Big 12 Media Day: Utah's Kyle Whittingham Optimistic for 2025 Season

Big 12 Media Days were held at The Star in Frisco, TX from July 8-9th. On Day Two, it was Utah’s turn to step up to the podium and discuss what they expect to be a bounce-back season. Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham discussed Utah’s elite offensive line, the new offense under Offensive Coordinator Jason Beck, the “it factor” new quarterback Devon Dampier brings to the team, plus their trademark defense among other topics.

Whittingham plans to lean heavily on Utah’s offensive line to stabilize the offense. “We should be the best offensive line since I’ve been at the University of Utah, which has been forever,” he proclaimed – a type of statement that he typically stays away from saying. Led by tackles Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, Whittingham believes that Utah should have three or more of this group drafted in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Ever since the hiring of Beck, the burning question has been if Beck has complete say with the offensive game plan and play calls. While the answer would have been “no” throughout most of Whittingham’s tenure, he has full faith in Beck, giving him the reins to the offense.

“Jason has complete autonomy to do what he wants,” said Whittingham. “Offensively, we’re going to be almost a carbon copy of what New Mexico was in philosophy. He does a great job… of utilizing personnel, getting guys in position to be successful.”

Whittingham called Beck “a great fit for what we’re doing and what direction we wanted to go.” Utah will deploy a fast-paced, simplified offense, designed to keep defenses on their toes. Typically, it can take a while for a new offensive system to be implemented and comfortable for all involved. However, it’s been a huge benefit to have Beck’s previous quarterback from New Mexico, Devon Dampier, join him at Utah.

“He’s got that ‘it factor’ that you look for in quarterbacks. He’s got the field general mentality.” Whittingham continued, “There’s no doubt who’s in charge on offense.”

Whittingham noted that Dampier has the respect of his peers, having been voted on the Leadership Council just weeks into arriving on campus. While he was effusive in his praise for his new QB1, Whittingham also went “coach mode,” acknowledging what Dampier needs to improve on and also what he saw from him in the spring.

“We got to get the completion percentage up a little bit higher. We’ve got to get the touchdown-to-interception ratio a little bit better,” said Whittingham. “But he was just a sophomore last year, and he definitely made improvement in those areas through spring ball.”

No matter how good the Utah offense is, and no matter how long it will take the new system to get in sync, the Utah defense has been the one constant throughout the Whittingham Era. “The defense has been very consistent, something that you can count on from year to year,” said Whittingham. “Can’t remember the last time we’ve had a real down year defensively.”

While the defense can still get better, like improving the turnover margin, that group can rest assured knowing that the offensive strategy going forward can take some of the enormous weight off of their shoulders that they’ve carried the last two years.

Check out the full press conference below.