No one expected Kyle Whittingham‘s stock to take a nosedive in 2024. Utah was supposed to kick the Big 12 door open like a gang of kings. Instead? They belly-flopped. The Utes started hot, teased greatness, then collapsed in real time. It was wild. Cam Rising got hurt, the playbook turned to static, and just like that, they missed a bowl for the first time in a decade. But Whittingham? Man’s not going out like that. He’s cooking up something new—something big with Devon Dampier.
Let’s rewind. Utah came into 2024 blazing—a 4–0 start, including a 49–0 smackdown of Southern Utah. Rising looked crisp for 7-year veteran. The defense? Kyle Whittingham as usual. But after his injury? Poof. Everything went south. Andy Ludwig’s offense fell apart, and Utah stumbled to a 5–7 finish. Humiliating, confusing, downright un-Utah. Whittingham had seen enough. He pressed reset. Ludwig got the boot. Jason Beck got the call-up from New Mexico. And guess who Beck brought in? Devon Dampier, the dual-threat magician who was straight-up carrying the Lobos.
Dampier didn’t just have a “good” season in 2024. He went bonkers. The former New Mexico QB threw for 2,768 yards and 12 touchdowns. But wait—that’s not even the craziest part. He rushed for 1,166 yards and 19 touchdowns. You heard that right. He led the entire Mountain West in total offense with 3,934 yards and made history as New Mexico’s first-ever 1,000-yard rushing quarterback. Six games with 100+ rushing yards. On an undermanned team. If that’s Superman mode, what is?
Whittingham knows the drill. You don’t just land a quarterback like Dampier and hope he figures it out. Nah, you stack the deck. So he made a twin move: he brought in two big-time wideouts to give Dampier the weapons he never had in New Mexico. Tobias Merriweather from Cal and Larry Simmons from Southern Miss. Why? To erase every memory of that 2024 disaster. Because when you have a QB like Dampier, you give him a real squad.
On July 27th, Utah insider Steve Bartle jumped on the “KSL Sports” podcast and let it fly. “I think, you know, improvement and going through progressions is going to be important. You know, as he has familiarity with the system, obviously building chemistry with his receivers is going to play a significant role in that. And I think that’s going to be a big key for him getting into fall camp—establishing chemistry with the two receivers that Utah brought in during spring ball.” Those receivers? Bartle was talking about Tobias Merriweather and Larry Simmons. Chemistry’s king at fall camp. Especially for a gunslinger like Dampier who needs timing and trust with his guys.
Let’s talk weapons. Merriweather is a 6’5″ skyscraper with sticky hands. He only played 5 games at Cal in 2024 but managed 11 catches for 125 yards and a score. Not mind-blowing, but the tools? They’re there. Red zone beast in the making. Simmons, on the flip side, had a more productive season at Southern Miss: 27 grabs, 421 yards, a touchdown, and a nasty 15.6 yards per catch. Speed demon. Took one 75 yards to the house against Troy. These two? They’re Dampier’s guys now.
Bartle doubled down on the wideouts: “I think those two receivers are going to play a very important role for Utah this season..But you still have to have that vertical presence that defenses have to respect in order to get the sort of space you need down in the trenches, to get the sort of timing and sequencing for certain blocks to be executed properly. And so that’s going to be on those receivers to play that sort of role.” Makes sense. Utah’s air game was a mess in 2024. With Cam Rising hurt, they threw true freshman Isaac Wilson into the fire. He tried. Threw 10 touchdowns. Also threw 11 picks. Chemistry was non-existent.
The numbers don’t lie. Utah’s passing game in 2024? Ugh. Only 53% completion rate. Just 6.2 yards per pass. And 4.5% of throws ended in picks. That’s basement-level stuff. They averaged barely 203 passing yards per Big 12 game. Against Power-5 defenses? Only 50.6% completions. The wheels didn’t just fall off. They exploded. That’s why this chemistry mission with Dampier and his new receivers is life-or-death.
Devon Dampier: The Darkhorse for Heisman? Says history!
Now here’s the fun part. Could Devon Dampier really be a Heisman sleeper? Some folks think it’s far-fetched. But when you stack his 2024 numbers (Passing+rushing) next to past Heisman winners—Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts (people’s Heisman), Jayden Daniels? The numbers low-key start matching up.
Steve Bartle gets it. ” There’s been a lot of talk with Dampier as a dark horse candidate for the Heisman. And I think it’s—I understand the logic, you know, given how he performed last year in New Mexico. He was basically superhuman. He had to be superhuman for New Mexico to have any sort of shot at a win. And I think, given how he performed individually—with the rushing numbers and with the passing numbers that he put up—you know, if that translates here at Utah and he’s putting up the same sort of numbers, we’re talking about a historic back-to-back two seasons for any sort of quarterback.”
Here’s what makes Dampier different: he’s already done the hard part. He carried an undermanned New Mexico team and still put up video-game stats. Most QBs fall off when the team around them stinks. Dampier? He leveled up. Now? He’s got weapons. He’s got a Power-5 line. And he’s got an offense that wants him to cook. And if he puts up anything close to his 2024 production? That Heisman talk gets real loud.
But Bartle brought some perspective: “I think there’s only a handful of players that have produced the numbers that Dampier did last year. Obviously, we’re all familiar with the four since 2016 with Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, Jaden Daniels, and Jalen Hurts. But, you know, I think Whittingham said no other player in college football history has ever done that twice—two years in a row..But I think it’s important to understand that Dampier doesn’t need to be superhuman like he was at New Mexico last year. He has more talent around him…He has more playmaking ability around him, where he just needs to be a guy that can keep the offense on the field.” Translation: He’s not being asked to be Lamar 2.0 every week. But he will need to ball out in key games. And if he has a few monster stat-lines against Power-5 teams? That narrative’s gonna write itself.
Remember this: no one has done what Dampier could be about to do. Bartle summed it up perfectly: “No other player in college football history has ever done that twice—two years in a row.” If Dampier repeats that statline at Utah? That’s historic. That’s Heisman-worthy. So yeah, maybe it sounds crazy now. But don’t be surprised if by November, Devon Dampier’s name is lighting up every watch list. Whittingham may have taken a hit last year—but this? This is his bounce-back play.
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