The fans in attendance today at the University of Utah annual Red and White game battled the weather to watch how the Utes have been doing during spring football, seeing some familiar faces as well as new arrivals.

Starting quarterback Cam Rising’s day was done after one series for the Utes which was expected, and it was business as usual for Rising. He was 4-6 for 60 yards and a touchdown in his start. Devaughn Vele would catch a 21 yard pass from Rising and Makai Cope had a wild one-handed catch a few plays later. His touchdown would come on a eight yard pass to tight ends Taniela Pututau.

“He was very smooth out there. He was sharp. You saw Devaughn Vele catch a few balls from him, and they have started developing a good chemistry together,” said Whittingham. “We had a few receivers who didn't play today, and we have a few coming in this summer that we will add to the receiver group.

What Cam did was what we had hoped and expected,” continued Whittingham. “He came in and engineered a touchdown drive and made it look easy, and that was his day's work."

This spring, Vele has really stepped up making huge strides becoming the unquestioned go-to receiver for Rising. Vele led the team with 72 receiving yards on three early receptions.

“It's big. It's big for Cam to have a guy that you have great chemistry with, and Solomon Enis is another guy that he has good chemistry with on the field,” said Whittingham. “If Devaughn can stay healthy and continue to make plays—the plays he made all spring long—and carry that over to fall camp and into the season, he could have a big year for us."

One year after the wide receivers seemed to be the forgotten position group, an abundance of them seem to be breaking out, not just Vele.

“They are coming along, and they are doing a great job and making sure they are attacking the ball and being aggressive,” said Rising. “They are taking ownership in winning the one-on-one battles, which is why they have gotten so much better over the past few weeks and owned everything they’ve got going."

After Rising’s quick work it was a battle of the backups, between walk-on sensation Bryson Barnes and Ja’Quinden Jackson - Barnes was behind center for White while Jackson led the Red team. It was a slow start for Jackson the first three series, but he would finally get his footing connecting with tight end Hayden Erickson for a 35-yard pass which set up a short pass to Money Parks for the touchdown heading into halftime.

Barnes would open the second with a 55-yard run but it an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty took away what was thought to be a touchdown. However , shortly after he was able to turn it into a positive, connecting with freshman Makai Cope for a touchdown.

Barnes would ultimately lead the battle of the quarterbacks after finishing off the game with a 50-yard pass to tight end Munir McClain. Barnes finished with two touchdown passes on 157 yards with 47 yards rushing. Jackson had two touchdowns on 138 yards with one interception.

After the game, Whittingham said he wants to evaluate the film, before naming the backup quarterback.

“We will have a better idea after looking at the film. I couldn't tell you by seeing it firsthand out there. They both did some outstanding things,” said Whittingham. “Ja'Quinden Jackson has made a ton of progress since getting here, and he is starting to become a guy that looks like a quality quarterback. Bryson Barnes made some big plays too. We hope to have an order heading into fall camp, but if it's a dead heat still, it's a dead heat. We know Cameron Rising is our guy, and we have to continue to work those guys behind him."

For the afternoon, the offense gave the fans a lot to be excited about. Freshman running back Jaylon Glover had five carries for 36 yards (averaging 7.2 yards per carry). Cope had 4 catches 42 yards with two touchdowns and Money Parks ended the day with 4 catches with 43 yards and two touchdowns. Glover spoke with the media after and said it was a great time, stating he plans on enjoying the next week off and then it’s back to work.

“It felt good. I am happy to play with the guys and go against the guys that we have been going against all spring,” said Glover. “I am glad we got to put it all together to show the fans that we came to play. I had fun and had a great time."

Early enrollee linebackers Landon Barton had five tackles while Carson Tabaracci had six and one assisted tackle for loss. Sophomore Cole Bishop led the white team with seven tackles.

“In the first half, the white teams' defense was playing well as we were making plays, and we gave up one touchdown in the first half, but other than that, we were playing well, making tackles; we just need to make sure we cut down on the mistakes,” said Bishop.

In the end, not only did the fans walk away excited for the 2022 season, Whittingham did as well.

“We had good competition out on the field today. It was a great way to end spring football. We had an excellent spring, and we were able to stay healthy. We had a lot of guys making plays today, which was great to see. It was great to see Ja'Quinden Jackson and Bryson Barnes get extended work today, and they made the most of it, said Whittingham.” “Our young players played well and showed us what they were capable of doing on the football field. We have a bunch of capable young players. We need to springboard this into our summer conditioning program."