Utah quarterback Devon Dampier made his announcement on Tuesday afternoon that he would be returning to the Utes for the 2026 college football season.
Dampier made the announcement on social media with a dramatic build up and a reference to the famous scene in “Wolf of Wall Street”, with the “I’m not leaving!” line.
Dampier led the Utes to an 11-2 season after he transferred in from New Mexico following a standout 2024 season where he was named All-Conference in the Mountain West. Fast Forward to 2025, and Dampier earned Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year honors and was a Big 12 All-Conference Third Team selection.
Dampier started 11 of Utah’s games, throwing for 2,180 yards and 22 touchdowns and rushing for 687 yards and seven scores as well. His dual-threat ability was the best in the Big 12, as he was one of nine FBS quarterbacks with 2,150+ passing yards and 650+ rushing yards and the only such quarterback to achieve this in the Big 12. He became the first Utah quarterback since Alex Smith in 2004 with six games of 200-plus passing yards and 50-plus rushing yards.
Dampier Turns Down Michigan?
There was always the lingering rumor and possibility that Dampier might join his former head coach Kyle Whittingham, along with his former OC Jason Beck, who coached him at New Mexico and then at Utah, in Ann Arbor. However, Dampier chose to stay in Salt Lake City.
Now whether this is also because Whittingham and Beck felt good enough going into next season with Bryce Underwood is unclear right now. But for the Big 12, getting to retain one of the top quarterbacks of 2025 is a huge step in the right direction for the Utes.
This news comes one day after the Utes lost one of their stars of the incoming freshman class, wide receiver Salesi Moa, to the transfer portal. The four-star wide receiver prospect is now hitting the transfer portal ahead of his freshman season, according to a report by 247Sports’ Blair Angulo. Michigan is considered the favorite to land Moa, as he would be following Kyle Whittingham, who is now the head coach of the Wolverines. It is also a school that Moa took a visit to during his high school recruitment.
