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SALT LAKE CITY — Starting corner Kenan Johnson made an appearance at practice Tuesday.
Not as a participant — not after suffering a season-ending knee injury on Thursday — but as one to give his teammates encouragement and support.
His loss to the team stings, no doubt, but his mere presence at practice was meant to serve as motivation to help others behind him push forward.
Whatever the specifics of the conversation, fellow corner Cam Calhoun, who is returning from an offseason summer surgery that set him back about a month, said Johnson's presence at practice "had us fired up."
Much like last season, Utah is now looking for the "next man up" to fill in for Johnson for the remainder of the season.
It's a position group that entered the season relatively thin on depth but not on talent. Outside of proven lockdown corner Zemaiah Vaughn and Johnson, the room simply lacked experience — live reps outside of practice settings.
But as Johnson prepares for upcoming surgery and the required rehab, his teammates will look to replace his production on the field. And it's a group that both Kyle Whittingham and defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley have confidence in with what they can put on the field.
"We have guys that are very close in performance and battling for jobs, and so I think we're still fine," Whittingham said Tuesday. "Losing Kenan was obviously a big blow, but you've got to move forward — next man up's got to pick up the slack — and we still feel like we've got a good group of corners. ... We should be able to be very competitive out there."
Added Scalley: "We're fine. Yeah, we're all right. You lose a couple more, and then it gets interesting."
Whittingham said Smith Snowden, who is designated as the team's starting nickel, is "one of our top two corners right now" and will likely be the first to replace Johnson on the outside and "be on the field pretty much every snap."
Whether that means Snowden becomes the every down outside corner remains to be seen, but he'll continue to factor into Utah's defensive game plan — even if his role may shift from game to game or play to play.
It's a position that suits Snowden well, though, according to Calhoun.
"Smith Snowden, he's a football player, so it's really not just like a nickel or a corner; he plays all positions," Calhoun said. "I like to say Smith wears that S on his chest, just because I like to think that Smith is like our do-it-all on the defense — like, he knows everything. He finds himself comfortable wherever he's at on the field. And I just believe in Smith on the inside and out."
Calhoun made strides in spring to be included in the mix for the starting spot, but will be slowly introduced back into the defense as he acclimates to being back on the field after his surgery.
But the Michigan transfer remains an option at the position — even if it may take a few weeks. Regardless of the timeline, Whittingham believes Calhoun will be "a big factor at corner before the season's over" for the Utes.
Calhoun said he's confident in his ability to be on the field, and is making sure he gets everything right in his return to be "better than where you were at." As such, each day becomes a new opportunity to grow into the position more.
Also factoring into the team's plans is Elijah "Scooby" Davis, who got the first nod against Southern Utah when Johnson went down. Against the FCS opponent, Johnson faired well, and even recorded an interception that he almost returned for a touchdown. But he knows there's more he has to work on to see the field.
That work continues, but knowing that his team relies on him has been a driving force in his ability to progress and grow, he said.
"Just knowing that the team is counting on me," he said. "I was thinking like, this team, OK, it's a new corner in the game, so they're probably gonna come at me. So just thinking they're gonna come at me and don't let this game, don't lose this game because of me. That was really the main thing."
And though Utah will continue to work out different players at the position to find someone that can replace Johnson, Whittingham said the way to see the field is pretty simple.
To avoid overcomplicating it, he narrowed it down to two things.
"If you want to play here, you've got to know what to do, and you've got to physically be able to do it," Whittingham said of the position group. "If you can do that, you'll play. And so looking for guys that know their assignments, know the defense, understand what their responsibilities are, and have the physical capability to get the job done. It's pretty simple."
It may be simple in practice, but not always easy in application. But Utah coaches are confident they'll have the depth to compete.
