How faith, family and adversity helped shape Utah QB Devon Dampier

During Utah’s 11 wins last season, quarterback Devon Dampier was all smiles.

After the cheering fans had cleared out of the stadium, however, Dampier’s megawatt grin would often turn into a grimace as his attention tuned toward his injuries.

Dampier played the majority of last year injured, first with a sports hernia and ankle injury suffered early in the season, then with another sports hernia suffered later on. He played through the pain all year, missing only Utah’s late-October game against Colorado.

After a game, it would take a few days for Dampier to recover, and he often missed Monday’s practice and “half practiced” on Tuesdays. There were some Sundays where he couldn’t get out of bed, and in the aftermath of some games, he couldn’t walk out of the stadium.

While he gutted through games, he admits the injuries impacted his style of play. How could it not? The twisting required to throw the ball and the cutting required to switch direction while running proved to be extremely painful.

“There’s certain decisions that I couldn’t make off of my instinct just because it hurt to do it,” Dampier said.

Even while fighting through the injuries, Dampier led the Utes to an 11-2 record in his first season in Salt Lake City, throwing for 2,490 yards and 24 touchdowns and rushing for 835 yards and 10 scores.

It was a sensational first year at the Power Four level for Dampier, who improved his completion percentage, cut down his turnovers and proved that he could play at some of the highest levels of college football. Dampier’s play was exactly what Utah needed after two consecutive years of relying on backup quarterbacks, and the Utes finished the season with the No. 4 offense in college football.

While Dampier’s physical pain during last season was great, there was also the mental challenge of dealing with the injuries. Kesha Dampier, Devon’s mother, flew from Phoenix to Salt Lake City to support her son during many weeks last season. Dampier had been blessed with good health throughout his football career, and last year was the first time he dealt with an injury that kept him off the field.

“He’s never been injured to the point where he couldn’t play, so mentally, that was different for him,” Kesha said. “He had to kind of get through that mentally and I think that was probably harder than the actual physical pain, not being able to be 100% for your team or feeling like you’re limited. I feel like that was harder and so we kind of had to talk through that.”

On game days, a large contingent of Dampier’s family was always in the stands, and through all of the ups and downs for Dampier personally while fighting through the injuries, Dampier’s parents were there to support their son.

“Just supporting him, reassuring him, letting him know, it’s not your fault,” Kesha said. “It happens. You just got to bounce back. But he’s always like, ‘I put my team first and I’m still going to try to give 100%.’ That’s just who he is always. So he’s still going to show up no matter what. Whether he’s hurt or not, he’s going to show up for his guys.”

‘That definitely hurt his feelings’

With over a month to recover before Utah’s Las Vegas Bowl game against Nebraska, Dampier — still not close to 100% — played his best game of the season, throwing for 310 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 148 yards and three scores.

Postgame, he posed with a giant Utah chain around his neck and hugged his teammates as they celebrated the Utes’ first bowl win since 2017.

Behind the scenes, though, it was chaotic.

On the day after Christmas, Kyle Whittingham, who had stepped down at Utah on Dec. 12, agreed to take the Michigan head coaching job, setting off a chain reaction.

On New Year’s Day, mere hours after the Utes defeated the Cornhuskers, offensive coordinator Jason Beck was one of six Ute coaches that departed for Ann Arbor.

Beck and Dampier were a successful pairing, starting with the duo’s successful stint at New Mexico in 2024 before both the offensive coordinator and quarterback moved to Utah. Beck’s RPO spread offense fit Dampier perfectly, and the offensive coordinator trusted his quarterback to make the right reads on the field.

When Beck packed his bags to coach Bryce Underwood at Michigan, it was tough on Dampier.

“It definitely hurt. It did hurt. That definitely hurt his feelings. But then it also gave him like, ‘OK, I’m going to show another side of me. I can be coached. It’s not one coach,’” Kesha said.

Meanwhile, Dampier was also dealing with other schools trying to lure him to play for their team while he was preparing to have surgery to fix the sports hernias. It was certainly a crazy time for the 21-year-old as he weighed his options.

Dampier had the support of his family, of course, and asked them questions throughout the process, but he also leaned into his faith.

‘I’m a Christian’

Kesha’s father, Anthony, is a pastor and had an impact on Devon’s faith from a young age.

