Freshman quarterback Byrd Ficklin is returning to Utah, he announced on Thursday.
A source close to the situation told the Deseret News that Ficklin’s deal is for one year. The Salt Lake Tribune was the first to report news of the signing on Thursday.
In his first year in Salt Lake City, Ficklin played in 11 games, starting one. He threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions on 60% accuracy and added 503 yards and 10 scores on the ground.
Ficklin was integral to multiple Utah wins this season. Against Colorado, he started in place of Devon Dampier, who had a nagging injury for much of the season, and threw for 140 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 151 yards and a score in the Utes’ 53-7 win.
The freshman also played a big role in Utah’s 55-28 win at Baylor, rushing for touchdowns of 67 and 74 yards. A week later, with Dampier playing through injury, Ficklin was inserted in some key moments and scored three rushing touchdowns in the Utes’ comeback win over Kansas State.
“It does quite a few things for you, just in terms of anytime you can wildcat or run the quarterback, you’re getting plus-one runs, which gives you a better chance,” Utah offensive coordinator Jason Beck said of Ficklin’s play.
“You just only want to do so many of those with your quarterback, and so it just allows you to take some of those off of Dev because Byrd’s doing it at such a high level and every time you give him more opportunities to do things, he’s responding and making the most of it and gaining everybody’s confidence and trust. So you want to get him out there to make an impact for us and he keeps coming through. It’s awesome to see.”
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham has been highly complimentary of Ficklin throughout the season.
“His composure and he’s just unflappable. Nothing bothers him and he is an intelligent young man, extremely intelligent. He’s got pretty much the whole offense at his disposal and that’s saying a lot for a true freshman,” Whittingham said in late October.
“He’s so athletic, that’s another thing. It’s something that makes him so difficult to defend. So much upside as a quarterback. He’s fast, he’s quick, he can make people miss, he’s tough. He can take hits and he’s got a really good arm.”
Utah has wished to keep both Ficklin and Dampier on the 2026 roster, and after Ficklin’s signing, the Utes are confident in bringing back their two quarterbacks.
The relationship between Ficklin and Dampier has played a big role in Ficklin wanting to stay at Utah. Ficklin and Dampier room together on the road and are always hanging out off the field
“It can be nothing but fun … We talk about this especially all the time in our hotel room. What are we going to do whenever we’re both in and we score? It is just something that we both love, we both have fun with and it’s a really loving relationship between me and my best friend,” Ficklin said.
In an interview on the ESPN 700 coaches’ show, Ficklin detailed how much Dampier had helped him this season.
“Dev has been the most help out of anybody that’s been here,” Ficklin said. “... He’s been really pushing me on and off the field to not just be a better player, but also be a better person, and that’s what I mainly love about Dev.”
With Ficklin locked up heading into 2026, the Utes’ quarterback situation is in a great place — something Utah is not taking for granted after the 2023 and 2024 seasons.