When it comes to the storied history of the University of Utah defense, one player stands above the rest. While Devin Lloyd could go as high as the top 10 in this week’s NFL Draft, the title the G.O.A.T. of Utah defenders goes to Luther Elliss.

As Elliss’ career has come full circle and he’s back coaching at his alma mater, he’s doing so as his son, Jonah, is emerging as a defensive weapon for Kyle Whittingham and Morgan Scalley’s vaunted defensive attack.

Despite his bloodlines, Jonah Elliss flew under the radar during his recruitment. He played his high school ball in Moscow, Idaho. Watch his film and it looks like he was a grown man playing against junior high teams. In reality, it probably would have looked that way regardless of where he went to high school.

Upon signing with Utah, Jonah was immediately thought of as the sleeper of the 2021 Utes recruiting class. He enrolled early, but injury in the first week of spring ball took away some of his development time.

“At that time, I was still a linebacker, so all I could do was watch film,” said Elliss. “I could kind of work out, but it wasn’t much. My whole process was to learn the playbook. I would show up early and study film. Devin Lloyd would always be coming in and see me and help out.”

Elliss learned a lot from Utah’s two defensive captains.

“Just seeing the thought process of Devin and Mika Tafua and these really great players is what a lot of young players really need,” admitted Elliss. “Just seeing how he could write up everyone’s job on the whiteboard and knowing what everyone’s doing was something that I said, ‘I need to be like that.’”

With that initial setback, Elliss was eased into action in 2021, but he still played in all 14 games. His defensive reps increased towards the tail-end of the season and so did the excitement around his play.

Elliss was surprised with his early success, but not satisfied. To go along with his spring injury, he moved to defensive end two weeks before the 2021 season started.

“Yeah I was surprised, but I wanted to do more,” admitted Elliss. “I was getting reps in the cowboy package, but I want to become a starter. I don’t want to just settle for those reps. That was way different for me because in Idaho I took every rep—offense, defense, special teams—I was never off the field, and then here, I was only in one package. But, if that’s what I gotta do to help the team, then that’s what I gotta do; that was my thought process. Hopefully I’ll earn a spot and get in rotation.”

During the season, Tafua would spend extra time with Elliss after practice to speed up his learning curve. Now, Elliss says he still works on those same things Tafua taught him, with the goal of perfecting them.

After a strong spring, Elliss has not only earned a spot in the rotation, he’s also likely locked up the starting spot opposite of Cam Fillinger. At the rate that he’s performing, the belief amongst the football program is that Elliss won’t be a surprise to opponents for long.

What will stand out to most Utah fans about Elliss’ 2021 season is his blazing sideline to sideline speed. At 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds, he ran a 4.5 40 during the Utes’ spring camp. Elliss, however, believes his best skill is his pass rushing ability.

“My speed off the edge is a threat to a lot of tackles,” said Elliss. “A lot of D-Ends nowadays are 270, 280 and just get in there, but that’s the complete opposite of what I am. I move fast and I just need to master my technique and once I do that, I think that will be my best thing.”

Of course it helps that Elliss can learn the tricks of trade from a former NFL defensive lineman. It’s even more beneficial now that they can jump in a collegiate film room together whenever they’d like.

“Something he would always say is to make a move off of the offensive tackle’s set, and I’ve always been like 'You can’t read it that fast,’” said Elliss. “But then he got here, he sat me down and we watched film and he showed me where the offensive tackle is set and how an inside bull rush or outside rush would let me win against the tackle. It was an eye-opener, so now I’m trying to apply that to my game and read the tackle.”

Jonah comes from a big family, so he considers himself a big family guy. Because of that, he was excited when his dad replaced Sione Pouha as the Utes’ defensive tackles coach.

“At first I was like, wait, my Dad is going to be coaching me, my Dad is going to be yelling at me,” said Elliss with a laugh. “But he’s a really, really good coach, and even though I didn’t get that in high school—he coached my brothers—but I’m getting that now and it’s something I’m really grateful for and excited for. We go and watch film together and he kind of grades me on everything and coaches me up. He teaches me how to read the offensive tackle and what pass rush move to use. It’s really helped me which is really exciting.”

Following in his dad’s footsteps is a huge challenge for Jonah to take on. After his small sample size of jaw-dropping plays in 2021 and his standout spring camp, another generation of Ute fans are likely to witness the dominance of an Elliss on the Utah defensive line.

Just like his father almost 20 years before him, Jonah looks to be a game-changer for the Utah defense.