It’s time for the Jason Beck era at the University of Utah.
For years, the Andy Ludwig-Kyle Whittingham pairing worked well. In Ludwig’s second stint in Salt Lake City, the Utes made four Pac-12 championship appearances, winning two conference titles, and saw an offensive revival under quarterbacks Tyler Huntley and Cam Rising.
The last two years, however, were strewn with injuries to key positions — including Rising — and the Utes’ offense took a nosedive, finishing No. 92 in total offense (348.4 yards per game) in 2023 and No. 115 (329.8 yards per game) in 2024.
Last season, Ludwig resigned the day after Utah lost 13-7 to TCU in the fourth-consecutive game the Utes failed to score more than 24 points.
While Ludwig’s scheme worked well with an experienced quarterback that had time in the system, in the transfer portal age, Utah wanted something a little easier for players to pick up.
So far, that’s been the case with Beck’s scheme.
With little defensive help last season at New Mexico, Beck’s offense — led by now-Ute quarterback Devon Dampier — excelled. The Lobos scored 33.5 points per game and ranked No. 4 nationally in total offense with 484.2 yards per game.
At Big 12 media days, Whittingham said Utah’s offense would be “almost a carbon copy of what New Mexico was in philosophy,” adding that Beck has “complete autonomy.”
So, in Beck’s own words, what will his offense look like at Utah?
“We really just want to put the right guys in the right places to make plays,” Beck said. “We want to adapt to what our strengths are and play to those strengths.”
“... We’re going to go, not at a fast tempo, but we’re going no huddle, we’re moving guys around. Kind of spread, the QB reads and RPOs are in there, but year to year that thing always shifts to who’s your personnel and what are their strengths. And some years that’s more passing, some years that’s more running. So that thing will vary because we want to play to our strengths.”
Beck has proven that he doesn’t have a rigid offensive system and will adapt to his personnel, but one aspect he values in his quarterbacks is the ability to run.
Beck coined the term “Thorterback,” to refer to a do-it-all, dual-threat quarterback that had some “superhero” in him.
Utah’s new offensive leader found that in Dampier, who threw for 2,768 yards and 12 touchdowns (with 12 interceptions) and rushed for 1,166 yards and 19 scores.
While running will certainly continue to be a pivotal part of Dampier’s game, circumstances at New Mexico led Beck to use Dampier’s rushing ability more often, and that could scale back in 2025.
“This is not a thing where we were running him more because he was not capable as a passer. … It was really just the pieces around him and what we could do led to him being more involved in the run game,” Beck said.
Due to injuries to running backs during the season, Beck relied more on Dampier to run — especially in critical spots like a fourth-and-2.
While Dampier is making strides this offseason to cut down on his turnovers and up his accuracy (57.9 last season), that dual-threat ability has the potential to keep defensive coordinators up at night.
Just ask Utah DC Morgan Scalley, who has schemed against him in spring — and now fall — practices.
“Athletic quarterbacks just cause issues, particularly when you’re going to use them in a dedicated quarterback run game. It’s one thing for him to just pull it on his own, escape the pocket, things break down and he’s able to make plays just with his legs on his own,” Scalley said.
“But when there’s a dedicated run package that you as a defensive coordinator really have to focus on, OK, how are we going to add a guy in the box? How are we going to take care of the quarterback in the run game? It really forces you to practice that,” Scalley continued. “So he provides both. If you’re going to four-man rush the kid, he does a great job of understanding when things break down, when to take off. But they also have a very good dedicated QB run game.”
As fall camp starts, there’s only two starting position groups set in stone — quarterback and the offensive line.
The Utes’ offensive line, which includes potential NFL draft picks Caleb Lomu and Spencer Fano at the tackle spots and a trio of veterans along the interior. Lomu and Fano in particular are athletic for their size, so Beck can do a number of things to get them out in space to block.
“You can do things with your tackles where you utilize that athleticism that you may not do with other guys,” Beck said. “So getting ’em out on the edges and screens to block in space, having them pull in the run game to add to your run scheme. So using their athleticism to block the second level to block in the perimeter is something you want to take advantage of.”
Aside from that, sophomore Wayshawn Parker, who was nursing an injury in the spring, is healthy now and is on track to be RB1.
Beyond that, Utah has some decisions to make this fall.
Who will the backup quarterback be? Who will make the receiver rotation? Who stands out at tight end? What does the depth chart look like at running back?
The Utes will have to answer all of those questions soon as they prepare to face UCLA on Aug. 30.
“It’s really identifying who are the trustworthy guys, the playmaker guys. When you put those 11 guys together all doing their different roles, who can you depend on and count on?” Beck said.
“So it’s a matter of finding consistency, who’s showing up every day, consistently getting their job done so we know we can count on him to put him out there for the game.”
