What Utah Learned After First Fall Camp Scrimmage
Aug 11, 2025, 6:32 PM | Updated: Aug 12, 2025, 9:56 am
Utah football fall camp in Salt Lake City, UT on Wednesday, August 6, 2025. Anna Fuder/Utah Athletics
SALT LAKE CITY—Kyle Whittingham and the Utes are now ten practices into fall camp, and though they aren’t where they need to be yet—and the head coach will be the first to say so—with every rep, the picture is coming into focus.
The season opener looms large, and Whittingham’s squad knows it needs to be ready to hit the ground running. Saturday’s first scrimmage was another step in that direction.
Fifteen practices remain before the season opener, and Utah’s progress is trending in the right direction. The coaching staff is beginning to narrow the rotation at several positions, while still leaving room for late risers to make their move.
Utah football’s first fall camp scrimmage, more of a controlled first run
Utah’s first of two scrimmages was this past Saturday. Whittingham took a unique approach to the scrimmage to protect his starters. Given Utah’s injury luck the previous two seasons, this seems like a wise adjustment.
“We went a little lighter than normal with the ones—it was thud work, it was not live,” Whittingham explained. “That was a little bit different in that regard. We’ve done that in the past at times, and we just felt like that was the best approach for the first scrimmage.”
Utah’s second-team and third-team guys still went live, though.
“Two’s got all the live work, and we had some good, good teach tape,” he shared. “I think we’re in a good place right now. We’re, what, 10 practices in after today and 15 more to go, then we’re ready to play.”
The decision was as much about protecting the veterans as it was about evaluating the next wave. For a few position groups, like offensive line and linebacker, those reps are extremely valuable. Not only in the sense of what it could mean this season, but the future.
Utah finding the ‘trustworthy guys’ in the receiver room?
If there’s one group that has made tangible strides early, it’s the wide receivers. Dampier felt encouraged by the chemistry development and singled out one receiver, who had a good showing in the scrimmage.
“You can tell everyone’s getting more comfortable; it was just good to see us clicking on all cylinders,” he said. “I think Larry Simmons had a very big day for him. He’s getting more comfortable with it, and I thought we had a very good day all around—very limited drops. I think everybody was making plays.”
Whittingham feels confident about the progress the group has made. To the point where they feel they’ve got a pretty good idea of what the core group will be moving forward.
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“That group is coming along,” he said. “We feel like we’ve identified the top seven or eight guys that are going to be the travelers and who we’re going to sink all the reps into the rest of the way, so that group is really starting to gel.”
Based on the updates from camp, it seems Tobias Merriweather, Larry Simmons, Creed Whittemore, Ryan Davis, and Daidren Zipperer are at the top of the depth chart. Pinning down who the other two or three are is a little less clear, and will likely require the next week or so to sort out.
A one-two punch in the backfield, but looking for a third
The running back situation is less about competition and more about dual strength. Whittingham’s made it clear that Wayshawn Parker and NaQuari Rogers are both starter-caliber.
“We know the top two guys would be Wayshawn Parker and NaQuari Rogers, not necessarily in that order,” Whittingham said. “They’re interchangeable as the one. They’re both similar in size—5’10, 5’11, about 210 pounds. They both do an outstanding job of picking up blitzes, they’re north and south guys, and they both have good hands.”
Dampier loves the reliability they bring and what it means to the offense.
“They’re very, you know, one-two punch, it’s very rotational,” he said. “I love it, I know if I hand them that ball, they’re going to give me four or five yards, so that’s a great feeling to have as a quarterback.”
Whittingham also pointed out that freshmen Daniel Bray and Raycine Guillory have done some good things through camp. Utah has an established top two, but is seems to be looking for a third running back to establish himself from the rest of the cast.
Gaining clarity throughout the roster
Some competitions remain very much alive—none more so than the battle for QB2 between Isaac Wilson and Byrd Ficklin.
“That’s tight as it was prior to the scrimmage,” Whittingham said. “They both did some really good things, and they both made some mistakes. The competition continues, and I would say that’s going to continue at least through the next scrimmage and next and final scrimmage, and then we’ve got to make a decision shortly thereafter.”
Wilson has received a bit more of the work with the second team, but Ficklin has come on strong this past week. That is a genuinely tight race.
On the other side of the ball, the cornerback position has been another key position battle. The primary competitors have been Blake Cotton and Donovan Saunders. However, as Whittingham noted last week, it’s expanded to three or four with Jeremiah Caldwell and JC Hart closing the gap.
Today, though, Whittingham made it clear that Blake Cotton is beginning to pull ahead in that race.
In the trenches, Whittingham and his defensive staff have been excited about the freshmen defensive tackles. Five joined the program this year, and Whittingham made it clear that they will need two or three to emerge as contributors this season.
“We think those guys have a ton of upside,” Whittingham shared. “Pupu Sepulona is really doing a great job. The Karson Kaufisi kid is doing a great job. They’re all doing things well, and we think we’re going to have some real superstars emerge from that group.”
Devon Dampier sees the comfort level growing
It’s well-known by now that Dampier spent last season under Beck at New Mexico. That served as his first campaign as a starting quarterback. As he prepares for his second run, now at Utah, Dampier feels more comfortable and has shifted focus to those around him.
“I always feel like the game just gets slower and slower by the year,” Dampier said. “Just me taking on more of a leadership role now than I was last year; I think we’re building something here.”
With his experience, the past 10 days have been about getting everyone executing up to a high standard. Even players who just showed up a couple of months ago are acclimating seamlessly in the new offense.
“I think they’re adjusting very well, they’ve kept asking me questions about what they can do better,” he said. “That’s just a great thing going into football games when you can get everyone on the same page.”
With the season opener fast approaching, the Utes are not where they need to be, but they’re getting closer every day.
