FRISCO, Texas — Last year was not acceptable for the University of Utah.
Yes, there were things out of the program’s control — like a rash of injuries, including to quarterback Cam Rising — but overall, last year’s 5-7 record left a bad taste in coach Kyle Whittingham’s mouth.
“It was disappointing, to say the least. It’s not who we have been traditionally, not who we are, but that’s the way the season went, so there’s no excuses,” Whittingham said from the main stage at The Star, home of the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility, on Wednesday afternoon.
With backup quarterbacks playing during the majority of the season, the Utes’ offense averaged just 329.8 yards and 23.6 points per game. Despite a defense that kept them in every game but two, Utah’s offense could not produce enough to win, game after game.
Sweeping changes had to be made after the third losing season of Whittingham’s 20-year tenure at the helm of the program.
Some of those changes started during the 2024 season, when offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig stepped down after a 13-7 loss at home against TCU, which dropped the Utes to 1-3 in Big 12 play.
Over the offseason, more change came — wide receivers coach Alvis Whitted and running backs coach Quinton Ganther moved out, and the Utes started afresh on offense, with only offensive line coach Jim Harding and tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham remaining.
Utah hired New Mexico’s Jason Beck as the program’s offensive coordinator, and Beck brought over Micah Simon (wide receivers coach), Koy Detmer Jr. (offensive analyst and quarterbacks) from Albuquerque. Then the Utes added Mark Atuaia, Washington State’s running backs coach.
The makeover didn’t just stop at the coaching staff; it extended to the roster, where Utah added 13 new offensive players, including New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier, Washington State running back Wayshawn Parker and Cal receiver Tobias Merriweather. The running backs and wide receivers room are pretty much completely new.
The hope, if the majority of the roster — especially at the quarterback position — stays healthy?
An offense that not only will be fun to watch, something Ute fans have been yearning for the past couple of years, but an offense that will be much more productive — and more up-tempo than Utah fans have seen in the past.
“We don’t huddle, and so it’s not like he commands the huddle, but everybody looks to Devon as the leader of the offense and that’s pretty impressive,” Whittingham said.
Whittingham believes that Beck, who guided New Mexico’s offense to No. 4 in the FBS with 484.2 yards per game last year, is the person to right the offensive ship.
“Myself, our defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, who was our coach in waiting, did a national search when we had the coordinator position available, just watching all the tape of the various offenses, the production, the creativity, the innovation, how they use their players,” Whittingham said Wednesday.
“When all was said and done, myself and Coach Scalley were on the exact same page that Jason Beck was a great fit for what we’re doing and what direction we wanted to go.”
At New Mexico, Dampier expertly commanded Beck’s RPO offense, which puts an emphasis on the quarterback run game — and run game as a whole — and creatively uses players.
To that last point, former Ute quarterback Nate Johnson transferred back to Utah and will be used in a number of different ways — both at wide receiver and running back. Even players on defense, like Lander Barton and cornerback Smith Snowden, could be used offensively, Whittingham said.
“Lander Barton was essentially uncoverable in high school. Now I know he’s playing against high school guys, but he’s a tremendous receiver,” Whittingham said. “Many teams were recruiting him as a tight end and thinking that was his, including his dad thinks, that’s his best position, by the way. But you’re going to see him play some tight end.”
Snowden, who returned kicks last season, will resume that role in 2025 and get some action on the offensive side of the ball as well.
“See Smith Snowden playing some wide receiver, slot receiver, getting the ball in his hands. You can see how dangerous he is with his kickoff returns, and we need to maximize all the talent that we have, all the weapons that we have,” Whittingham said.
Plug and play
One of the biggest priorities for Whittingham when hiring a new offensive coordinator in the age of the transfer portal was to have an offense that players can pick up quickly. Utah feels like they have that in Beck’s offensive scheme.
Whittingham has complete trust in Beck as he gets set for his first year at Utah.
“Jason has complete autonomy to do what he wants,” Whittingham said.
“Offensively, we’re going to be almost a carbon copy of what New Mexico was in philosophy. He does a great job, Jason does, of utilizing personnel, getting guys in position to be successful. And so you’ll see some different twists on what you saw last year, but that’s just because he’s making the most of the players that he has available.”
Last season in Albuquerque, New Mexico put up 484.2 yards per game and scored 33.5 points per game, both marks that ranked in the top 25 in FBS.
The engine powering that performance? Dampier, who totaled 3,933 yards and 31 touchdowns through the air and on the ground. In addition to his production on the field, Dampier has quickly formed a bond with his teammates and has been praised by coaches for his leadership.
“Devon and the offense at New Mexico finished fourth in the nation last year in total offense,” Whittingham said. “Not to be disparaging, but he was pretty much a one-man show and did most of it on his own. And so I’m sure he’s excited to be able to operate behind our offensive line.”
Whittingham said that Dampier does need to improve his interception-to-touchdown ratio (last year it was 12:12) and completion rate (58%).
“He was just a sophomore last year and he definitely made improvement in those areas through spring ball,” Whittingham said.
Veteran offensive line
The offensive line returns all five starters from a season ago — Spencer Fano, Michael Mokofisi, Tanoa Togiai, Jaren Kump and Caleb Lomu. Fano and Lomu have been projected to be first-round choices in next year’s NFL draft.
“I can say with confidence, we should be the best offensive line since I’ve been at the University of Utah, which has been forever,” Whittingham said.
Running behind the guys up front will be RB1 Wayshawn Parker, who dazzled as a freshman (735 yards and four touchdowns) for Washington State and gets the benefit of continuing to learn from his running backs coach.
But things get a little more hazy with the wide receiver group, which has been a thorn in Whittingham’s side for years.
“As far as the wide receiver position, that’s probably the biggest question mark on the football team right now,” Whittingham said. “As far as the hierarchy, who’s going to be wide receiver one, two and three, et cetera? We didn’t come out of spring with any true pecking order.
“We’ve got a lot of good players there. I think we have four or five transfers at the position. And so that will continue to be a battle and a competition going through fall camp.”
There’s not yet a WR1 that has emerged in the group — though Merriweather (125 yards on 11 receptions) is a prime candidate.
New Mexico transfer Ryan Davis (747 yards and three scores on 54 receptions), Larry Simmons (27 receptions for 421 yards and a touchdown at Southern Miss), Justin Stevenson (17 receptions for 204 yards and three touchdowns at Wyoming), and Whittemore (four catches for 65 yards and 41 rushing yards before choosing to redshirt) are other options as well.
The group definitely has a lot to prove as a lot of them make the jump to Power Four play.
While there’s certainly a lot of questions about the offense — like how well the transfers will mesh, the wide receiver room, and a rebuilt tight end room featuring Dallen Bentley, Hunter Andrews and Utah State transfer wide receiver-turned-tight end Otto Tia — Whittingham is optimistic, especially about Dampier, who has eased the transition to another new offensive coordinator.
“If spring ball is any indication, you guys are in for a treat to watch him play this fall,” Whittingham said.
