salary and $20M NIL package were rejected in favor of an $8M offer that stripped him of program control — he left for Michigan rather than accept reduced authority, a real power struggle behind the coaching change.
QB Devon Dampier (Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year) and backup Byrd Ficklin both chose to stay for 2026 despite the uncertainty — a real vote of confidence in the program beyond just Whittingham.
Utah's 2025 offense was 4th nationally in scoring and yardage after two down years — Scalley inherits a proven system, not a rebuild, even amid the leadership change.
Four returning starters on a record-setting run-blocking unit is about as safe a foundation as exists in this guide for a first-year head coach to lean on.
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