As Utah rolls into its third week of spring practice, a new quarterback has emerged in the battle to back up projected starter Devon Dampier.
During Tuesday’s 20-minute practice media viewing session, Isaac Wilson continued to be Utah’s second-string quarterback and looked improved from last week, showing better decisiveness and completing a few passes to Hunter Andrews, who shined in a hybrid running back/tight end/receiver role.
For the first time, however, we got to see someone other than Dampier and Wilson at the position — freshman Byrd Ficklin.
Assuming the No. 3 QB role in the end-of-practice scrimmage, Ficklin was impressive, leading the offense down the field while completing passes to wide receiver Creed Whittemore, running back NaQuari Rodgers and wide receiver Rayshawn Glover. Later in the drive, he also added a run for a first down.
“Some guys are stepping up, really impressed with Byrd Ficklin, the quarterback, true freshman. He’s doing some good things,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.
During the brief time he was in, Ficklin made good decisions in the run-pass option and had a jump pass that was one of the best plays of the media viewing session.
“He’s getting really good command of the offense. He’s got a big-time arm,” Whittingham said.
Ficklin, once a Texas State commit before flipping to Utah, had an impressive senior season at Muskogee High, throwing for 2,218 yards and 28 touchdowns on 62% accuracy as he led his team to a 12-0 regular season and a place in the championship game.
“His arm is live and he’s accurate. He’s put on some weight. He was real thin when he got here, but he’s put on like 15 pounds since he’s all here and he is really starting to feel comfortable in the offense and doing things that we saw him doing in his high school days,” Whittingham said.
While Wilson still has the upper leg on the QB2 job, due to his game experience last season and time in the program, the backup battle still isn’t settled, and likely won’t be until the fall.
Other observations from Tuesday’s media availability session
- As expected, projected starting quarterback Devon Dampier has a great grasp of offensive coordinator Jason Beck’s scheme since the two worked together last season at New Mexico, and as a result, Utah is further ahead at the quarterback position at this point than it normally would be with a new coordinator and quarterback.
- On Tuesday, Dampier was as billed — completing passes to Creed Whittemore, Wayshawn Parker and Dadrien Zipperer, who hauled in a 20-yarder, while also executing his designed runs well for a couple of first downs. His elusiveness was also on display, as he was pressured by defensive tackle Dallas Vakalahi but escaped and turned it into a positive play.
- Both Whittemore and Zippererer stood out during the viewing period as Utah tries to dial in its starters in the wide receiver room.
“We feel confident in a bunch of ...
