x
How Morgan Scalley was the key to Utah landing Diesel Dart
Utah Utes head coach Morgan Scalley. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

How Morgan Scalley was the key to Utah landing Diesel Dart, Jaxson Dart's brother

Diesel Dart is an extremely intriguing three-star athlete recruit from Draper, Utah, and part of the intrigue surrounding him is his last name.

Dart is the younger brother of New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, who was a first-round selection by the Giants in the 2025 NFL Draft.

For a three-star, the younger Dart also brings a ton of potential to the table as a recruit. Yes, there's the NFL bloodline, but Diesel Dart is a tremendous athlete.

He's a two-way standout at Corner Canyon High School as a safety and wide receiver. In 2025, he was credited with 48 tackles, five passes broken up, two interceptions, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble while also catching seven passes for 131 yards and a touchdown on offense.

So far in 2026, he's caught 15 passes for 336 yards and six touchdowns and has also run two in on offense. On defense, he's being credited with 19 tackles, one tackle for loss, two interceptions and two passes defended.

At the time of this writing, Corner Canyon still has five regular-season games to play as well.

Earlier in the summer, Dart committed to the Utah Utes over the BYU Cougars and Michigan Wolverines. Now, we know why he made that big decision, and it all has to do with new Utah head coach Morgan Scalley.

“The relationships that have been built there in the past, and that we’ve continued to build throughout my whole high school career, it was really a no-brainer for me,” Dart recently told The Salt Lake Tribune.

Scalley, 46, is a Ute all the way.

Morgan Scalley made it easy for Diesel Dart to commit to Utah Utes

From Salt Lake City, he was a safety at Utah from 2001 to 2004 before joining now-Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham's coaching staff in 2007. He coached safeties and eventually also became the defensive coordinator, and when Whittingham stepped down after 21 seasons at Utah, it was Scalley who was the coach in waiting.

Although he can do lots of things on the football field, Diesel Dart wants to be a safety like his soon-to-be head coach.

“I’ll mainly focus on defense there,” he said. “That’s what they recruited me for. I love defense. Defense comes the most natural to me, and it’s what I love most. So I’ll be a safety there, and I’m just looking to keep getting better, and ultimately accomplish my dream of going to the NFL.”

And as far as his relationship with Scalley is concerned? It's strong, to say the least.

“Coach Scalley really makes you want to go out there and play as hard as you can for him,” Diesel Dart said. “I’ve known him for the longest, and the love that the program showed me really stood out.”

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

Yardbarker +

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!