Utah Utes Football: 2025 Season Primer

The Utah Utes football team will host their annual spring game on April 19. Yet before that happens, it’s a great time for fans to learn about some of the key players who could end up making a major impact for the Utes on both sides of the football.

Utah Utes Football: 2025 Season Primer

Offense

After back-to-back seasons of, honestly, hard-to-watch offenses in Salt Lake City, new offensive coordinator Jason Beck and his staff are hoping to be the positive shift fans have been waiting for. On top of a new staff, the Utes brought in quarterback Devon Dampier (formerly New Mexico), running back Wayshawn Parker (formerly Wahington State) and a host of new receivers.

With an offensive line anchored by junior Spencer Fano, who is receiving plenty of national attention already, and his running mate Caleb Lomu, fans are expecting to see a near immediate jump in offensive output.

Devon Dampier may not be the highest ranked quarterback in the country. However, that doesn’t mean he can’t lead this offense to one of its best seasons in quite some time. His athletic ability and familiarity with the scheme may not directly correlate with success. Yet one thing certain: it will be fun to watch.

The offensive line could be the only part of this operation fans can feel confident about in the Utah offense. Aforementioned All-American Spencer Fano might be in consideration for a top-10 pick in the 2026 NFL draft. In a similar sense, Caleb Lomu can stay on track, he might be seeing some significant NFL interest himself.

Outside of the tackles, there is a good amount of experience returning on the interior. With 74 combined starts from Michael Mokofisi, Jaren Kump and Tanoa Togiai, plus legitimate pieces behind the group in Isaiah Garcia, Solatoa Moea’i, Keith Olson and Kalolo Ta’aga, this may not only be the strongest unit on the team, but also the deepest.

On the other side of things, there are a lot of question marks in this wide receiver room. This is especially true after the loss of Dorian Singer, who chose to enter the draft. Between a handful of transfers and little experience, coach Beck will be leaning on his dynamic quarterback to get the best out of this group.

Defense

When talking about the Utah defense, it’s hard not to mention Lander Barton. While the star linebacker was eligible for the 2025 NFL draft, his decision to stay could prove crucial for an unproven defense this year.

The former four-star high school recruit finished the 2024 campaign strong and hopes to carry that momentum into the coming season. If ever there was a time for his Utah Utes bloodline to shine for the football team, this would be it. Outside of Barton, Levani Damuni is hoping to fill the shoes of NFL hopeful Karene Reid as the conductor of the defense.

While linebacker might be the strongest position on this defense as the team heads into the season, the defensive back situation is quite the opposite.

The Utes were active in the portal and brought in three perimeter cornerbacks this offseason. Don Saunders (formerly Texas A&M), Rock Caldwell (formerly Louisville) and Blake Cotton (formerly UC Davis) are all hoping to make big splashes early to solidify their roles on the team. With Rabbit Evans and Tao Johnson returning to their starting roles on the backend of this defense, it seems that Elijah Davis and Nate Ritchie will be the defensive backs looking to find a way to break into the rotation.

Of course, how can you talk about this Utes defense without touching on the loss of Keanu Tanuvasa to the team down south? Although Logan Fano is coming back and looking to have his best season yet, this defensive line group will rely on three sophomores and a graduate transfer to hold it down.

Transfer Lance Holtzclaw (formerly Washington) is expected to be a key contributor off the edge with highlights such as a game clinching sack in the 2023 PAC-12 title game on his resume. Luckily, the Utes like rotating through several defensive linemen throughout a game. However, I’m not sure how deep the talent pool is this season.

Hey my name’s Lance, nice to meet y’all👋 pic.twitter.com/b9vK5JgFnm

— Lance “Showtime” Holtzclaw (@lancefrmdabean) December 17, 2023

Final Thoughts

The Utes should look to maximize the contributions of their returning stars on defense, while keeping their offense in position to rely on their line and retooled backfield. The offensive line may be the best group on the team. However, fans will be looking to see the defensive line rise to the occasion this season.

With that in mind, the story on the perimeter is quite the opposite; with experienced players returning to the defensive backfield and a brand-new wide receiving room that is at the mercy of new offensive coordinator Jason Beck.