SALT LAKE CITY — Utah offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven may have a tendency to use the pass to set up his offense, but don't confuse that with an offense that will be pass heavy under new head coach Morgan Scalley.
It's not that Utah won't rely more on its passing game and a heavier dose of its wide receivers under Scalley, it's more that the new head coach is looking to utilize all the strengths of his offense to "stress the defense."
There is no singular focus.
"I want us to be efficient," he said. "I want us to be innovative, and I want us to stress the defense and whatever that looks like. We've got some really good wide receivers, and so we're going to utilize it. We've also got some very, very physical football players.
"You take a look at the rhino position with Sione (Motuapuaka) and Semi (Taulanga), and if we're not taking advantage of those guys and running some power run game, then — we've got to do what's best for Utah football. I have never said that I want it to be pass happy; I want to dominate the line of scrimmage, I want to be innovative, and I want to stress defensive coordinators."
With that said, Scalley and others on the coaching staff have seen improvement in Utah's depth at the wide receiver position (and by extension the tight ends), and it's turned into a positive for the team this season to add more weight to the passing game.
And with proven pass catchers — most notably, transfers Braden Pagen and Kyri Shoels, and returner Larry Simmons, among others — making their presence known, the offense will naturally cater to more passing schemes than maybe traditionally utilized in a prior regime.
"It's always good to have competition, because no one is taking it easy," Scalley said of his deep wide receiver room. "Everyone's trying to show what they can do. And competition, we've got a lot of it in these position groups, so it's exciting to see."
But having more depth at wide receivers than in year's past doesn't negate all the hard work and success Utah has done to establish and maintain its run game, especially coming off a record-setting season with the team's three-leading rushers — quarterbacks Devon Dampier and Byrd Ficklin. and running back Wayshawn Parker — returning to the backfield.
It's a matter of utilizing both in unique ways to benefit and enhance each in the total make-up of the offense.
"I think, an important component of what it's been in the past is the ability to play complementary football," McGiven said, speaking to his offensive philosophy. "And regardless of what it's looked like from year to year, my understanding of what this place is, what we've been able to lean on to be able to win football games, to win complementary football, things like that, I'm well aware of those things."
For McGiven, it's all about getting "the best usage out of our personnel" and playing that complimentary football to win games.
It's no secret Utah needed to be more successful in its passing game — the team ranked 82nd last season — but McGiven isn't trying to fit his personnel into a preconceived notion of how the offense should run. There will be similar carryover from his previous stays, like Utah State, but it's more about adapting to what he has at Utah.
Much of that will be the result of improved talent across the board as McGiven transitions to a Power Four program
"Every place that I've been has been different," he said. "Part of that process is — like with here last year, they were very successful offensively with a certain philosophy and, obviously, leaning on the run game — something that they were masterful with, you know, score 40 points a game, and you're moving the ball up and down the field.
"I would be remiss if I wasn't studying last year's offense, and especially the guys that were involved in it, and what they knew being able to implement those things with what we're doing systematically. And then, for me, it's like what are the best components of that that we can implement? How can we build on it? And then figuring out how those pieces, those players, fit."
It may mean an expanded role for someone on the roster last season who could do more; it could be expanding the passing game or finding creative schemes in the run game to add new wrinkles to what was done in the past and keep with what works. Or it's about having fun with new positions that haven't always been available to McGiven at previous stops, like the rhino position.
"I haven't really played with the rhino, but these guys are really cool," he said. "I just know that they're in there and they're knocking people around. ... And so whether you call them a tight end or a fullback, how do you utilize those guys to the fullest extent? It's a good problem to have; it's fun, but early in the process of trying to put that all together."
For McGiven, it's all about being adaptable to what he has to work with this season, and creating something the players can get on board with and are comfortable and confident executing. It's an offense that will be tweaked and tested, and fine-tuned in spring.
