Unpacking The Utah Football Notebook From Big 12 Media Days
Jul 11, 2025, 3:57 PM
FRISCO, Texas – At The Star, Utah football embraced and relished the opportunity at Big 12 Media Days.
Kyle Whittingham and the four Utes that accompanied him—Devon Dampier, Spencer Fano, Lander Barton, and Smith Snowden all made a very good impression.
After a difficult first year in the conference, the Utes enter year two with a very different vibe around the program; however, internal expectations are still quite high.
That's a wrap for @Big12Conference Media Days 🙌
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— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) July 10, 2025
The healthy buzz around quarterback Devon Dampier
The intrigue around Utah’s new signal caller was quite apparent. He was the guy that everyone wanted to hear from, and Dampier did not disappoint. He handled questions with poise and a refreshingly bright energy.
“He was like a coach on the field for us in spring ball, a tremendous leader,” Whittingham shared of his new quarterback. “He was voted to the leadership council after having only been on campus for two weeks. That’s how much his teammates thought of him after being around him.”
That’s something that shouldn’t be taken for granted. It’s not entirely common to see a quarterback come in and be embraced in the manner Dampier has. Utah’s had a few good quarterbacks in recent history, none of whom were voted captain within their first few weeks or even months of their arrival.
RELATED: Utah’s Devon Dampier Is Excited To Compete In The Big 12
“My leadership style, it’s big on let me demonstrate it first,” Dampier explained. “I hate to be the guy that comes in and just starts talking and telling people what to do, that’s not me. I love to earn the respect of my teammates first.”
The excitement centers around Dampier’s truly dynamic dual-threat ability. Last season, he totaled 2,768 passing yards, 1,166 rushing yards, and 31 total touchdowns. Those numbers put him in elite company, as he joins Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts, and Jayden Daniels as quarterbacks to throw for at least 2,500 yards and eclipse 1,000 on the ground since 2016.
“People that don’t closely follow college football won’t know what they have at quarterback this year; those that do, know that this is going to be an exciting team, it’s going to be appointment television for me.” – On3’s Ari Wasserman shared with KSL Sports.
It’s more than just excitement and intrigue. Dampier was voted Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, which speaks to the expectations people have of him this season.
A positive buzz is encouraging, but it doesn’t translate to wins. It’s going to be on Dampier to execute at a level that will lead Utah to success this season. He understands that and knows he has to raise the bar.
“There’s definitely a difference in this league, I’ve seen it especially in practice,” Dampier said. “At New Mexico, the offense, we just had our way. At Utah, I’m competing against one of the top defenses in the league. It’s definitely been tough, been an adjustment, but I’ve definitely improved over time.”
Utah Football: Two-way players are in vogue
Maybe the most interesting little nugget from the head coach was that defensive standouts, Barton and Snowden, would also be playing offense this season.
“I see Smith Snowden playing some receiver, slot receiver, and just getting the ball in his hands—you can see how dangerous he is with his kickoff returns,” Whittingham said of his star defensive back.
“Lander Barton was essentially uncoverable in high school—now, I know he was playing against high school guys, but he’s a tremendous receiver,” Whittingham shared. “Many teams were recruiting him as a tight end, thinking that was his best position—including his dad, by the way, but you’re going to see him play some tight end.”
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Utah isn’t unfamiliar with two-way play either. During the 2023 season, Sione Vaki emerged as a dangerous two-way athlete after starting the season as a safety and then embracing an opportunity to play running back.
“We need to maximize all the talent that we have, all the weapons that we have,” Whittingham shared. “Like I said, if we have a guy that can help, who is already established, then you look at him playing both ways.”
RELATED: Lander Barton Says Utah Has Found New “Excitement”, Ready For Next Year
Potential two-way players are even becoming more prominent in recruiting. Whittingham’s staff pursues the No. 1 player in the state, Salesi Moa, who is being recruited to make an impact offensively and defensively.
“It’s become more in vogue, where people a few years ago were against it and wanted to specialize, now you’re seeing players be much more receptive to that,” Whittingham said.
“Complete Autonomy” for new offensive coordinator Jason Beck
If you had a Utah football bingo card of common Whittingham sayings and phrases, “complete autonomy for _______ (offensive coordinator)” was probably on there.
“Jason has complete autonomy to do what he wants offensively, we’re going to be almost a carbon copy of what New Mexico was in philosophy,” Whittingham shared in his media day press conference.
“He does a great job, utilizing personnel, getting guys in position to be successful,” he continued. “So you’ll see some different twists than what you saw last year, but that’s just because he’s making the most of the players that he has available.”
One interesting twist on that and why there is probably a little more validity to what he’s saying than Utah fans will ever give him credit for is the presence of Dampier. Given his experience in the offense, there is an established way of doing things between the coordinator and quarterback that simply was never a factor in previous coordinator takeovers.
“When we got Jason on board, Devon Dampier, his quarterback at New Mexico last year, was eager to stay with Jason and stay in the same offense,” Whittingham shared. “Having him know the offense and not have any learning curve at all because he’s been through it is huge.”
Maybe more encouraging than all is what the defensive staff thinks of the new offense.
“Our defensive coaches, I know, are very impressed with what Jason has brought to the table and the difficulty to defend—the formations and the way he utilizes personnel,” Whittingham shared. “The rubber will hit the road when we start playing in the fall, but I’m excited to see how it goes.”
“You just move on” is an important message to Utah fans
Following the highly controversial transfer of defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa to rival BYU, the once beloved Utah Man became enemy No. 1 in the eyes of Utah fans.
Tanuvasa told 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone that he’s never experienced anything like the past six months.
“I knew that it was going to cause earthquakes,” Tanuvasa said. “(It hasn’t) been quiet for six months. I go to Salt Lake, and I still get people booing me. I get it, people are emotional, and they love the game. Initially, I heard all the noise. I’ve never been hated that much.”
Given how Tanuvasa previously talked about Utah, particularly his messaging to fans during the season, his move felt like a genuine betrayal. Even more so given his re-commitment to Utah in early December, only to be followed by his transfer portal entry two weeks later.
Needless to say, there is a lot Utah fans can draw from to fuel the hatred.
However, when coach Whittingham was asked about Tanuvasa’s departure, the head man shared four words that were not directed at anyone in particular, but should serve as a message to his fanbase: You just move on.
“As far as that goes, you just move on,” Whittingham started. “An old, experienced coach once told me, ‘You win with the players you’ve got. You don’t worry about the players you don’t have, so I really have nothing to add to that.”
The loss of Tanuvasa was certainly a blow to the outlook along the defensive line. Still, Utah returns key cogs in Aliki Vimahi, Jonah Leaea, and Dallas Vakalahi—who statistically performed quite well last season, just three months off his mission.
There is a lot of optimism around the young defensive tackles Utah brought in this past cycle. Karson Kaufusi in particular made a very strong impression this offseason, while Dilan Battle, who comes to Utah via LSU after enrolling early there, should be equipped to compete for playing time as well.