“My dad is a pastor and his ministry is really strong on faith. I just feel like that was just in him from a young age, just hearing my dad and just kind of seeing everybody else,” Kesha said. “Faith is just huge for us. We’re definitely believers. But Dev, I feel like he just took that and kind of ran with it. He truly believed.”

Before games last fall, Dampier would pray to God to have strength while dealing with his injuries.

“Just knowing that God got him. There’s been plenty of days where he couldn’t even get out of bed and plenty of days he couldn’t even walk and plenty of games where he couldn’t walk after games,” Devon’s father, Curtis, said. “But on that field, no one could see it because he would pray about it and pray to have strength with the injury that he had.

“I love to hear that our head coach has that belief in his Lord and Savior the same way I do. It builds a very open relationship in our locker room that we’re all able to express ourselves in that way.”

—  Utah QB Devon Dampier on Morgan Scalley

“From what I’ve heard, 90% of the people (with the injury) don’t play,” he continued. “But that just shows how much he believed in God and himself. Devon knows even since he was little, he said, ‘God gave me special powers,’ and I stand behind him and I believe it to this day.”

As Dampier navigated a whirlwind last December and January, he leaned on his relationship with God and Jesus Christ.

“I had so many things going on. Just coaches departing and other schools, and then I have an injury that I’m trying to get through at the same time. It’s a lot, and I’m just glad that my relationship is so strong with the Lord that I have someone that I can lean on,” Dampier said. “I have someone that I can go to during those times because, man, life gets hectic and God’s always been there for me every step of the way. So that’s who I lean on.”

Ultimately, Dampier decided to stay at Utah with new coach Morgan Scalley. Finishing what he started at Utah was an element of Dampier’s decision, but so was a gesture by Scalley and the coaching staff after Dampier’s surgery.

“When I had surgery, I came back and our whole entire staff was waiting for me to get off the plane. That meant a lot to me,” Dampier said this spring.

Scalley and Dampier met one on one, and the ensuing conversation sealed the deal.

“Just consistently being able to build a team and letting me know that I was going to be the face of that and just continue to put guys around me,” Dampier said. “That’s huge to hear from the head coach and someone that believes in you that much. So that was huge for me to just hear that conversation, have a one-on-one conversation with him as well.”

Since he’s taken over as head coach, Morgan Scalley has been open about his membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his faith in Jesus Christ, which gave him and Dampier a common touchpoint.

“Even outside of faith, Scalley makes it very clear that everyone should be themselves. Everyone has that freedom to be yourself, whatever you believe in,” Dampier said. “But again, Scalley’s big on his faith and he lets us know that as well. So for me, I love to hear that.

“I love to hear that our head coach has that belief in his Lord and Savior the same way I do. It builds a very open relationship in our locker room that we’re all able to express ourselves in that way.”

Scroll through Dampier’s Instagram, and you’ll see Dampier expressing his faith publicly, from “Child of God ✞” in his bio to his cross earrings and necklaces, to a T-shirt that reads “Jesus Is My King,” to the cross tattoo on his leg.

As Utah’s starting quarterback, Dampier has a big platform, and he wants to use that platform to express his faith.

“Over the summer, I felt like I took a tremendous step just walking with God in a way that I want to be. I want to be more Christlike. And I do have a platform. I’m somewhere where I can start impacting people and allowing people to see that side,” Dampier said. “I always want to express that you don’t need to be ashamed about your faith ever. That’s something I’m very passionate about and that’s something I want the world to know.”

Though football is an important part of Dampier’s life, he puts his faith as the top priority, and that’s part of what gives him a well-rounded perspective on life, no matter how the game on the field goes.

“I’m a Christian. I put all my faith into Christ and I think the biggest way that applies for me in football is just perspective, honestly,” Dampier said. “We have good days, we have bad days out here, but there’s so much more to life. Football isn’t my No. 1 priority. My relationship with God means everything to me.”

‘Family is huge for us’

As a starting quarterback, life is pretty busy for Dampier, especially during this time of year. Team and position group meetings, weightlifting, team meals, watching film, practicing, and — oh, yeah — going to school.

No matter what, though, Dampier makes time to connect with his family over FaceTime.

“He definitely makes us a priority. Even when he’s tired, like fall camp was rough, but he would still call at maybe 9:30, 10:00. May not have a voice, but just wanted to check in and say, ‘Hey,’” Kesha said.

He’s also active in text groups, both with his immediate and extended families.

