Player Leadership Has Been Key To Utah’s Success In 2025
Nov 13, 2025, 4:09 PM | Updated: Nov 14, 2025, 11:22 am
University of Utah Utes vs. Arizona State Sun Devils, College Football at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah on 10 11, 2025. (Photo: Joel A. Davidson )
(Photo: Joel A. Davidson )
SALT LAKE CITY—Ask Kyle Whittingham what’s defined Utah football in 2025 and he doesn’t reach for a whiteboard. He points to the locker room.
“I would say great leadership, we have tremendous captains this year, fortunately, they’ve all been able to stay healthy and intact, that’s a big part of it,” Whittingham said this week.
𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊‼️ Back on the road and headed to Waco, TX 💼
🆚 Baylor
🏟️ McLane Stadium
⏰ SAT 11.15 | 5:00PM MT
📺 ESPN2
📻 @ESPN700 / 92.1 FM#GoUtes | @SeatGeek pic.twitter.com/S6Cvxyw02l— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) November 10, 2025
As the 2025 regular season draws to a close, the Utes find themselves in a position few thought possible a year ago – and they have their leadership to thank.
In the span of twelve months, Utah’s program has been rejuvenated by a core of players who turned last season’s pain into this season’s purpose.
Utah’s leadership has been key to turnaround in 2025
Throughout the offseason, players often acknowledged that 2024’s 5–7 record was unacceptable by Utah’s standards, and leaders used it as motivation.
“I definitely do think this is a critical year for our program, last year was a bit of a fluke, and we’re trying to prove that that’s what that was,” Spencer Fano said prior to the season, underscoring the collective resolve to redeem themselves.
That sort of ownership and a chip-on-the-shoulder mentality have been important to Utah’s improvement this season. Utah’s leaders, by all accounts, have fostered a mentality of no finger-pointing, everything is earned, only hard work.
Fellow offensive captain and lineman Jaren Kump echoed similar sentiments, stressing that the much-hyped offensive line hadn’t “proved anything” yet.
“Preseason accolades don’t mean anything, our mentality is that we haven’t proved anything,” Kump said, “We’re working every single day to earn it on the field.”
“I feel like we’re just — it is a brotherhood,” added offensive tackle Spencer Fano following the Texas Tech loss. “Like, we take this loss, and that was a hard loss to take, but I feel like, especially in this last week, no one’s throwing the towel in or anything like that. We still have the same goals, and we’re working to achieve those together.”
The work you don’t see: practice, culture building
Utah’s captains and leadership council have done a lot to steward the synchronization of a roster that mixes veterans, transfers, and underclassmen. That all starts in the moments no one is watching, the time spent on the practice field.
“Practice is as good as it’s ever been… the energy and the focus… that’s probably the No. 1 thing that has really driven this team,” Whittingham said.
𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 🏈🙌 pic.twitter.com/m70v5tZly6
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) November 12, 2025
A big part of that has been the camaraderie within the locker room. After dealing with an injury that limited him through the non-conference slate, Donovan Saunders has emerged as another valuable piece to the secondary. He credited the culture helping him through the difficulties of his absence.
“It’s the brotherhood and the family atmosphere,” Saunders said. “Everybody has each other’s back and builds each other up instead of bringing each other down. That’s what’s really important and shines through, and led me through all that.”
Fostering that sort of atmosphere in the locker room is vital to a team’s success. Utah may have lost some of that with the struggles the previous two seasons, but it’s clear that it’s been reinforced this season.
Utah’s resilience has shined this season
Even with that sort of determination, adversity can hit, which puts a premium on resilience and the response to it. That’s been was another positive for this squad. The leaders ensured setbacks were short-lived and used as fuel to improve, rather than excuses.
Utah’s season includes two body-blows—a home loss to Texas Tech and a rivalry loss at BYU—that can fracture teams. Instead, Utah bounced back the following weeks and won decisively the week after each defeat.
The resilience is also seen in individual moments on the field. In the win over Cincinnati, return specialist Mana Carvalho erased the memory of an earlier muffed punt by breaking loose for a game-sealing touchdown return.
Carvalho said afterward, “That fumble is in the past. I can’t do anything to get that back, so it’s really about moving forward and doing what I can to make this program better…being smarter back there…trusting my blockers.”
The Utes land at 1️⃣3️⃣ in the 𝟐𝐧𝐝 @CFBPlayoff rankings‼️#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/CUjOUhm5KP
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) November 12, 2025
This quote exemplifies the team’s culture and mindset at work – rather than wallowing in a mistake, own it and be better. That’s been the single biggest difference this season compared to last. Carvalho responded with a positive play, embodying the team’s resilient character.
“We’re starting to get some momentum now, I love coaching these guys, love being around them, and the leadership is tremendous,” Whittingham said in his Cincinnati post-game press conference. “We’ve got to keep it going.”
The story of for Utah in 2025 is still being written, with a potential trip to the Big 12 championship game on the line and even an outside shot at the College Football Playoff.
Whatever the final record, however, this much is clear: the culture and mindset has been re-established by Utah’s leaders this season, that’s significant for the future of the program.
