Jason BatacaoDevon Dampier, for the most part, played a clean game against Idaho last week.
He finished with 176 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, and ran six times for 31 yards, looking every bit like the star quarterback the Utes had last season.
But Dampier had one issue against Idaho: The senior quarterback took multiple hits from the Vandals’ pass rush early in the game.
That was at least somewhat expected with Utah losing all five offensive line starters from last year’s squad. But head coach Morgan Scalley said that wasn’t the reason for the hits.
“To Devon getting hit, some of that was him pulling the ball or holding on to the ball for a little bit,” Scalley said Monday. “Sometimes those options — when you’re doing the read fakes and stuff like that — you’re going to end up getting your quarterback hit at times.”
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) runs the ball for a touchdown during the game between the Utah Utes and the Arizona State Sun Devils at The University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025.
If Idaho was able to get some hits on Dampier, what happens against Power 4 teams, including this Saturday against Arkansas?
And after Dampier’s injury-riddled season last year, the Utes would prefer him to remain standing more often than not.
There was some good news on that front in Utah’s season-opening win. Despite facing some early pressure from Idaho’s defensive line, the Utes didn’t give up a sack the entire contest.
You can credit Dampier’s elusiveness for at least a portion of that. As the Idaho game went on, the senior quarterback did a better job avoiding pressure and getting the ball out quicker.
That’s the balance Scalley and the Utes want him to strike: Use his mobility, but remain out of harm’s way.
For the Utes to have a chance at a Big 12 championship run, they will have to keep Dampier upright and healthy — something they couldn’t do last year, when he battled an ankle issue and two sports hernias.
“We’d like to definitely take those hits off of him,” Scalley said. “We don’t want him getting hit as much as he was getting hit early in that game.”
And Scalley thinks the Utes’ new offensive line has what it takes to keep Dampier standing.
“We didn’t give up a sack. Proud of the way our offensive line [played],” he said. “We had a good rotation there at the guard spot.”
