Byrd Ficklin had enough on his plate after a freshman season that turned him into one of the most intriguing pieces in Utah’s offense. Then came the decision that said even more about him than the plays he made on the field.
In an era when talented quarterbacks rarely wait around, Ficklin stayed with the Utes. That mattered because he had every reason to look elsewhere after Kyle Whittingham left, Jason Beck departed and Devon Dampier returned as Utah’s starter. For a player who had already shown he could make things happen with the ball in his hands, the portal would have offered a quicker path to a starting job.
Instead, Ficklin chose Salt Lake City.
“I’m thinking more of the future. Here I can be developed by (quarterbacks coach Ryan Gunderson) and (offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven),” Ficklin said.
That answer fits the way Utah views him now. Ficklin is lined up to be the Utes’ starting quarterback as soon as 2027, but that doesn’t mean he’s just waiting around in 2026.
Utah plans to keep him involved in a meaningful way this season, with McGiven saying specifics are being kept close to the vest. Still, the expectation is clear: Ficklin will matter.
“A lot of explosiveness. A lot of explosive plays.
Even when I’m on or off the field, no matter what’s going to happen, something exciting is going to be on the field,” Ficklin said. “Every player is going to be exciting, a lot of speed, a lot of gos, everything.”
That kind of usage would be familiar to anyone who watched him last season. Ficklin started the year behind Dampier, though his play in practice pushed him into the QB2 role before Utah’s second game against Cal Poly. He responded with 53 passing yards, 55 rushing yards and two scores in extended second-half work.
From there, the offense found more ways to get him on the field.
His first college start came against Colorado when Dampier was unavailable, and Ficklin delivered one of the most eye-catching performances of Utah’s season: 140 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 151 rushing yards and another score in a 53-7 win. He opened that night with a 63-yard touchdown run on the second play of the game.
He kept producing in key wins, including 166 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Baylor and 54 rushing yards with three touchdowns against Kansas State.
McGiven saw the value in Ficklin quickly. He said this spring that he was one of the first people he spoke with, aside from Dampier, after taking the offensive coordinator job.
“I think with Byrd, it’s utilization. How can you contribute and what does that look like?”
McGiven said this spring. “He’s like a Swiss army knife and without giving up the ship, there’s a lot of different things that he can do on a play-to-play basis and different places that he can line up.
And we need to be able to utilize those and get creative with those packages.”
Offensive lineman Zereoue Williams put it another way.
“It’s versatility. That’s what I can say about it. We can do so many different things with him in there,” added offensive lineman Zereoue Williams.
For Ficklin, the draw goes beyond scheme. He has bought into the coaching staff’s approach to his development, especially the work he’s getting from McGiven and Gunderson on progressions and defensive reads.
“I think my development’s going really good, especially under coach Gundy and McGiven. They’re helping my process of elimination, what I do need to look at and what I don’t need to look at,” Ficklin said.
“Also reading the field, progressions. There’s a lot of big things that I have been needing to become a complete quarterback, read the progressions and get the ball out quick.”
He also pointed to the bond he has built with the people around the program, especially Dampier.
“I mean, you can’t just ditch your own family. That’s how I see it.
These guys have took me under, from coaches to players to even the staff in the training room. It’s just been an all-out family and I know I couldn’t just leave them,” Ficklin said.
McGiven believes both quarterbacks have taken steps forward mentally, with the staff pushing them to process defenses faster and make cleaner decisions.
“We’ve pushed both him and Dev kind of the same way in terms of becoming elite decision-makers and having elite processing skills and being able to apply concepts to cover defensive looks, things like that,” McGiven said.
And it’s not just the mental side. McGiven said Ficklin’s throwing mechanics and accuracy have improved, and that showed up early in fall camp.
“Early on in fall camp, that development through the spring is already showing up,” McGiven said.
“Some of the tight windows that you would say quarterbacks are being a little bit risky, as long as it’s calculated risk, there’s been some ball placement in the first couple of practices where you can tell he’s much more comfortable riffing that in there because he knows what he’s seeing and it’s not so reactive.”
Ficklin clearly likes what’s ahead in McGiven’s offense.
“I love it. It’s literally everything I can dream about,” Ficklin said of McGiven’s offense.
“I mean, it’s a go-go offense. Everybody’s flying everywhere.
You never know what’s going to happen. It’s a lot of movement, everything from upfront to the backfield, it’s a lot of movement.
So I think it’ll be a lot of fun this year.”
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