Why the 2025 season could be one of the most critical in Kyle Whittingham’s career

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham sat down at the podium near the visitors locker room at Folsom Field after suffering a sixth-straight defeat and exhaled.

It was the longest losing streak in the 20-year Whittingham era — it would extend to seven before the Utes ended the 2024 season with a win at UCF — and it was taking its toll on everyone, especially the 65-year-old coach.

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“It’s the most difficult year of my coaching career, hands down, not even close,” Whittingham said.

Another year of bad injury luck, especially at the quarterback position, combined with an anemic offense, spelled just the third losing season since Whittingham took over in 2005.

On the heels of a grueling season, Whittingham had a decision to make about his future.

After a little over a week of silence, Whittingham returned with a simple message.

“I’m back.”

The longtime coach returned for his 21st season in charge of Utah. After the last two seasons, the 2025 campaign is shaping up to be a critical season for Whittingham personally, and for the program as a whole.

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He’s ready to lead the charge.

“I got to come back and try to get the ship right and get back on track,” Whittingham said.

How did Whittingham and the Utah football program reach this critical juncture?

2023

The 2023 season, fresh off back-to-back Pac-12 championships, began with some of the highest expectations in program history — to make the College Football Playoff.

With quarterback Cam Rising, who had led the Utes to consecutive conference titles, back again, there was reason to believe Utah had a shot to pull off the rare Pac-12 three-peat.

But Rising, who tore his ACL, meniscus, MPFL and MCL in the 2023 Rose Bowl against Penn State, would never play a snap in the 2023 season.

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Whittingham kept the extent of Rising’s injury under wraps, as the will-he-won’t-he-play discourse dominated headlines through each of Utah’s first five weeks of the season.

In the meantime, backups Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson — while certainly not putting up eye-popping stats — were doing enough to get Utah off to a 4-1 record.

During the bye week, Rising went on ESPN 700 Radio to set the record straight about his injury, describing the full extent and saying he was doing everything he possibly could to get back on the field, but that he hadn’t been fully cleared for game action.

On Oct. 21, following a thrilling Bryson Barnes-led win to upset then-No. 18 USC in Los Angeles, Whittingham announced that Rising and tight end Brant Kuithe — also yet to play in 2023 — were out for the season.

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Also on the laundry list of season-ending injuries to starters at various points in the season — running backs Micah Bernard and Chris Curry, wide receiver Mycah Pittman, tight end Thomas Yassmin, defensive ends Jonah Elliss and Logan Fano, and linebacker Lander Barton.

After the USC win, the injuries and lack of a passing game caught up to the Utes, who went 2-4 the rest of the way, including an embarrassing 35-6 loss to Oregon with “College GameDay” in town.

All things considered, winning eight games with an injury-ridden team was one of Whittingham’s better coaching jobs, but the season as a whole still fell short of preseason expectations and was only a harbinger of what was to come.

2024

During the run-up to Utah’s first season in the Big 12, expectations again rose in Salt Lake City, with Rising and Kuithe back and a veteran cast of returners on both offense and defense.

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The Utes were picked to win the Big 12 Conference by the media — which also ranked eventual champion Arizona State last — based partly on the success that the duo of Rising and offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig had achieved in years past.

By mid-October, Rising was out for the year again and Ludwig had resigned.

Unfortunate injury luck once again struck Rising, who injured his hand after being pushed into a Gatorade cooler in a Week 2 victory against Baylor.

Just as in 2023, Whittingham treated Rising’s injury status like a government secret, which did no one any favors, least of all Rising, and a small number of fans began questioning his toughness while dealing with a hand injury that ultimately forced him to medically retire from football.

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Rising’s status was a dark cloud hanging over the program, and it wasn’t like teams weren’t prepared for true freshman Isaac Wilson to play.

The veteran quarterback would return in a Week 5 loss at Arizona State (still not at 100% with his hand) and suffer a season-ending leg injury but still finish the game.

“He got rolled up on. Really a lower-leg injury that limited his mobility for the rest of the game, and of course, he’s wearing the glove so he can increase the grip. … So, yeah, he’s banged up,” Whittingham said.

That would be the last time we saw Rising — now an offensive coordinator at his old high school, Newbury Park — in a Utah uniform.

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Wilson, who was excited to learn from Rising during his first season at Utah, was instead tasked with leading the team. It was too much, too soon for the true freshman, and Utah’s offense floundered.

