What Utah gets with the trade of New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier to the Utes

SALT LAKE CITY — Within hours, Utah football’s quarterback room had been completely gutted.

Nada. Zero. Nothing.

Aside from two high school quarterbacks signed on Dec. 4 as part of the NCAA Early Signing Day period, Utah had no scholarship quarterbacks on the roster after the conclusion of the 2024 season.

The move wasn’t all that surprising, as Isaac Wilson, Brandon Rose and Sam Huard opted to enter the transfer portal after one of the worst offensive performances of the Kyle Whittingham era. It was merely an outward representation of Utah hitting the reset button after a dismal offensive year.

But Utah — or more specifically, newly hired offensive coordinator Jason Beck and offensive analyst Koy Detmer Jr. — already had their eye on their future starting quarterback.

There was no better place to look than the quarterback who literally ran Beck’s offense last season and ranked No. 4 in total offense in all of FBS. Former New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier was a natural fit.

The second-year quarterback led a New Mexico offense in rushing with 1,166 yards and added 2,768 passing yards for a 57.9% completion rate. He scored a total of 31 touchdowns, including 19 rushing touchdowns and 12 passing touchdowns.

Dampier alone scored more touchdowns than Utah’s offense (27) in the 2024 season.

That sounds like a victory.

But can that same success — against the Mountain West schedule — translate to a Utah team that leads the offense on a tougher Big 12 team? That question can’t be answered until the 2025 season, but there is optimism that Utah could find success with the true dual-threat quarterback.

So what does Utah get with Dampier, who officially announced his commitment to the Utes on Wednesday?

Simply put, Dampier is a dynamic quarterback with a ton of potential, but he is still developing as he enters his final two years of eligibility. Last season, as a sophomore, he totaled 3,934 yards while taking on most of the responsibility in the run game, averaging 97.2 rushing yards per game.

In a different offensive system and coaching staff, Dampier threw for 525 yards and six touchdowns with a 62.5% completion rate as a freshman while adding 328 yards and four touchdowns in sporadic minutes in nine games.

Dampier is the true definition of a dual-threat quarterback who is a highly desirable player in the current era of college football. But for all of his advantages in Beck’s RPO system, Dampier completed just 57.9% of his passes and threw 12 interceptions to his 12 passing touchdowns – a 1:1 ratio and not ideal.

(Wilson – who started most of the season under center – passed for 1,510 yards, 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions with a 56.4% completion rate in his first season with the Utes.)

However, there is a similar QB comparison that can be used to show what trajectory a player like Dampier can have with the right system and whether he continues to improve. However, none of this is a guarantee.

Look no further than former Arizona State and LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, who now leads the Washington Commanders in the NFL.

Through years of hard work and progress, Daniels became the 2023 Heisman winner after a season in which the LSU quarterback rushed for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns and four interceptions with a 72.2% completion rate while posting 1,134 yards rushing and 10 Added touchdowns.

Daniels contributed 4,946 total yards and 50 touchdowns, making him a relatively easy choice to win college football’s top honor.

But Daniels’ second season similarly mirrored Dampier’s in New Mexico. In his final season with the Sun Devils, Daniels threw for 2,380 yards, 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions with a 65.4% completion rate. He added 710 yards and six touchdowns.

That’s a total of 3,090 yards and 16 touchdowns – almost 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns fewer than Dampier had in his second season, but similar.

The real jump for Daniels was his junior season, which led to an even better, Heisman-winning senior season.

Daniels’ numbers weren’t necessarily overwhelming – 3,798 total and 28 touchdowns – but he significantly reduced his interceptions while adding more touchdowns with a higher completion rate (68.6%). It all led to a breakthrough in his senior season.

Predicting a similar rise for Dampier — especially that of a Heisman-winning QB — is fraught with danger, but it shows the potential Utah could have with progress and growth in a program that historically has more upside than New Mexico.

That’s why Utah is optimistic that Dampier will follow his offensive coordinator as the two continue their familiarity with each other at a new destination. Some of the best dual-threat quarterbacks have turned schools into national championship contenders in recent years.

Merely mentioning the Heisman or the national championship isn’t fair – or the point, really – but it’s what every program strives for. And while Dampier still has a long way to go before he can ever be a part of either conversation — if he’s ever able to — it’s a risk worth taking for Utah when it comes to rebuilding its offense .

The offense can’t simply rely on Dampier, but it’s a good start to what Utah wants to put together for a new offense in 2025 with Beck calling the shots in a more modern system. And it helps to have a QB who already understands this system.