While the Big 12 Conference is home to some incredibly exciting returners in 2025, some new faces have immediately become names to know on their new teams.
On Sunday, On3’s Pete Nakos released a list of 10 quarterbacks to watch this spring. Among the Top 10 were Utah’s Devon Dampier and Colorado’s Kaidon Salter.
“With Shedeur Sanders off to the NFL, Colorado has a hole to fill at quarterback this spring,” Nakos said. “Deion Sanders has brought in Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter and top-100 recruit Julian Lewis to compete for the job. Salter has proven himself as one of the top mid-major quarterbacks in the three seasons at Liberty. The question is now if he can beat out Lewis and take the starting job at Colorado. Salter has thrown for 5,889 career yards and combined for 77 touchdowns.”
Why following the incredible play of star quarterback Shedeur Sanders will be no easy feat, Deion Sanders appears to have to signal callers ready for the challenge. Salter enters 2025 as the veteran leader, whereas incoming freshman Julian Lewis has a chance to push past him as a bright young star.
“Utah’s new offensive coordinator Jason Beck led the fourth-best offense in the nation at New Mexico last season,” Nakos continued, “He brought quarterback Devon Dampier with him. Dampier threw for 2,768 yards and 12 touchdowns to 12 interceptions in 2024 while rushing for 1,166 yards and 19 more touchdowns. He will have multiple competitors for the starting job, including Isaac Wilson, who threw for 1,510 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions as a freshman. Utah adds incoming true freshmen Wyatt Becker and Jamarian Ficklin, who will be on campus for spring ball.”
For the Utah Utes, the offseason game plan was simple: get better on offense. They approached that by firing their offensive coordinator in favor of New Mexico’s Jason Beck, who brought over his star quarterback from the Lobos. Dampier should be a sizable upgrade to Utah’s quarterback room that significantly underachieved in 2024.