Rising, quarterbacks Wilson, Sam Huard and Brandon Rose, tight end Kuithe, running back Anthony Woods and offensive guard Michael Mokofisi all suffered season-ending injuries.

The Utes scored just 23.6 points per game (14th in the Big 12), passed for just 199.4 yards per game (15th in the Big 12) and rushed for 130.4 yards per game (12th in the Big 12), while finishing the year 5-7, Utah’s first losing season since 2013.

While the defense wasn’t elite, it was still good, and the main reason why Utah had a shot in all but two of its seven losses.

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In the end, the injuries that mounted to key players were too much to overcome. Ludwig’s complex pro-style offense worked well with a veteran quarterback like Rising under center but was too much for a true freshman to take on, and trying to simplify it proved too predictable for opposing defenses.

During the last two seasons, Utah looked nothing like the team that had reached the Pac-12 mountaintop, and it lit a fire under Whittingham to turn it around in 2025.

“It’s gotten all my attention, that’s for certain, and last year was a disappointment. It was very frustrating, but it’s reality,” Whittingham said.

“I mean you can list off the reasons as to what our struggles were because of, but nobody cares. I mean, it was something that we didn’t do a good enough job of overcoming and so it motivated me very much to get ready for this season and get a team ready that is going to be extremely competitive.

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“We’ve got a lot of things going for us. We haven’t played anybody yet, but I’m excited to watch these guys play on Aug. 30.”

How have the last 2 seasons impacted recruiting?

Utah’s recruiting classes, which had been steadily improving since Utah joined the Pac-12 back in 2011, hit a new peak after the success the team had in 2021 and 2022.

After their first conference title in 2021, Utah’s 2022 signing class was ranked No. 37 in the nation by 247Sports, led by Lander Barton and Tao Johnson, and its 2023 recruiting class after winning its second conference title was a program-best No. 22 nationally, bringing in offensive tackles Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu and cornerback Smith Snowden.

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The program’s recent success was unlocking new horizons for Utah in the recruiting space, with some coining the moniker “Rose Bowl bump” to explain it.

After a pair of seasons where the Utes underperformed expectations, however, Utah’s place in the recruiting rankings has seen a downward trend.

In 2024, the Utes signed the No. 40 class in the nation — a respectable result after an 8-4 season that didn’t go how the program hoped it would — but Utah’s 2025 class was ranked No. 47 and its 2026 class is currently No. 51 in the country.

If the Utes would have sealed the deal with Salesi Moa, a five-star recruit and the son of former Ute Ben Moa, their 2026 class would have been ranked in the top 30, but the allure of playing in the SEC was too strong and Moa picked Tennessee.

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While there’s still a ways to go until December’s early signing day, if the Utes end up at No. 50 or below, that would be the third-consecutive year with a downward recruiting ranking trend, which directly correlates with the slump in results on the field.

In the NIL era, team success may have never mattered less when it comes to recruiting — look at Texas Tech, which has never won a Big 12 title in school history but is pulling in monster recruiting classes due to mega-funding of NIL deals — but the wins and losses still matter.

Additionally, teams have been negatively recruiting against Utah for years about Whittingham’s retirement and what will happen to the program when he’s gone. That played a big part as to why Utah publicized that Morgan Scalley was again the Utes’ coach-in-waiting ahead of the 2024 season, helping to provide a concrete succession plan for recruits that may be at the school after Whittingham hangs up his whistle.

Financially, Utah isn’t going to be able to compete with the Ohio States and Oregons of the world — Whittingham himself has admitted that — but Utah is all-in on providing the maximum revenue sharing figure of $20.5 million.

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If — and this is a giant if — NIL deals continue to be subject to fair market reviewals by accounting firm Deloitte, there could be a more level playing field in college football where money isn’t the be-all and end-all.

That could make this year all the more important for the future of the program. Avoiding two losing seasons in a row and possibly starting a new era with Scalley in charge could inject some energy into the program at a pivotal time.

Whittingham’s legacy

During his 20-season career, Whittingham has amassed 167 career victories, guided teams to 146 weeks in the Associated Press top-25 poll, won three conference championships, and had one undefeated season. He’s also sent 108 players to the NFL.

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In an era where hiring and firing coaches is commonplace, he’s given Utah something rare in the college football world — stability.

He’s overseen Utah’s rise in an ever-evolving 21st-century college football world, navigating through two conference changes (from the Mountain West to the Pac-12 then the Big 12) and growing the program into a consistent winner.

