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There’s no doubt about who Utah’s starter at quarterback is for the 2025 season — it will be Devon Dampier, the New Mexico transfer, who racked up 3,934 yards of total offense a season ago for the Lobos.
“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.”
— Utah sophomore QB Isaac Wilson
Dampier has quickly integrated himself into his new team with his leadership, both in the huddle and off the field, where he takes teammates to dinner and spends as much time as possible hanging out with them.
“He is the leader of the offense as far as knowing what to do and making sure everyone else knows what they’re doing,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “He made the leadership council. Only been having here two or three weeks, we had the leadership council vote and he is on that and I would assume that at some point he’ll be a captain.”
His dual-threat style and ability to extend plays is a breath of fresh air for Utah, and though he needs to improve his accuracy and turnover issues from last year, the Utes should see an upgrade at the position from the last two seasons.
The last two seasons were marred by injuries to starting quarterback Cam Rising that led to backups playing with various levels of success. While Utah is hoping Dampier stays healthy for the entire season, the importance of the backup quarterback position can’t be understated, as the Utes know all too well.
This spring, the two main contenders battling to back up Dampier are sophomore Isaac Wilson and freshman Byrd Ficklin. Ficklin has impressed during the media viewing portions and has a similar play style to Dampier with his ability to run, but is inexperienced in the college game. Wilson started spring as QB2, and though the competition between him and Ficklin won’t be settled until the fall, it feels like it’s Wilson’s job to lose.
Last season, Wilson won the gig behind Rising and ended up starting seven games, playing in nine total. The former Corner Canyon High star’s ups and downs were well-documented last season, but it boiled down to the fact that he wasn’t fully ready to step into a starting position in his freshman season.
Wilson threw for 1,510 yards and 10 touchdowns with 11 interceptions on 56.4% accuracy in 2024. Utah had one of the worst passing offenses in the Big 12, throwing for just 199.4 yards per game.
“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, to get to that point of being ready, being prepared, anything could happen, kind of deal.”
There were a few moments where he looked like a bonafide Power Four starter, but too often the freshman quarterback held onto the ball too long, showed subpar processing, and turned the ball over too much.
The arm talent has been evident since his days at Corner Canyon, so improving his processing and the mental side of his game has been a big priority for Wilson this offseason.
“He’s gotten better, there’s no doubt about it. Still not where he needs to be, but in fairness to him, he’s learning an entire new offense.”
— Kyle Whittingham on Isaac Wilson
“Turnovers were a big part of my game last year. Not a good thing. I’ve been working on that, making it simple, really, not really thinking about the defense too much, zoning in on one aspect of the play and getting it done,” Wilson said.
At one point this offseason, it looked as if Wilson was going to move on from Utah, entering the transfer portal in early December, only to decide to come back a week later.
“I mean, I just love Coach Whitt. I mean, I can’t leave like that. I love being home. I love being in Utah, but Coach Whitt has a plan for me, and I mean, I think he still believes in me. I’m sure he does,” Wilson said. “So I didn’t think I could leave off that note.”
Wilson’s improvement is going to take time since he’s learning his second offense in the past two years, going from Andy Ludwig’s pro-style scheme to Jason Beck’s spread offense, but he feels like Beck’s offense is better suited for his style of play.
“It suits me a lot better. I like Coach Lud’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.”
There have been growing pains, but on Tuesday, Wilson had his best showing this spring, at least in the media viewing portions, making quick decisions and some impressive throws.
“He’s gotten better, there’s no doubt about it,” Whittingham said. “Still not where he needs to be, but in fairness to him, he’s learning an entire new offense. A lot of the things that he didn’t do so well last fall he’s making progress with, particularly getting rid of the ball, going through his read progression, making better decisions.”
The hope is that both Wilson and Ficklin continue to progress under the tutelage of Beck and Dampier and that one can become a reliable backup option this season if needed.
“It’s been good,” Wilson said. “Different atmosphere for sure with the offensive side, but same determination, same outcome we want. Pretty rough last year, but we got a new thing going. I like what Coach Beck’s doing.”
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