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SALT LAKE CITY — As he walked to his assigned media availability Tuesday evening ahead of Utah's first Pac-12 matchup of the season against UCLA, defensive end Jonah Elliss had a big smile on his face.
A smile is generally reserved for the players who don't have to interact with media that day as they walk past the onlooking reporters ready for their next quote or soundbite. But for Elliss, the smile remained — even when the media gathered around him as the center of attention for the moment.
His answers were genuine and free flowing, like someone comfortable in his own skin and excited to preach the gospel of Utah football, especially that of the defense.
"I think we're running around having fun," Elliss said about the defense. "Honestly, that's probably what it is, we're all just having fun, so it's a lot of fun to be out there."
Fun is one way to put it; "suffocating," as head coach Kyle Whittingham put it Saturday, is another way to describe what Utah has done so far this season.
On Saturday, Elliss was an integral part to Utah's seven sacks on freshman quarterback Dante Moore — Elliss accounted for 3.5 sacks and five tackles for loss — and holding UCLA to only 9 rushing yards all game. The Bruins entered the game averaging 270.3 rushing yards per game as the third-best rushing team in the country, but Elliss and the Utes defense had other plans.
Utah's dominance was most evident on UCLA's final possession of the afternoon when Elliss started out the drive with an 8-yard sack, followed by a 7-yard sack from Elliss and teammate Logan Fano, and then another 7-yard sack by safety Sione Vaki on fourth down to end the Bruins' hopes of a positive drive.
"Great — great's probably not the right adjective; whatever is better than great — defensive effort by our guys," Whittingham said. "Absolutely suffocating defense.
"What wins football games — close games — is a fourth quarter pass rush and the ability to run the ball in the fourth quarter. We had the pass rush, we didn't run the ball nearly well enough in the fourth quarter, but fortunately the pass rush showed up, particularly on that last series and put the game on ice."
After four games, which includes wins over three Power Five teams, Utah ranks fourth in the country in run defense (51.0 yards per game), sixth in scoring defense (9.5 points per game), and ninth in total defense (263.8 yards per game). Utah is also currently third in ESPN's defensive efficiency rankings, just behind Texas and Penn State.
Elliss, who is listed on Utah's two-deep roster as a backup to starter Van Fillinger, currently leads the country with 5.5 sacks on the season. And on the other side of the line, Fano, who is also listed as a backup to Connor O'Toole, has 2.5 sacks on the season.
The duo played the entirety of the game Saturday and are two of several players filling in at several starter positions on a Utah roster that has been significantly hampered by injuries this season. And rather than take a significant step back, Utah has excelled with its depth players getting starter minutes.
"I mean, it means so much because you see that our second- and third-string guys can all play and compete with the other team's starters," Elliss said Tuesday. "Like, the amount of depth that we have, and just all them being able to step up ... for all of our guys that were down is awesome. So it's really good to see; we have a lot of depth on our team."
Whittingham projected Saturday that Utah could see more players return from injury this week, which will only add to the team's ability to stay one of the top defenses in the country. O'Toole is considered by Whittingham and several players to be the team's best pass rusher, and he hasn't even taken a snap this season.
That's a scary thought for opposing teams.
It's why veteran linebacker Karene Reid, who opened up the game Saturday with a pick six, said this year's defense is the best he's ever been a part of while at Utah.
"I would say it's the top defense I've been a part of, because of the depth," Reid said Saturday. "Talent's always been here, but the depth has been crazy."
It still may be too early to compare this year's team to the 2019 defense, which is considered one of the best in Utah history — or at least in Whittingham's tenure — but the early numbers are promising for a defensive side of the ball with a bevy of talent.
"Stats wise, we're doing pretty well, but we're trying to be No. 1 in everything — run game, pass game, sacks, takeaways," Elliss said Tuesday. "We're trying to be No. 1 at everything, so we need to work on everything to keep improving."
