New Mexico QB Devon Dampier transfers to Utah – Deseret News

Utah has its new quarterback.

New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier is following his offensive coordinator Jason Beck to Salt Lake City.

Dampier, a sophomore, was the catalyst for the Lobos’ potent offense, generating 484.2 yards per game (fourth best in the country) and scoring 33.5 points per game (No. 27 in the country).

In his first season as a full-time starter, the 5-foot-10, 198-pound Dampier was one of the most productive quarterbacks in college football, totaling 3,934 yards of offense in 2024 – 2,768 passing and 1,166 rushing yards.

Against Power Four (and former Power Five) competition this season – Arizona, Auburn and Washington State – Dampier threw for a total of 725 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions. He added 354 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

New Mexico’s offense was the reason the Lobos finished the year with a 5-6 record, their best record since 2016, despite a defense that allowed 38 points and 492.1 yards per game and featured Beck and Dampier look to repeat that performance in Utah.

Beck’s spread offense makes heavy use of the run-pass option and is best with a quarterback who can run, and Dampier fits the bill. He implemented Beck’s offense at a very high level this season and was durable despite 155 ball runs – used in every single game this season.

Under Beck, Utah will look to run first, with quarterback running a key factor. In 2024, New Mexico had the fifth-best rushing offense in the country (253.6 yards per game), with Dampier leading the way with 1,166 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns. Running back Eli Sanders wasn’t far behind with 1,063 rushing yards and nine scores.

Dampier is a true dual-threat quarterback and is at his best when he runs the ball. He has elite speed, can make defenders make missed throws (he forced 51 missed tackles this season, according to Pro Football Focus) and is explosive when the ball is in his hands. While Beck has called a lot of quarterback runs for Dampier, he is also adept at reading the defense and knowing when to run the ball on the RPO, as well as scrambling when no receivers are open.

“We don’t win without him,” New Mexico coach Bronco Mendenhall — now at Utah State — said of Dampier after a 38-35 win over No. 19 Washington State.

“And if your quarterback could run the ball like that, so hard and so physical, with the deception that Eli Sanders and NaQuari (Rogers) also ran the ball. My goodness, that’s what winning and really good football teams do, right? You run when you have to and you stop running when you have to.”

Utah has never had a 1,000-yard rusher at the quarterback position. While other quarterbacks at Utah have demonstrated the ability to run the ball in the past, Dampier does so at a level not seen at the university since Alex Smith ran Urban Meyer’s spread offense in 2004.

Dampier is a fantastic runner, but that’s only half the battle of being a dual-threat quarterback. This season, Dampier was one of the most inaccurate passers in the FBS, completing just 57.9% of his passes and having a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 1:1 (12 touchdowns, 12 interceptions).

To continue the success he’s had in the Mountain West Conference at the Power Four level, Dampier will need to improve his accuracy this offseason. With a starting season under his belt and another offseason working with Beck, he should make progress in that regard ahead of Utah’s crucial 2025 season.

Dampier’s 2,768 passing yards ranked 34th among FBS quarterbacks this season and he showed he can make plays through the air. He has the ability to buy himself time with his scrambling ability and was the least sacked quarterback in all of college football. He had two passing games of more than 300 yards and nearly another against Auburn, where he totaled 291 passing yards.

As Utah begins implementing a new offense for the first time since 2019, when offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig was hired for his second stint at the university, having a quarterback who is already well-versed in Beck’s system is extremely important and will make the transition easier for the offense.

Dampier should have a clear path to starting immediately at Utah after every quarterback who played this season, except Cam Rising, entered the transfer portal this offseason. Rising has not made an official decision, but a report from 247Sports national reporter Matt Zenitz says the current expectation is that the 25-year-old quarterback will not be on Utah’s roster next season.

Since the end of the regular season, Isaac Wilson and Brandon Rose have both announced their intention to enter the transfer portal and Luke Bottari is no longer eligible to play. Should Rising actually decide to move on, the only quarterbacks – aside from Dampier – on Utah’s roster are three-star freshmen Wyatt Becker and Jamarian Ficklin.

The Utes will likely look to bring in another quarterback through the transfer portal to solidify their position ahead of the 2025 season.