Looking Ahead To Week Two Of Fall Camp For Utah Football
Aug 5, 2025, 4:09 PM
Utah football head coach Kyle Whittingham talks to team at fall camp. Photo courtesy by Utah Athletics.
SALT LAKE CITY β Head coach Kyle Whittingham and his Utah football program have completed their first week of fall camp. As the Utes prepare for the 2025 season, the team has opened fall camp with a rejuvenated vibe.
After a tumultuous experience in 2024, the Utes are looking to rebound this season. With a completely remade offense and strong defensive core, Utah looks to contend in the Big 12 this season.
Fall camp is vital to sorting out various position groups and realizing every last bit of improvement possible. As Utah enters the second week of fall camp, here are a few interesting storylines to follow.
What offensive progress has been made for Utah football?
As Utah entered camp, there has been growing optimism around the team’s chances this season. Whittingham returns a good core on the defensive side, an entire offensive line unit, and has new pieces in place that are supposed to make a big difference for the Utes this season.
Offensive coordinator Jason Beck and quarterback Devon Dampier arrived in Salt Lake City with hope and optimism that their presence would lead to significant improvements for the Utes’ offense.
Dampierβ a dynamic dual-threat junior is the man entrusted to lead the Utes this season. He was one of the most electric players in all of college football last year. He finished the ’24 campaign with 3,934 total yards and 31 touchdowns.
However, Utah’s running back, receiver, and tight end rooms are comprised almost entirely of new faces. How these units come together and progress throughout camp will be key to Utah’s outlook this season, and getting an idea of how week one went will be interesting.
Utah needs to sort out its depth chart from top to bottom at these spots. So, which individuals have gotten off to a good start could play a significant role in how this group looks this season.
How are Utah’s young defensive tackles acclimating in fall camp?
The Utes brought in a large group of freshmen defensive tackles this past cycle, five to be exact. Coach Whittingham and Morgan Scalley have stated that they are looking for two or three to emerge as contributors this season.
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“A few new D-tacklesβ Dilan Battle, transfer from LSU, Pupu Sepulona, Semi Taulanga, so those bodies will help out a lot in the depth category,” Scalley stated. “Now, it’s just a matter of developing them and seeing who can play right away. The good thing is we’re not having to do much physically, their weights are where they need to be, it’s just learning the defense.”
When asked about the three new tackles who joined the program this summer, Elliss raved about the mental toughness they showed through summer conditioning.
“As far as training and summer adaptations, there’s already a mental toughness to them,” Elliss shared. “Our offseason program is not the easiest. What I liked is their mental toughness to push through; that’s a good trait to have, especially to have success up front.
For two others, Karson Kaufusi and Sione Motuapuaka, they were able to participate with the rest of the group in winter workouts and spring ball. They, along with the rest of the defensive tackles, appear to have had a positive offseason.
“Very pleased with the guys’ offseasons, shoutout to our strength staff and our nutritionists for what they’ve done with our guys this year,” Luther Elliss shared. “Jonah’s gained some good, Karson’s gained great weight, and really, they all made huge strides.”
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With the first scrimmage this Saturday, how are starting job/backup job battles shaping up?
This weekend, Utah will have a scrimmage, which will be the first significant checkpoint of fall camp. When asked about the backup quarterback battle, Beck suggested that two fall camp scrimmages would play a significant role in determining that and other depth chart spots.
“We’re not too far away from when we have to start game planning for UCLA,” Beck said. “We have two scrimmages along the way, and by that second scrimmage, you’d really like to have an idea, a plan of here’s what we’re doing.”
As previously mentioned, running back, receiver, and tight end are entirely new units. There is a lot to sort out within those groups, but even beyond that, there are a few spots to make decisions.
Is one emerging for the backup quarterback job? What does the tight end group look like behind Dallen Bentley? How does the offensive line’s second unit look? Who will be starting opposite Logan Fano? What’s the pecking order at defensive tackle? Is there separation at the open cornerback spot?
2026 commit Josiah Jefferson signed with Utah as a member of the 2025 class
On Saturday, the program announced that tight end commit Josiah Jefferson had signed with the program. Jefferson was classified as a 2026 prospect and commit, but his signing means that he has, in essence, reclassified to 2025 and will join the program this season.
That’s exciting, as Utah adds a player who has a rather promising future. Jefferson is still relatively new to football, after a high school career that focused more on basketball. At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Jefferson has an exciting blend of size, athleticism, and natural talent. Adding that to the tight end room this season is a very good thing.
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However, the logistics behind his transition from Southwestern College to Utah will keep expectations in check. Jefferson, unfortunately, won’t be able to join the program until the end of August, if not the beginning of September.
Getting Jefferson in the program this season, regardless of when he initially joins, is a big deal for the program. The timing of his addition will very likely limit his potential to make an impact this season. However, with a redshirt year to burn, Jefferson’s individual development and outlook will benefit tremendously.
