The Utes have a quarterback battle on their hands — kind of.
Sophomore Isaac Wilson and true freshman Byrd Ficklin are set to compete for Utah’s backup quarterback position in fall camp. Whoever wins will be the insurance policy for new starting quarterback Devon Dampier.
Utes offensive coordinator Jason Beck says a decision will come after Utah’s first two scrimmages in training camp.
“We’re not too far away now from starting the game plan for UCLA,” Beck said on Wednesday. “We have two scrimmages along the way, and by the end of that second scrimmage, [we’d] really like to have an idea of what we’re doing.
“It’s all about: Who can you trust? Who can you depend on? Who’s being consistent in that role? When their number is called and their opportunity comes up, who’s going to be ready to take that on?”
Last season, Wilson won the role over veteran quarterbacks Luke Bottari, Sam Huard and Brandon Rose. He ultimately finished the season starting seven games after starter Cam Rising went down with several injuries in 2024.
The Draper native struggled, though. He finished the season with 1,510 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Wilson was also sacked 19 times and completed only 56.4% of his passes last season.
Wilson later entered the transfer portal in the offseason before returning to Utah weeks later.
Ficklin, on the other hand, is entering the season with no college football experience. He was a three-star recruit in the 2025 recruiting class, hailing from Muskogee High School in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
(Utah Athletics) Quarterback Byrd Ficklin (15) during football practice in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
He shined in spring camp, according to Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham. The 65-year-old said the freshman’s arm was “live and accurate” during Utah’s offseason practices.
It appears that the Utes will have a decision on the backup spot soon.
“We’re judging them on every single thing they do — accuracy, taking care of the football, commanding on the offense, just everything,” Whittingham said of the backup quarterback spot. “Execution wise and all those factors, whichever guy [we] feel is going to do the best job of getting in the endzone and keeping the defense out of bad situations.”
The Big Thing: Predicting Utah’s 2025 record
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham watches a play against the Iowa State Cyclones during the game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
Last week, I predicted Utah’s 2025 record.
Now it’s time to hear what you think Kyle Whittingham and the Utes will do in 2025.
Here’s what you had to say:
Q1: What will Utah’s record be in 2025?
The overwhelming majority — 38% of the poll respondents to be exact — predicted that the Utes will go 10-2 in 2025, which was more optimistic than my prediction of them going 9-3.
One fan also said that Utah will go 12-0. Others had them at 6-6 and 5-7 on the season. Those were the least-optimistic predictions for the season.
For now, I’m sticking with my 9-3 prediction … but we’ll see how right I am in December.
Q2: What game are you most excited about?
TribUte readers picked the game they were most looking forward to during the 2025 Utah football season.
The overwhelming winner of this question, by far, was the BYU contest on Oct. 18.
It appears that Utah fans are ready to get revenge on their in-state rival.
4th Down: Fall camp storylines
Here are the four major storylines heading into the season.
1st: Utah has major question marks at its wide receiver position. It’s likely that the Utes will rely on transfer wide receivers Tobias Merriweather and Larry Simmons to be their top receivers in 2025. But there’s no guarantee on that at the moment.
2nd: Kyle Whittingham’s praise for new quarterback Devon Dampier continued. On Tuesday, I asked the head coach what the New Mexico transfer’s defining quality is. His answer? Leadership.
3rd: Jason Beck said that Utah’s offense will be no-huddle, but not too quick. He also said the Utes’ star offensive tackles Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu will be used in space more, including screen plays.
4th: After dealing with a nagging injury in the spring, running back Wayshawn Parker will be a full-go for the Utes in fall camp. That’s good news for Utes fans, given Parker was one of the most sought-after halfbacks in the winter portal. He’s expected to make a big impact in 2025.in-state