Utah Utes offensive analyst and quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr. talks with Utah quarterback Devon Dampier during the Utah Utes’ 22 Forever spring game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, April 19, 2025. This article was first published in the Ute Insiders newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Wednesday night.

Utah football fans don’t need to be reminded of the offensive woes that plagued the Utes over the last two seasons with starting quarterback Cam Rising injured. That’s all in the rearview mirror now, and new offensive coordinator Jason Beck and quarterback Devon Dampier — both from New Mexico — are ready to hit the gas and turn the offense around. With all of the new faces, there’s plenty of questions heading into Utah’s second year in the Big 12 — mostly revolving around the team’s pass-catchers — but with Dampier at the helm and Beck’s spread system that places emphasis on the quarterback run, this year’s offense should be a lot more exciting to watch.

Here’s a position-group-by-position-group look at the Utes’ offense post-spring, along with a guess at the depth chart heading into fall camp. Quarterback It will be the Devon Dampier show at quarterback this season, and it has been since the day he announced his transfer to Utah. After throwing for 2,768 yards and 12 touchdowns (with 12 interceptions) and rushing for 1,166 yards and 19 scores, the New Mexico transfer has proven himself at the Group of Five level.

Dampier guided the Lobos to five wins (their best season since 2016), despite New Mexico having one of the worst defenses in the country. Yes, Dampier certainly wasn’t a perfect quarterback — he threw 12 interceptions and had a 57.9% completion rate — but there’s still plenty of room for him to grow this offseason and correct those areas. “I do expect improvement from Devon,” Beck said.

“He’s a very conscientious kid. He works hard and when you have specific things like, ‘Hey, we got to focus on this,’ he has a great ability to do that and make good strides.” His elusiveness, ability to extend plays, and running ability are all big pluses, and if he can improve his accuracy and reduce turnovers, the Utes will be in a much better spot at quarterback than they were over the past two seasons. Dampier has also quickly established himself as a leader, both on and off the field.

“I feel like every day he just makes better and better decisions,” offensive tackle Spencer Fano said of Dampier. “He’s built a lot of trust with the O-line and with all the receivers and he’s just making a lot of really good decisions. It’s so much fun being out there with him.” The Big 12 will certainly be a step up in competition from the Mountain West for Dampier, and it will be interesting to see if he can sustain the same production as he competes in a Power Four league.

If he can, the Utes should see a U-turn from last year’s offensive woes. Red team defensive end Alex Cloward (48) attempts to block a pass by white team quarterback Devon Dampier (4) during the Utah Utes’ 22 Forever spring game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, April 19, 2025. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News As Utah knows all too well, the backup quarterback is extremely important, so who are the options behind Dampier?

Isaac Wilson was thrust into action in his true freshman season after Cam Rising’s injuries, finishing the season with 1,510 yards and 10 touchdowns with 11 interceptions on 56.4% accuracy in 2024. “I mean, I shot myself in the foot last year. I definitely had an opportunity, I needed to capitalize on that.

I mean, I was just young, but everyone uses that excuse. That’s not a good excuse,” Wilson said. “I had to be ready at the time and I feel like I’m getting to that point.” Most college football players see the biggest jump in development from freshman to sophomore year, and that’s what Utes coaches are hoping to see from Wilson as he enters his second year in the program.

Wilson feels like Beck’s offense is better suited for his style of play, which is more similar to what he ran in high school, where he garnered Deseret News Mr. Football honors. “It suits me a lot better. I like Coach (Andy Ludwig’s) offense, pro style, but I mean they’re just completely different.

Completely different. I love what Coach Beck’s doing,” Wilson said. “A little bit of run game with the quarterback, it kind of changes it up, making it harder on the defense.

Always putting one guy in conflict no matter what.” One of the other main contenders for QB2 is true freshman Byrd Ficklin, who impressed during spring camp, but he is still raw at the collegiate level. Ficklin play style is also well-suited to Beck’s offense. “Some guys are stepping up, really impressed with Byrd Ficklin, the quarterback, true freshman.

