It’s About Finding The ‘Trustworthy Guys’ For Jason Beck, Utah Football
Aug 11, 2025, 8:30 AM | Updated: 12:43 pm
Utah football fall camp in Salt Lake City, UT on Wednesday, August 6, 2025. Anna Fuder/Utah Athletics
SALT LAKE CITY—Kyle Whittingham and the Utah football program are preparing for what will need to be a transformative football season, spearheaded by their newly appointed offensive coordinator, Jason Beck.
After struggling offensively for most of the last two seasons, the program has welcomed a lot of new faces to improve its offensive output this season. In fact, outside of the entire offensive line and a handful of other holdovers, Utah has completely remade its offensive roster.
With a few known commodities, camp has been about identifying who are going to be the players that step up at the skill positions.
Utah OC Jason Beck searching for trustworthy playmakers in fall camp
During the early days of Utah’s fall camp, new offensive coordinator Jason Beck has one primary objective: find out which players can be trusted to make plays.
“It’s really about identifying who the trustworthy guys are, the playmaker guys,” Beck said, describing how he and his staff are evaluating a wide-open competition at the offensive skill positions. “When you put those 11 guys together, all doing their different roles, who can you depend on and count on?”
Beck, who arrived in Salt Lake City after leading New Mexico’s offense to one of the most efficient offenses last season, is not just installing a new spread, no-huddle system – he’s also assessing a largely new cast of skill players.
“It’s a matter of finding consistency, who’s showing up every day and consistently getting their job done, so we know we can count on them to put them out there for the game.”
Utah football’s known commodities: Devon Dampier and the O-Line
Utah entered camp with two known commodities on the offensive side of the ball: Devon Dampier and the offensive line.
Dampier played a contributing role as a freshman and then took over the starting job last season, where he proved to be one of the most dynamic playmakers in the country. Now, thanks to his experience, Dampier stepped into a leadership role as the offense transitioned to Beck’s system.
Beck praised the young quarterback for the tone he sets. “Dampier is just continuing to lead, first by example through his play, being that real consistent playmaker, doing the right things,” Beck said, “and second, being a good teammate.”
Being a good teammate, in Beck’s view, means holding others accountable: “If you see something–you know, you’re not their friend, you’re their teammate, whether that’s positively reinforcing what they’re doing or whether that’s asking them to live up to a different standard.”
Up front, Utah boasts two of the most highly regarded offensive tackles in the country—Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, as well as a veteran offensive trio inside.
“The O-line is in a great spot to be building from,” Beck shared. “There are good, quality players, players who have a lot of game experience. By that, you just see the leadership from that group, so their presence, their effect on the offense, is really positive.”
Not only will Utah’s offensive line set the tone on the field with their play, but they will also be looked to for leadership. Both Fano and center Jaren Kump have been named captains, while Lomu and guard Michael Mokofisi have been named to the leadership council.
View this post on Instagram
Who are the ‘trustworthy guys’ Beck’s looking for on offense?
Camp has been about finding the skill guys who consistently make an impact. Dampier has been an extension of Beck on the field, thanks to his experience in the offense. That, combined with his work ethic and leadership, will be key in determining who they can count on.
“Dev shows up every day and works hard, and he leads by example,” Beck said. “He needs to just continue to do that, execute, and bring everybody else along and develop the chemistry with all those skill guys.”
Those skill positions were the big question mark coming into camp. Through the first 10 days, Utah has found some consistency in those spots.
“I think we’re in a good place,” Kyle Whittingham said last week. “Wayshawn Parker is doing some really nice things, NaQuari Rogers as well. Devon moved the offense up and down the field. I’d say the receivers have made big strides. Tobias Merriweather is doing some good things, Daidren Zipperer is doing some good things, and the true freshman—he’s not a receiver, he’s a flex tight end, JJ Buchanan has really done some good things.”
There’s still time in their evaluation process, but it seems Utah is starting to find their ‘trustworthy guys’ at the skill positions. Including the three Whittingham singled out, Hunter Andrews, Dallen Bentley, Ryan Davis, and Creed Whittemore have been pretty consistent going back to spring ball. After the scrimmage this weekend, there’s been some buzz around Larry Simmons as well.
It should be interesting to hear from Whittingham and the players about how they feel the first scrimmage went this past Saturday. Given that there are only two scrimmages, this was a key checkpoint in Utah’s process of identifying their guys.
“We’re not making huge judgements right away because it’s going to take a little time to settle in and get that rhythm,” Beck shared. “But we have just two scrimmages along the way, and by the end of that second scrimmage, we’d really like to have a clear plan of what we’re doing.”
