Utah's Elliss Focused on Health and a Big 2023 Season
After showing tantalizing flashes of talent in 2022, Utah defensive end Jonah Elliss became a key piece to the Utes defense last season, playing alongside Van Fillinger and Connor O’Toole. With spring ball rolling into the final weeks, Elliss is taking limited reps while he continues to recover from injuries he sustained from last season.
“It’s going good; it’s a little slow for me. I’m struggling with a few injuries from the end of last season,” said Elliss. “I’m doing a lot of rehab, trying to get back out there with the boys. I’ll get back there.”
Last season Elliss played in 11 games with eight starts. He tallied 26 tackles with the second most TFLs with six on the defensive line — including two forced fumbles and two recoveries. Then, unfortunately, the injuries piled up.
Even with his limited time in spring ball, there are still things he can focus on improving. The biggest thing Elliss says he’s working on improving this spring is attacking the quarterback.
“My pass rush needs a little more work,” said Elliss. “I started to figure it out at the end of the season, right before I got hurt. Definitely continue on improving that.”
While he’s not getting all the reps he’d hope for, he likes what he sees from the group so far this spring.
“The D-end room is looking really good. We have a lot of depth and strength with a lot of our guys so it’s going to be really good.”
When the Utes lost Fillinger to a lower leg injury in November, Fillinger was leading the team in sacks. O’Toole then stepped up and emerged as a budding star. O’Toole recorded 30 tackles, three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery.
With Fillinger and Elliss limited this spring, it gives more reps to O’Toole, who is still newer to the position, plus newcomers Chase Kennedy, Ka’eo Akana, and BYU transfer Logan Fano.
When it comes to the goal for the group, Elliss says It’s not about focusing on themselves and beating out one another, but stepping up to do their part for the defense.
“A lot of teams are like, ‘This guy is beating me out, I don’t like him,’” said Elliss. “Our room is always trying to help each other and get better. I think our rotation is going to be solid because of it.”
While spring ball is a time to perfect your craft and work on new things, sometimes rest and rejuvenation can pay off.
“I want to play the best I ever had, I felt like I did well last year but not good enough,” said Elliss. “I feel like I can be a lot better than I ever was—just have to get my body right to do that.”
A healthy Elliss is not something that Pac-12 opponents will look forward to in Utah’s quest for a Pac-12 three-peat.