Devon Dampier’s standout season keeps piling up the hardware.
The Utah quarterback added another national honor Tuesday, earning Paul Hornung Award National Player of the Week after his all-around showing in the Utes’ 28-20 win over BYU. The award goes to the most versatile player in major college football, and Dampier fit the bill in every direction.
He also landed among the 18 semifinalists for the Maxwell Award, which is given annually to college football’s player of the year. That keeps him in the mix for one of the sport’s biggest individual prizes.
The latest recognition comes right after another piece of weekly praise. On Monday, Dampier shared Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors with Texas Tech quarterback Thomas Castellanos after accounting for all four Utah touchdowns against the Cougars.
Against BYU, Dampier did just about everything Utah needed. He completed 14 of 26 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, added 87 rushing yards and two more scores, and even caught a 29-yard pass from Creed Whittemore on fourth-and-1. According to Utah, he became just the second FBS player in the past 30 seasons to post multiple passing touchdowns, multiple rushing touchdowns and at least 25 receiving yards in the same game.
That kind of production is exactly why his name keeps showing up on award lists. Through nine games, Dampier has completed 172 of 253 passes for 2,053 yards and 20 touchdowns, while rushing for 482 yards and seven scores. He has accounted for at least two passing or rushing touchdowns in every game this season.
The Maxwell semifinalist nod also follows another major checkpoint for Dampier. He moved into the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award’s Top 10 on Friday, Nov.
- That honor recognizes quarterbacks for excellence on and off the field, and the field will be trimmed to five finalists before the winner is announced Dec. 9 in Baltimore.
There’s another familiar face in the mix this week, too. Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita is also among the Maxwell semifinalists and the Golden Arm Top 10, adding another layer to Saturday’s matchup in Tucson.
Utah, meanwhile, keeps riding Dampier’s versatility to an unbeaten start. The Utes are 9-0, and their quarterback continues to be the engine behind it all.
The next chance to add to that résumé comes Saturday, with kickoff against Arizona set for 5:30 p.m. Mountain on FOX.
In Other News...
Utah Faces A Bigger Wayshawn Parker Question After BYU
Wayshawn Parkers availability had been one of the quieter questions hanging over Utah after the BYU game, and the early read is encouraging. His MRI showed a heel bruise, and Morgan Scalley said he expects Parker to be ready for the upcoming matchup with Arizona, a relief for a backfield that has already had to manage his injuries throughout the season.
Even so, the bigger issue for Utah may not be whether Parker can suit up, but how much the Utes can realistically lean on him. He had limited carries against BYU, and if the staff decides to be cautious again, Utah may have to spread more of the workload to other running backs when Arizona comes to town. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Just Became Part Of A Brutal Utah Milestone
Utahs win over BYU did more than keep the Utes moving through the season, it pushed them into rare air in the latest AP Top 25 poll. The climb to No. 2 matches the highest ranking in program history, a notable marker for a program that has spent years trying to turn consistency into national respect. Morgan Scalley has tried to keep the focus from drifting too far beyond the next opponent, stressing the need to prepare for every game the same way and acknowledging there is still room for the Utes to sharpen things up.
Arizona is waiting next, and the schedule does not give Utah much time to linger on the milestone. The Utes head on the road to face No. 22 Arizona, another ranked test that should tell plenty about how sustainable this run really is. For a team sitting near the top of the poll, the challenge now is not just staying there, but handling the pressure that comes with every game carrying a little more weight. [Read more 🡒]
David Pollack Just Put Alabama In A Playoff Spotlight
Former ESPN analyst David Pollack stirred the pot on his podcast by ranking 12 teams by his confidence in a College Football Playoff berth, and he put Utah at the top of the list. It was a notable vote of confidence for a program that has stayed in the national conversation by pairing recent performance with a schedule that still leaves room to make a convincing case when the committee starts sorting through the field.
Pollacks list also included the usual heavyweight mix of Georgia, Alabama, Miami and UCLA, underscoring how crowded the race remains as the selection committee prepares to release its second rankings soon. For Utah, the attention is useful but not yet decisive, because the real test is whether the Utes can keep stacking wins while the committee weighs resumes that are still very much taking shape. [Read more 🡒]