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After last year’s disappointing 5-7 campaign, Kyle Whittingham is ready for a little redemption.
The longtime Utah coach, who took over for Urban Meyer in 2005, is excited for his 21st season at the helm, with a remade offense and a defense that he thinks will be as good as usual.
Whittingham recently appeared on “The Jim Rome Show” to give his thoughts on the 2025 Utes, his first year in the Big 12 Conference, and when he’ll know it’s time to retire.
‘We’re really looking forward to watching the offense’
For Utah, it all starts up front, with its entire starting offensive line returning, with potential NFL draft picks Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu at the two tackle spots. Michael Mokofisi and Tanoa Togiai at guard and Jaren Kump at center.
“We think we got a good team coming back, a really good team, and some real areas of strength. We got one of the best offensive lines in the country as far as we’re concerned,” Whittingham said.
“That’s where it starts offensively is up front and some good defenders. So we’re ready to come back and hopefully, I guess you could say, redeem ourselves a little bit.”
The area of redemption that Utah fans are hoping for is mostly on the offensive side of the ball, which struggled after Cam Rising missed most of the season with injuries. It’s been a complete overhaul, starting with the hiring of offensive coordinator Jason Beck, who helped turn New Mexico’s offense into one of the best in the country in 2024, averaging 484.2 yards per game.
“I mean, he took a New Mexico team with not great personnel, I don’t know how else to put it, very average personnel for the most part, and were fourth in the nation in total offense,” Whittingham said.
“The one real bright spot on the football team was Devon Dampier. And we now have him in our program. We’re elated about that. And Jason is an innovative football coach and I think he does a phenomenal job of making the most out of each player individually and not trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, but taking the player’s strengths and what they can do and finding roles for those guys and putting them in situations to succeed.”
Shortly after Beck decided to join Utah, Dampier announced his pledge.
Having an offensive coordinator and quarterback that have worked together before has made the installation of the new offense easier for everyone. In the limited media viewing periods in the spring, there was reason for excitement — through the air or on the ground, Dampier was making plenty of plays.
Last season at New Mexico, Dampier had 2,768 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air and 1,166 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground. If he can improve his accuracy (he completed 57.9% of his passes in 2024) and cut down on the interceptions (he threw 12 picks last season), he could be the dynamic quarterback that Utah has been needing since injuries derailed Rising’s career.
It’s not just Dampier’s on-field play that has coaches excited, it’s what he’s done off the field to establish himself as a leader.
“In Devon we’re getting a terrific athlete … He’s dynamic and he is a great leader. The leadership that he has demonstrated since he’s been here has been incredible and the players have really rallied around him and he has become the leader of the team in just the short period of time that he’s been here,” Whittingham said.
There’s a lot of new pieces, from offensive coordinator to quarterback to running back to wide receiver, but Whittingham has liked what he’s seen so far.
Now, it’s time for Utah to prove it on the field.
“... If spring has any indication of what’s to come, we’re really looking forward to watching the offense this fall,” Whittingham said.
Hello, Big 12
After competing in the Pac-12 for over a decade, Whittingham went through his third conference change as a head coach after the collapse of the Pac-12 sent Utah looking for a new home.
The “Four Corner” schools — Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah — were taken in the Big 12.
Sans Rising, Utah struggled in its first year in its new conference, going 2-7 in Big 12 play, with its only conference wins coming over Oklahoma State and UCF (Utah beat Baylor in a nonconference game scheduled before the move to the Big 12).
Despite the dismal record, the Utes were still in most games (Utah lost only two games by more than a score), and if Utah had average quarterback play, its record could have been more respectable.
‘I don’t think anything really caught us by surprise’
Whittingham was asked by Rome if Arizona State, which was picked last in the conference, winning the Big 12 told him that the conference was “even deeper and even more challenging than maybe even you thought it was.”
“I don’t think anything really caught us by surprise in that respect or caught us off guard, Whittingham said.
“Arizona State. They ended up having a quarterback that just was terrific. And then the running back, obviously (Cam) Skattebo was a terrific player. We went down there and battled ’em all the way down to the wire at their place and unfortunately lost Cam Rising again in that game.
“And so I’m going to say that, did anybody see Arizona State going from being picked worst in the conference to winning it? No, probably not. But the Pac-12, there was some good football in that league and some depth. And so I’d say there’s a lot of similarities, more similarities than differences between the two conferences.”
‘It’s just a year-by-year basis’
As he enters his 21st season, Whittingham understands that talk of his retirement is going to be brought up, and it came up again in his interview with Rome.
Of course, Utah already announced the succession plan last July — Morgan Scalley will take over when Whittingham retires — in part to quell negative recruiting against the team.
When asked about when he’ll know that he’s ready to hang it up, Whittingham gave a similar answer to previous times that he’s been asked the question.
“I would just answer it this way. As long as I’m excited about coming to work every day, have a ton of energy and am passionate about what I’m doing, and as long as my wife continues to support me — she may have the final say on this one when it’s time to quit.
“But as long as I’m excited to come to work every single day and be around these players, that’s kind of what I’m gauging on. If there comes a time I wake up and say, ‘Hey, that’s enough. I’ve had enough. I’ve got no energy left and it’s time for me to go.’ So I guess it is kind of vague, I know, but that’s kind how I’m approaching it. It’s just a year-by-year basis.”
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