Kyle Whittingham ripped his defense after last year’s season-opening loss to Florida. The Utes entered the season with College Football Playoff aspirations, but those were dashed by Anthony Richardson and the Gators. Whittingham thought his defense was soft that day.

Rarely does a Utah defense look soft. It won a Pac-12 title in 2021 thanks, in part, to a defense that beat up on Oregon. And when Utah embraced a youth movement on that side of the ball last fall and players blossomed, defense again led the way to a Pac-12 title game thrashing of USC.

Whittingham is confident in his 2023 group.

“At every level we are talented and we are deep. The front is physical and athletic, the linebackers are active and tough, and the secondary has a bunch of ballhawks back there with some really good tacklers at safety,” he said when fall camp opened this week. “I think the defense really has a chance to be a standout for us this year.”

Utah will be tested this season as it tries to three-peat. The league figures to be as strong as it’s been in years. Quarterback play will be top-notch most every week.

“This is, without a doubt, probably the best talent the Pac-12 has ever had,” defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley said. “We’ve got our hands full. We need to play well defensively. We’ve got very good quarterbacks in this league, very good coaching in this league.

“The great thing is that we’ve got good players too. We’ve got good players, we’ve got good coaches. There’s a lot that goes into having a season and remaining healthy is a big part of that. Got to be smart in how we prepare. At the same time, we need to hit and we need to find out who’s who.”

Expect the Utes to be physical. The defensive line returns a ton. It’ll be a group led by Junior Tafuna and Van Fillinger. Jonah Elliss, Connor O’Toole, Aliki Vimahi, Logan Fano, and Simote Pepa will all have extensive roles as well.

“They’re doing amazing. They make (the linebackers) look good,” said linebacker Karene Reid. “Levani Damuni’s been saying since he got here that it’s crazy to play behind these guys.”

Whittingham is also expecting big things from second-year linebacker Lander Barton, who he says has added 15-20 pounds in the offseason without compromising his quickness.

Utah has to replace shutdown corner and pick-six machine Clark Phillips III, but the Utes have had to replace NFL talent every year.

“You recruit, you develop and you manage,” Scalley said.

The Utes have been doing all three well lately. And that has the defense set up nicely for the upcoming season.