Utah Football held their annual 22 Forever Game on Saturday with a unique twist as it was offense vs. defense and a unique scoring system was devised. The defense held the lead for most of the game, but new Utah quarterback Devon Dampier got the offense rolling in the second half and the offense pulled away 42-38.
Here are the takeaways from the scrimmage, where we focus on the offense, since 7+ defensive starters were held out of the game:
Dampier give glimpse of what’s to come
It only took two plays on the first drive for Dampier to show why he’s about to be one of the most exciting players in college football.
“I think the best thing about our culture and what we expect out of our players,” said Dampier. “I think at every position, our O-line, running backs and receivers I think we’re all clicking,”he continued. “You can tell I have chemistry with even our back ups, I think we had a great day today. Obviously, there’s always room to improve but for the most part I thought we were pretty solid today.”
There were plenty of big plays that came from Dampier, but the play of the game was a pass to Zach Williams for close to 40 yards. The defender had perfect coverage, but Dampier threw as perfect of a pass as he could have for the completion down to the two-yard line.
The battle for QB2 will head into fall camp between Isaac Wilson and Byrd Ficklin. Ficklin continues to make strong and encouraging strides, and it seems like it’s only a matter of time before he takes the QB2 role. However, it could start as Wilson’s based off of his experience, unless Utah looks to the portal for a one year QB2 solution. Regardless, Ficklin showed once again on Saturday that he’s the Utah quarterback of the future.
Fans have to wait to see Parker
Along with Dampier, Washington State transfer Wayshawn Parker was a crucial addition from the transfer portal. Unlike Dampier, though, Parker was held out of the spring game. Regardless of what Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham has said during spring ball, Parker is the unquestioned RB1 and Utah had nothing to gain by him playing in Saturday’s game.
With Parker’s absence, opportunity arose for the others, as Utah will need a solid backup option to emerge. That option could end up being NaQuari Rogers, the 5-foot-10 and 205-pound New Mexico transfer. Rogers had multiple runs of 10+ yard runs and Devin Green had a sizable 20+ yard. Daniel Bray (5-foot-10 and 171 pounds) showed that he’s an intriguing change-of-pace back, but he’ll need to continue packing on the weight before he factors in as RB2.
Offensive creativity is apparent
New Utah offensive coordinator Jason Beck wasn’t going to empty his bag of tricks during the spring game, but he gave enticing glimpses. Utah’s offense will rely heavily on the QB read-option. They’ll also stretch the boundaries, as both Dampier and Isaac Wilson had completions where they sprinted to the hash marks before delivering passes to receivers near the sidelines.
One thing the offense didn’t show its cards on were the Nate Johnson packages. This will be a key part to the offense and not something to tip their hand on in a meaningless game.
“Devon, he was pretty sharp. I don’t know what his numbers were but he was fairly accurate today and did a good job with his feet as a strength of his and so overall a positive spring game and a good ending to today's spring game,” Whittingham said.
“It's not as clean as if you know, all the regular guys are in there, but you still get a good idea of going through the progressions and accuracy and drills, pocket presence, all that type of stuff that you look for, and so we we had a good evaluation for watch the film, and the big thing is we got decide, you know, you can only have 105 guys now that maybe we made that rule change, so we're over that right now, so we gotta it's a good evaluator and good way for us to determine use to get those hundred five points.”
Wide receivers were a mixed bag
The wide receiver room remains one of the biggest question marks on the roster, and this was a key opportunity to see who might step up as a consistent outside threat. With flashes of potential, the group also struggled at times with drops.
Mana Carvalho got things going early with the first big play of the day—a 55-yard screen that set the offense up at the 3-yard line. He added another reception that showcased his yards-after-catch ability.
Williams made the catch of the day, reeling in a perfectly placed ball on a fade route. He added several other receptions and likely totaled around 80-90 yards. His day included a mix of chunk plays and short routes, showing his versatility.
Creed Whittemore also had a strong showing, catching multiple screens and short routes for solid gains. He may have ended the day with the most receptions of any receiver. Luca Caldarella hauled in a touchdown from Dampier and made several other catches from various quarterbacks. He looked dependable and steady working on the outside.
“I think the biggest strides we made as a team is us quarterbacks, and our receivers,” said Dampier. “That chemistry takes a lot in this offense and a lot of trust; knowing what they’re going to do and where we’re going to put the ball, I think we’ve come a long way from there.”
Utah’s spring game gave us a better understanding of the wide receiver group, and while there’s talent across the board, there’s still plenty to sort through. It’s clear the team has a variety of options, but the need for a reliable outside threat remains — inconsistency continues to be a concern and is a key reason why Utah remains active in the transfer portal in search of additional help.
