As rain poured over Rice-Eccles Stadium and the crowd roared, Devon Dampier flipped the ball into the air and struck a Spider-Man pose, playfully firing imaginary webs through the air like his favorite superhero.
Moments later, he leapt into a mid-air pirouette, capping it off with a nod to Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic “Siuuuu” celebration.
There was a new energy to Utah’s junior quarterback on Saturday night. A burst of flare and pizzazz. An extra spring to his step.
And his first touchdown celebration was just the beginning for the Utah Utes in a 42-10 blowout win over No. 21 Arizona State on Saturday night. Dampier was a catalyst for the Utes’ offensive monsoon on Saturday — finishing with 120 rushing yards, 104 passing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
“I think just every game I go into there’s always a chip on my shoulder,” Dampier said. “I had a long journey to get to the point I’m at right now
“I have something to prove every time I’m out there.”
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) runs the ball during the game between the Utah Utes and the Arizona State Sun Devils at The University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025.
On Saturday night, Dampier proved himself in front of ASU coach Kenny Dillingham, who admitted earlier this week that the quarterback has “proved him wrong” and that he “should’ve recruited him harder” in high school.
Maybe Dampier’s electricity was simply the product of the junior quarterback being back at full health after dealing with a nagging ankle injury for the past few weeks.
“Yeah, I feel good,” Dampier said when asked about his health. “I feel like my best for sure.”
Or maybe Dampier wanted to make a statement in front of the program from his home state that never gave him an offer out of Saguaro High School.
Even after he won the 2022 MaxPreps Arizona Player of the Year award, Utah’s quarterback only received one Power Four offer from the University of Arizona. But even the Wildcats didn’t want to bring him in as a quarterback. So, he opted to go to New Mexico.
“Everybody, kind of like dragged their feet a little bit with Devon,” Dampier’s former high school head coach, Jason Mohns, told The Salt Lake Tribune in July. “I thought for sure he was, at the time, a Power Five [quarterback]. I honestly thought it was a no-brainer.”
Mohns, now ASU’s tight ends coach, said one college coach told him that he didn’t want to offer Dampier because “he was good at everything but not great at anything.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) runs the ball for a touchdown during the game between the Utah Utes and the Arizona State Sun Devils at The University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025.
He also said Dampier’s 5-foot-11 frame limited the quarterback’s potential as a recruit. Coaches from all across the country — from the SEC to the Big Ten and Pac-12 — came to watch Dampier throw at his high school practices, where he was concocting the formula that’d win him and Saugoro the 2023 Arizona state title.
But, even then, no one pulled the trigger on Dampier.
“It kind of pissed me off,” Mohns said. “I was like, ‘Man, you’re so wrong,’ because he’s a great leader, he’s a great competitor, he’s a great kid. And I think the things that you can’t measure are what he’s great at.”
On Saturday night, Mohns watched on as Dampier tangoed past Arizona State’s flailing defenders in the rain.
He helped Utah earn its first win over a ranked opponent this season and became the first Utah quarterback since to rush for 100 yards since Travis Wilson in 2015.
“You saw some of the moves he made tonight — he just wasn’t capable of making those moves the last few weeks,“ Utes coach Kyle Whittingham said. ”But now, with the bye week, that really helped him out. We’re elated that he’s back to 100%.
“He’s very instinctive. I’ve said it before. He could be a running back if he wasn’t a quarterback, and that gives us that extra dimension.”
When Dampier entered the transfer portal in January, he phoned Mohns to chat about life and his upcoming recruitment. Major NIL offers from Florida State and Auburn were coming in.
Due to being an assistant at Arizona State, Mohns can’t call, text or chat with his former high school protege most of the year because of the NCAA’s tampering rules. But he used the open portal period to catch up with Dampier.
From their conversation, he knew Dampier was ready to make a jump — both to a new team and to another level in his game.
“Your initial destination is not your final destination,” Mohns said. “If you’re better than that level, it’s going to be very apparent, and you’ll be able to take the next step. He proved that last year.”
On Saturday night, a fully healed and determined Dampier waltzed off the field of Rice-Eccles Stadium, donning a smile on his face and carrying his rain-drenched helmet in hand.
Behind him, he left another impressive performance on the field. One that certainly proved some of Dampier’s doubters wrong.
“Things happen for a reason,” Mohns said. “But he’s where he was meant to be now.”