The Devon Dampier era has officially begun in Salt Lake City.

On Wednesday, Utah kicked off its fall training camp, and the junior quarterback made his first media appearance since the spring.

Dampier is expected to carry Utah back to championship contention in 2025. Head coach Kyle Whittingham has said multiple times that Dampier has the “it factor.”

But how does he compare to former Ute quarterback greats like Brian Johnson, Cam Rising and Alex Smith?

“Leadership-wise, he is as good as any quarterback we’ve had,” Whittingham said. “He’s a terrific leader. He’s made a great bond with the entire football team, not just the offense. He’s one of those guys that’s got that ‘it factor,’ and the charisma that you look for at quarterback.

“He’s a different style of quarterback than Alex [Smith] and some of the guys we’ve had, but he gets it done his way. I keep going back to last year, but those numbers that he put up last year were pretty impressive, and if he can duplicate that this year, then we’re going to be in good shape.”

Dampier is now focused on helping bring along newcomers like transfer pass catchers Tobias Merriweather and Larry Simmons before the season starts. He plans on using the same leadership formula as at previous stops.

“I try to be the same person throughout the year,” Dampier said. “Obviously we have new people that just got here, so I want to be able to give them that impression and get them caught on. They have a shorter amount of time to get with the program. [We have to] make sure we’re emphasizing that.

“That’s the leadership I’m on right now.”