Lance Holtzclaw has known Devon Dampier long enough to speak about him with the kind of certainty that comes from years of seeing the same player up close.
The Utah defensive end grew up near Dampier in Arizona, attending Desert Ridge High School in Phoenix while Dampier was at Saguaro High in Scottsdale. The two also spent summers on the same seven-on-seven circuit, and Holtzclaw says he saw the quarterback’s talent before most of the country did.
Now that Dampier is drawing national Heisman attention, Holtzclaw is one of the loudest voices backing him.
“I’ve been telling them that he should be in there,” Holtzclaw said of Dampier’s Heisman potential. “Dev’s my guy, man.
I’ve been around Dev since I was 15 years old. He used to be my seven-on-seven quarterback.
“It’s a blessing to be able to play with somebody like that.”
Dampier’s Heisman stock has climbed fast after his performance against BYU, when he piled up a team-high 87 rushing yards, passed for 177 yards and even caught a 29-yard reception. Utah has leaned into the moment, too, pushing his candidacy on social media with multiple posts using the hashtag #SPID4HEISMAN.
That support runs through the locker room, especially on defense, where the Utes have had to live with Dampier’s ability from the other side of the ball every day in practice.
“He’s been playing like a Heisman,” corner James “Bobo” Chenault Jr. said.
“It motivates me, actually. It keeps me going for a long time. To see him go out there and do what he does, it makes me want to go out there and give him back the ball.”
Utah has only had one Heisman finalist in program history: quarterback Alex Smith, who finished fourth in 2004 after leading the Utes to an undefeated season. If Dampier keeps the Utes perfect, he could put himself in position to join that company and head to New York City for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.
The numbers help his case. Dampier has 2,053 passing yards and 20 touchdowns, plus 482 rushing yards and seven rushing scores. He also has more wins than any quarterback in the country right now, and if that holds through the regular season, his path to New York only gets clearer.
The Heisman race has also loosened up in recent weeks. Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith is still viewed as the favorite, but an injury to QB Julian Sayin has cut into Smith’s production, and the Buckeyes have dropped two straight. That has opened the door for several challengers, including Miami QB Darian Mensah, Notre Dame QB CJ Carr, Oklahoma State QB Drew Mestemaker and Dampier.
Kalshi’s prediction market has Dampier with the fifth-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy, while FanDuel lists him fourth.
If he finishes the job, Dampier would become the first Heisman winner in Utah history and the second player from the state to take home the award, joining BYU’s Ty Detmer, who won it in 1990.
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