What are the early impressions of Utah’s new-look offense? The Utes' defense weighs in.

After one day of spring camp, there were a lot of things to be said about Utah’s new offense.

“I think it’s going to be electric,” junior defensive end Logan Fano said.

“I like this offense,” junior cornerback Smith Snowden added. “That’s what I want to say. This offense is really good. We have a lot of crafty players. Obviously, having [Devon Dampier] out there controlling the O is going to be a great thing. I love it.”

For now, newly-hired offensive coordinator Jason Beck has passed his first test.

So has quarterback Devon Dampier, who transferred from New Mexico to Utah this offseason. He’ll bring a dynamic new direction under center. The junior is a dual-threat quarterback, passing for 2,798 yards and running for another 1,166 in 2024 with the Lobos.

Dampier is likely to be the face of Utah’s new offense. But some of the other pieces are starting to come together, as well.

“He put up some pretty good numbers, throwing the football, rushing the football last year,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said of Dampier. “So, it was a very prolific offense. Wayshawn Parker, he’s a dynamic running back. We’ve got a very good offensive line, at least we think we do.

“Obviously you want to play to the quarterback’s strengths, which is what we’ll do, and we know exactly what those are based on his production last year.”

With an influx of new talent, the Utes have renewed energy as well.

It comes at a critical time after their disappointing 5-7 campaign.

“There’s a lot of energy on this football team right now,” Whittingham said. “That was evident all throughout the winter conditioning. This team really has a lot of positive energy. That’s a good thing.

“The guys that are new to the program and the new coaching staff [are infusing] a lot of energy, and so I think that is very apparent. That’s a big difference.”

The jury will still be out until the Utes hit the field this fall, but early impressions are positive.

Utah needs that, especially after its offensive unit finished third to last in the Big 12 in 2024.

“Coach Beck and the staff did a great job of moving things around,” Fano said.

Utah’s new-look defensive line

After an offseason of turnover, the Utes will have a new-look defensive line in 2025.

Former defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa — who was one of the best defensive tackles in the Big 12 last season — went portaling before joining forces with BYU. Junior Tafuna is going to the 2025 NFL Draft.

Defensive ends Van Fillinger and Connor O’Toole are testing their draft luck, too.

The Utes will now shift their focus to new defensive end transfers Lance Holtzclaw (Washington) and Jaxson Jones (Oregon), who were both reserves at their previous schools. Logan Fano is also returning, and he finished with 35 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 2024.

He was complimentary of Utah’s new transfers.

“They are ballers,” Fano said “It’s always been like that here in Utah. Ever since my first season here, just from top to bottom. There’s so much talent here, and Jackson and Lance fit right into that.”

With the loss of Tafuna and Tanuvasa, the Utes will hand the keys to defensive tackles Aliki Vimahi and Dallas Vakalahi, who combined to have four tackles for a loss last season.

Whittingham is confident in the depth at the position.

“The D-tackle room is solid, we’ve got Aliki Vimahi, who is the real veteran in the room, and then Dallas Vakalahi played a lot of snaps for us last year,” Whittingham said. “But beyond that, we’re going to have to have a couple of young guys step up as contributors this year.”

Last season, the defensive line was one of the Utes' biggest strengths. Their defense finished third in the Big 12, behind Houston and BYU.

They’ll hope to have that carry over through the spring and, ultimately, the 2025 season.

“Say what you want to about it,” Fano said. “That’s why you play for Utah football, and you don’t just come play defensive line here unless you’re really good at it. So that’s kind of how we’re pushing it.”

Smith Snowden focused on leadership

With the losses of cornerbacks Zemaiah Vaughn, Cam Calhoun and Kenan Johnson this offseason, Smith Snowden is ready to step up as a leader.

The now-junior cornerback played in all 12 games for the Utes last season, starting in 11 of those contests at nickel. He quickly established himself as one of the best corners in the conference, racking up two interceptions, eight pass breakups and 48 total tackles last season.

Snowden plans to use 2024’s performance as something to build off of.

“Having a full year of starting, obviously, I was able to make mistakes and learn from them,” Snowden said. “I feel like going into this season, I want to learn from what happened last year and build off of it.”

He also knows that passing down Utah’s culture to the new transfer and freshman players matters.

“We’re just building on our culture, that’s a big thing here,” he added. “The culture of Utah in general, is about putting your head down and going to work every single day. … I feel like those guys are really starting to take that in.”

Another player looking to take the next step is Elijah “Scooby” Davis, who is entering his sophomore year. Not only has he seen growth in himself but also new transfer corners like Blake Cotton and Don Saunders.

“A lot of new guys are coming in,” said Davis, who finished with 29 tackles and two interceptions a season ago. “They are learning the playbook fast. And right now, we are not really judging them too much because they are still learning, but I feel like it’s gonna be a good cornerback room. I like the new guys we brought in.

“I feel like we have a lot of length, but we haven’t been able to see a lot right now, so we’ll see what happens in 15 days.”

Both Davis and Snowden, and Utah’s bevy of new cornerback transfers, will be integral to carrying over Utah’s defensive success from last season.

“We are competing every day,” Davis said. “We’ve been competing all winter. So, I’m excited to see what’s up in the spring.”