He’s doing some good things,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “He’s getting really good command of the offense. He’s got a big-time arm.” Running back The RB1 job is Wayshawn Parker‘s to lose.

After a productive true freshman season where he rushed for 735 yards and four touchdowns on 137 carries, Parker was one of the top running backs in this winter’s transfer portal, and chose to follow his Cougar running backs coach, Mark Atuaia, to Salt Lake City. “Wayshawn had a few things he had to work on coming back, and it was a little slow start just in my estimation because I’ve seen him before,” Atuaia said. “But he’s trending in the right direction and he’s playing ball now, and I think this will facilitate a nice progression towards an impressive summer and him being ready to hit the ground running big time when the season starts or when fall camp starts.” Wayshawn Parker during Utah Utes spring football practice at Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center in Salt Lake City, UT on Thursday, March 20, 2025.

| Anna Fuder/Utah Athletics If Parker can continue on the same trajectory as his freshman season, he can take up the mantle from Micah Bernard, who crossed the 1,000-yard mark in his final season with the Utes. Behind Parker are a number of other new-to-Utah faces — every contributor from last year’s room is now gone. Senior New Mexico transfer NaQuari Rogers (382 yards and five touchdowns on 74 carries) is likely the lead candidate for when Parker needs a breather.

Other competitors for the RB2 slot include freshman Daniel Bray, who turned heads in spring camp, and UNLV transfer Devin Green, who had 123 yards and a score on 29 carries. If Parker is able to stay healthy, he should be productive behind Utah’s offensive line. Offensive line There’s never a surefire thing in sports, but Utah’s offensive line should be the closest thing to it.

Amid the transfer portal merry-go-round, the Utes returned all five starters from last year’s line — Spencer Fano, Caleb Lomu, Jaren Kump, Tanoa Togiai and Michael Mokofisi. Given the fact that both Fano and Lomu are projected in some NFL mock drafts as round one picks, expectations are high for Jim Harding’s group. “I definitely think we have the best offensive line in the country and that doesn’t just mean like our one-on-one responsibilities,” Fano said.

“We make a lot of calls on the field and we control a whole lot that the offense does.” With every starter back, Dampier should have lots of time to throw, and running lanes when he decides to tuck it, and that’s been born out when watching practice. Washington defensive end Bralen Trice (8) goes against Utah offensive lineman Spencer Fano (55) Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, in Seattle. | Lindsey Wasson, Associated Press “I feel like every day he just makes better and better decisions,” Fano said of Dampier.

“He’s built a lot of trust with the O-line and with all the receivers and he’s just making a lot of really good decisions. It’s so much fun being out there with him.” Wide receiver The biggest question mark on offense, by far, is the wide receiver room. That was the case heading into spring camp, but after projected WR1 Zacharyus Williams transferred to USC at the end of April and Otto Tia was moved to tight end, new wide receiver coach Micah Simons’ room has been shaken up in a major way.

Daidren Zipperer (eight catches for 122 yards) and Luca Caldarella (two receptions for 26 yards) should take steps forward, but they are the only returning contributors from last year’s group, so a cast of transfers could play a major role this season. Ryan Davis has forged quite the connection with Dampier after the two played together in Albuquerque, catching 54 balls for 747 yards and three touchdowns. Those numbers would have placed Davis atop the list of Utah’s pass-catchers in 2024, and coaches are hoping for that same production, or better, in 2025.

Other transfers include Mississippi State transfer Creed Whittemore (chose to redshirt after four games; four receptions for 65 yards) Utah State transfer Otto Tia (44 receptions for 434 yards and seven touchdowns) and Wyoming’s Justin Stevenson (17 receptions for 204 yards and three touchdowns). Wyoming wide receiver Justin Stevenson fights for yardage during game against Boise State on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Laramie, Wyo. | AP After spring, Utah’s coaches needed to bring at least one more receiver to Salt Lake City and accomplished that by signing Cal’s Tobias Merriweather.

The 6-foot-5 receiver started his career at Notre Dame before transferring to Cal, where he had 11 receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown last season and should challenge for significant playing time. The group will have a lot to prove in 2025. “We have an interesting mix of older guys who transferred in and young guys who are having an opportunity to really make a name for themselves,” Beck said.

