Observations from Utah’s spring scrimmage

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The University of Utah campus, with Rice-Eccles Stadium in the foreground, in Salt Lake City on Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. | Ben B. Braun, Deseret News

To close out the third of five weeks of spring practice, Utah moved from the confines of its practice facility over to Rice-Eccles Stadium for a scrimmage.

After 20-minute practice viewing windows once per week, Saturday was the first chance for the media to get an extended look at the team as they prepare for the 2025 season with a new cast of players.

Here are some observations from Utah’s scrimmage:

Devon Dampier looks the part​

Dampier has impressed early on in spring practice, and Saturday’s scrimmage was no exception. Sure, he wasn’t perfect — there were inaccurate passes here and there, and a near interception from Scooby Davis — but overall, Dampier provided some hope for Utah fans that this year’s version of the offense will be more successful than last year’s — and a lot more fun to watch.

While offensive coordinator Jason Beck did dial up run plays throughout Saturday’s scrimmage, the passing game was the focus in this scrimmage, and Dampier delivered.

Helped by an offensive line that didn’t allow one “sack” of Dampier during the first-team reps, the New Mexico transfer had a lot of time in the pocket and looked comfortable throughout the day. His most impressive throw of the scrimmage was a sideline throw that was placed where only Dallen Bentley — who made a great catch — could grab it.

In the red zone, Dampier was crisp, delivering bullets to tight ends Bentley and Landen King for scores, and also shined while throwing the ball deeper to Otto Tia and Zacharyus Williams. Williams in particular had a good day, catching a touchdown after Dampier rolled out, catching the deep ball and then catching another pass from quarterback Byrd Ficklin.

Throughout the day, Dampier was able to spread the ball around to a number of wide receivers — Tia, Williams, Rayshawn Glover, Creed Whittemore and Justin Stevenson among them.

His ability to extend plays, which was a key part of his game at New Mexico, was also on display, as was his running ability.

There are still things to work on in his game as he transitions to Power Four play, but in the brief glimpses that we’ve seen, it’s so far, so good for Utah’s projected starting quarterback.

How will tight ends factor into Jason Beck’s offense?​

Conclusions about how Jason Beck’s offense will look at Utah can’t be drawn from a single scrimmage, but on Saturday, the tight ends were very involved in what the offense was doing.

Bentley, who had just two receptions for 15 yards last season, made his presence known on Saturday, making the aforementioned impressive sideline grab and also catching a handful of other passes.

Hunter Andrews, who has played at linebacker, running back and now tight end at Utah, showed off his speed on a short pass from Dampier that turned into a 50-plus-yard touchdown, with Andrews blazing past the defenders.

Landen King caught a touchdown pass from Dampier as well. At New Mexico under Beck, tight ends weren’t utilized heavily, but they had a more prominent role in his Syracuse offense.

Beck has shown a lot of creativiity thus far with his offensive play calls, and if the tight ends continue to produce like they did on Saturday, they could figure in heavily to Utah’s offense like they have in years past.

Special teams​

It’s rare for a kicker to be given a scholarship out of high school, but then again, most high school kickers aren’t breaking state records. At Murray, Dillon Curtis set Utah state records for the longest field-goal in UHSAA history, 63 yards, and most made field goals in a game, six, and Utah has high expectations for him this season.

There’s still a while until he plays in a game — and experiences the different pressure that comes along that — but he has impressed in practice.

To start the week, he made a 50-yard field goal with his teammates screaming at him to simulate pressure, and on Saturday, he nailed a 55-yard field goal. Orion Phillips also had good punts during the special teams period.

It’s been a minute since Utah has had a rock-solid kicker, and the team is hoping Curtis can be that for them.

Jackson Bennee makes his presence known​

Earlier in spring practice, Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley said that safety Jackson Bennee is a player that “everyone’s going to want to keep an eye on.”

The Olympus High star is in his first semester at the University of Utah, but is already making an impression.

“Love his versatility. He’s a 4.46 (40-yard dash) guy that can jump out of the gym and has been doing some really good things for us,” Scalley said.

On Saturday, Bennee rocked an offensive player, jarring the ball loose, and defensive end Lance Holtzclaw scooped the ball up for a score. Later, Bennee also had a tackle for loss.

@BenneeJackson @lancefrmdabean #GoUtespic.twitter.com/XbSWBvHIQ7

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) April 5, 2025

Other defensive highlights included the near-interception by Scooby Davis, who had a nice day, and a sack of Ficklin by freshman safety Nate Tilmon.

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