“We have a home chat and we all get in there. We talk daily. Everyone checks on everyone, makes sure they’re all having a good day. Or if they’re having a bad day, we all talk about it,” Kesha said.

Much has been written about Dampier’s leadership. That’s been as much of a defining trait of Dampier’s time in college football as his ability to extend plays or get a crucial first down on the ground.

Just a few months into his time at Utah, Dampier was voted onto the team’s leadership council and he hasn’t left since. This fall, he was voted by players as one of six team captains.

“It can be uncomfortable to lead and leadership is not a popularity thing, it is an influence thing — to be able to influence others and bring others along to buy into your vision,” Scalley said.

“That can be a very difficult thing. Some guys step away from it. Don’t want that role. Don’t want to be a leader because it takes getting uncomfortable at times and calling guys out and holding guys accountable. But he has embraced it and it’s showing up in a big way.”

The most visible example of Dampier’s leadership this offseason was a trip he paid and arranged for, flying his receivers down to Arizona for a week and staying with them in an Airbnb. Throughout the week, the group did plenty of on-field work, but it also served as valuable bonding time off the field.

Dampier got the idea after watching a video of Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence take his receivers to the Bahamas.

“That was a leadership role that I saw someone take and I wanted to apply that for my team too. Just how new our receivers are and stuff like that, I was like, man, that’d be awesome to be able to provide that for my guys because I think that would go a long way chemistry-wise but also just being able to get to fall camp and have so much more growth in our bonding,” Dampier said.

That week in Arizona wasn’t the only offseason work Dampier and his receivers put in — far from it. In fact, in one fall practice, Dampier surveyed the field and gave his receivers a pre-snap audible based on something the defense was showing.

“He gave the receivers a check that we never talked about,” Utah offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven said.

Dampier’s instinct was right, and the play went for a big gain.

The leadership traits that Dampier is known for were developed early on as a big brother to Dominic, who wrapped up his senior year of high school football at North Canyon High in Phoenix with 873 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.

“I think it came kind of natural to him. He’s a big brother. His little brother is autistic. He’s doing amazing, but he is, and so there was just things that he couldn’t do,” Kesha said. “Devon just took on — I always tell him, like, ‘You’re not his dad’ — but he just took on that kind of leadership, just kind of taking him under his wing. So I feel like it kind of started right there and then it just stuck with him.”

‘Brand New Day’

At Utah’s annual Fan Fest last week, Dampier was incognito. Well, kind of.

Dampier roamed the Rice-Eccles Stadium field in a Spider-Man mask, taking photos with fans. Since arriving at Utah, Dampier has fully leaned into the “Spider-Man” nickname.

Though Dampier has been a Spider-Man fan since childhood, a response to a reporter last year made him take on the persona.

“‘How do you see in the back of your head? You’re always able to scramble and get away and see people that we didn’t see you see. We never saw you turn your head. How did you know they were there?’” Kesha recalled the reporter asking. ”And then he was kind of like, ‘It’s like a Spidey Sense.’ And it really just clicked right there.”

Heading into the season healthy, Dampier is excited to show Utah fans the extent of his full powers.

“Just from a playing standpoint, I feel more like myself,” Dampier said. “Just to feel that freedom of playing however I want to play out there, that’s the main thing.”

McGiven has designed the offense around Dampier’s skill set, worked with him to improve his pre-and-post snap processing, and given him more control of the offense and the freedom to audible.

The former Utah State OC has placed a lot of trust in Dampier, for good reason.

“You don’t have to be perfect as a play caller because he just kind of makes things right when things break down,” McGiven said.

“No, obviously I want to put him in good situations, but that is one of the key components to the ball moving and we’re able to see that in practices when he just kind of takes over or something kind of breaks down and he’s still able to make something out of it.”

Utah listened to Dampier’s input on the transfer portal, and the Utes responded with a transfer haul and perhaps the best receiver room the school has had in a long time.

It’s not a perfect offensive situation — Utah will, of course, have a new starting front five — but Dampier steps into a good spot in his senior year.

Now healthy, it’s a brand new day for Dampier.

“My excitement is him being excited. That’s the biggest thing. With his excitement, just the last couple months and his confidence … happy Devon is a very dangerous Devon,” Curtis Dampier said.

“I can tell you that because when he’s happy, oh man, he thinks he could do anything. And that’s when he really knows he’s Spider-Man.”