Tight end Utah has a strong recent history of excellent tight end play, from Dalton Kincaid to Brant Kuithe. Caleb Lohner, who only played one season of college football, showed enough potential for the Denver Broncos to select him in the final round of the NFL draft. This year, however, there’s no sure thing, as has usually been the case for Freddie Whittingham’s unit.

Landen King — a fan favorite who never got enough run to live up to his potential, especially last season — transferred to Duke after the spring. With King out of the picture, it’s going to be up to Dallen Bentley, Hunter Andrews and Otto Tia to shoulder the load in the tight end room. Bentley generated a buzz coming out of fall camp last season, but never lived up to it, totaling just two receptions for 15 yards.

This year, however, he’s excited to prove himself with a bigger role. “I feel like pretty well-rounded improvement. Recently I’ve been able to make some good plays with the ball and going up and get some contested catches.

So I think that’s been something that has been fun to see myself with.” — Utah tight end Dallin Bentley “I feel like pretty well-rounded improvement. Recently I’ve been able to make some good plays with the ball and going up and get some contested catches. So I think that’s been something that has been fun to see myself with,” Bentley said.

Andrews has played all over the place since arriving at Utah, starting out at linebacker before moving to running back and now tight end. The redshirt freshman certainly has versatility, and in media viewing sessions, he definitely fits the role of tight end well, but the Utes will use him all over the field. “He’s really embraced this role of being a hybrid player,” Freddie Whittingham said.

“Sometimes he’s going to play in the backfield as a running back, sometimes on the line of scrimmage as a tight end, other times out split out in the slot, and he has embraced that and loves it.” The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Tia has the size and strength to move to tight end and will be an intriguing option there. Last year at wide receiver for the Aggies, he caught 44 passes for 434 yards and seven touchdowns, and should be able to smoothly convert to tight end. While there’s potential with the group, there’s no proven players in it yet, and it will be interesting to see how they progress over the season and how Beck incorporates them into his offense.

Utah’s projected 2025 offensive depth chart Starter; backup QB: Devon Dampier (Jr.); Isaac Wilson (So.) Devon Dampier (Jr.); Isaac Wilson (So.) RB: Wayshawn Parker (So.

); NaQuari Rogers (Sr.) Wayshawn Parker (So. ); NaQuari Rogers (Sr.) OL: Spencer Fano (Jr.); Keith Olsen (R-Jr.) Spencer Fano (Jr.); Keith Olsen (R-Jr.) OL: Tanoa Togiai (R-Sr.); Alex Harrison (R-Sr.) Tanoa Togiai (R-Sr.); Alex Harrison (R-Sr.) OL: Jaren Kump (R-Sr.); Isaiah Garcia (R-Fr.) Jaren Kump (R-Sr.); Isaiah Garcia (R-Fr.)

OL: Michael Mokofisi (R-Sr.); Roger Alderman (R-So.) Michael Mokofisi (R-Sr.); Roger Alderman (R-So.) OL: Caleb Lomu (R-So.

); Zereoue Williams (R-Sr.) Caleb Lomu (R-So. ); Zereoue Williams (R-Sr.) WR: Daidren Zipperer (R-So. ); Mana Carvalho (Fr.)

Daidren Zipperer (R-So. ); Mana Carvalho (Fr.) WR: Ryan Davis (R-Sr.); Creed Whittemore (R-So.)

Ryan Davis (R-Sr.); Creed Whittemore (R-So.) WR: Tobias Merriweather (Jr.); Luca Caldarella (R-Sr.) Tobias Merriweather (Jr.); Luca Caldarella (R-Sr.) TE: Dallen Bentley (Sr.); Otto Tia (Sr.) Dallen Bentley (Sr.); Otto Tia (Sr.) TE: Hunter Andrews (R-Fr. ); Drew Clemens (Fr.)

In case you missed it On Wednesday, former Utah quarterback Cam Rising made his first public statement since the postgame press conference of the Arizona State game, confirming his football career is over. From the archives Extra points