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Utah begins fall camp in a week, kicking things off March 20 and practicing three times a week until the "22 Forever" spring game on April 19.
"He's obviously got a great grasp of the offense having been in it in years past, and so it's nothing new to him. He's like having another coach on the field right now."
One of the most intriguing storylines heading into spring camp centers on the quarterback position — how will New Mexico transfer quarterback Devon Dampier adjust to Power Four play and who will his backup be?
Heading into 2025, it's assumed that Dampier is going to be the clear starter.
For the first time since the 2021 season, which saw Cam Rising lead the Utes to the first of back-to-back Pac-12 championships, there's going to be a new face expected to start. If nothing else, Dampier should provide excitement to an offense that's too often underperformed with backups tasked with leading it during the past two seasons.
Dampier will link back up with his offensive coordinator, Jason Beck, which gives him a leg up on transitioning comfortably to Power Four competition.
"He's obviously got a great grasp of the offense having been in it in years past, and so it's nothing new to him. He's like having another coach on the field right now. He's just completely versed in what we're doing and so he's doing a great job," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said in a March interview on ESPN 700.
Last season with the Lobos, who had the No. 5 offense in the country, Dampier totaled 3,934 yards of offense (2,768 passing and 1,166 rushing). That dual-threat ability is part of the reason he works so well in Beck's offense, which makes plenty of use of the quarterback run. In addition, his scrambling ability served him well — he was sacked just five times.
As has been often reported, he does have to work on his accuracy — he completed just 57.9% of his passes, and had a 1-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio with 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions — but Beck is confident that it will improve.
The first chance for Dampier to begin building chemistry with his new offensive line, wide receivers, tight ends and running backs starts in a week.
As for backup quarterback — a position that has proven to be important over the last few years — no definitive decision will be made on QB2 during the spring, but it is an opportunity for coaches to start evaluating.
Isaac Wilson, who briefly entered the transfer portal before returning to Utah, is certainly a candidate for the backup job. The true freshman struggled at times after being thrust into action last season, throwing for 1,510 yards and 10 touchdowns with 11 interceptions on 56.4% accuracy in 2024, but had a few bright spots.
Wilson could certainly see improvement with an offseason under his belt, and as spring begins he will start as Utah's No. 2 quarterback.
Utah Utes quarterback Isaac Wilson (11) gives a thumbs-up before a play during an NCAA football game between the University of Utah Utes and the Iowa State University Cyclones held at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
"Isaac Wilson is really entrenched right now as No. 2. Now that's not to say that can't change because everything's a competition, but Isaac has done a nice job assimilating the new offense as well," Whittingham said.
Aside from Wilson, there's plenty of other quarterbacks that will get their shot to compete for the job heading into next season, as the Utes have eight quarterbacks on the current spring roster.
Behind Wilson, the options are generally inexperienced. The exception is Nate Johnson, who returns to Utah after a stint at Vanderbilt. In 2023, with Rising out for the year, Johnson initially lost the starting job to Bryson Barnes, but came in during the second game against Baylor, helping Utah to a win, and started the next three games.
Johnson's final stat line for the season was 499 passing yards and three passing touchdowns with a 54.2% completion rate, plus 235 rushing yards and four touchdowns. After failing to get the offense going for much of his time as starter, he was benched during Utah's loss to Oregon State, then transferred.
Now back at Utah, Johnson's role could be expansive, including possible time at receiver, but he is an option to be Dampier's backup.
Another candidate will be Brendan Zurbrugg , a 6-foot-3, 197-pound three-star prospect who redshirted his freshman season at Oklahoma. While he didn't see time with the Sooners, he was ranked as the No. 18 dual-threat QB by Rivals out of Alliance High in Ohio, where he set school records for total yards (6,376), total touchdowns (63), completions (490) and completion percentage (72%).
It remains to be seen how he translates to the college game, but it will be intriguing to see if he can beat out the other candidates this spring and fall.
Utah also has a pair of three-star true freshmen in the room in Byrd Ficklin and Wyatt Becker , who graduated early and will be able to get their first taste of the program during spring football. There are also two walk-on quarterbacks — freshman Drew Cowart and senior Dallen Engemann — that round out the room.
The battle to be Dampier's backup will be one to watch throughout spring and fall camp.
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