Barring a major scandal, Whittingham’s legacy is secure. When he decides to retire, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the field named after him and a statue of him outside the stadium someday. He’ll hold the title of greatest Utah football coach ever for a very, very long time.

One losing season — just the third of Whittingham’s career — wasn’t going to change his legacy.

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Very few coaches get to go out on a high note, which is something Whittingham acknowledged last season.

“To time it just right so you go out at just the right time, I mean, there’s a very, very small percentage of people that are able to do that,” Whittingham said. “And so again, I’m not saying, ‘Well, this was a bad year so for me I got to come back and have a better year.’”

And while it certainly wasn’t the only factor in Whittingham’s return for a 21st year at Utah, he admitted that leaving on a good note was one of the reasons he decided to come back.

“I couldn’t stomach going out on that, with that season, as frustrating as it was, and as discouraging as it was,” Whittingham said at Big 12 media days in Frisco, Texas in July.

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“It just didn’t sit well with anybody, but most of all me, and so I thought, ‘Hey, that’s not going to be the final act of my deal. I got to come back and try to get the ship right and get back on track.”

He also told ESPN’s Pete Thamel, “Had we won the (Big 12) championship last year, I might not be sitting here.”

Whittingham’s current contract runs through 2027, though he told reporters at 2023’s Big 12 media day that he “probably won’t be in this chair” when Utah opens up the 2027 season.

With a winning season this year, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Whittingham ride off into the sunset and turn the program over to Scalley on better footing, which could make this season all the more critical for him personally — though he’s not playing it up to the press.

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“Well, every season’s critical. We certainly want to avoid having two (losing seasons) in a row, there’s no doubt about that, but we approach every season as if it’s the last season of college football history. We pour everything we have into every single season,” Whittingham said.

What’s changed this year?

Sweeping changes had to be made after the disappointment of the previous two seasons — especially on the offensive side of the ball.

The first order of business was hiring an offensive coordinator — New Mexico’s Jason Beck.

“Myself, our defensive coordinator, Morgan Scalley, who’s our coach-in-waiting, did a national search when we had the coordinator position available, just watching all the tape of the various offenses, the production, the creativity, the innovation, how they use their players,” Whittingham said. “When all was said and done, myself and Coach Scalley were on the exact same page that Jason was a great fit for what we’re doing and what direction we wanted to go.”

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In Albuquerque, Beck called the nation’s No. 4 offense in 2024 (484.2 yards per game) that averaged 33.5 points per game.

Beck’s offense was selected in part because it was simpler to learn, which is a must in the transfer portal era.

That’s not to say it’ll be predictable — Beck is great at changing up his game plan week-to-week depending on the defensive matchup — but it won’t require multiple years in the system to get it down pat.

“The way they just do stuff is just not what’s a normal offense, especially in college, but I think it works great, especially for new guys and we’re able to just come in quick, get it down and run it,” transfer receiver Tobias Merriweather said.

Expect to see a no-huddle, spread attack under Beck that creatively uses players like quarterback-turned-wide-receiver Nate Johnson and do-it-all tight end Hunter Andrews and utilizes the quarterback run.

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The maestro of Beck’s offense is Devon Dampier, his quarterback at New Mexico that threw for 2,768 yards and 12 touchdowns (with 12 interceptions) and rushed for 1,166 yards and 19 scores.

Beck places a premium on quarterbacks that can run, and Dampier executes his vision well.

Around Beck, there’s a brand-new staff. The only coaches that remain on that side of the ball are offensive line coach Jim Harding and tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham. A cast of fellow former BYU Cougars — Mark Atuaia (running backs), Micah Simon (receivers) and Koy Detmer Jr. (quarterbacks) are joining him in the complete offensive refresh.

Among the new faces in this year’s offense are running backs Wayshawn Parker (735 yards and four touchdowns for Washington State) and NaQuari Rogers (382 yards and five touchdowns for New Mexico).

Powering it all is an offensive line that could be the conference’s best (if not one of the best in the nation), led by tackles — and potential first-round NFL draft picks — Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu. Utah also returns the three interior starters — Michael Mokofisi, Jaren Kump and Tanoa Togiai.

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With so many new faces, there’s questions about how this offense will perform.

The biggest question entering fall camp was the wide receiver group, which is pretty much all new, save for Daidren Zipperer and Luca Caldarella.

There’s a new cast — mostly from Group of Five schools aside from Merriweather and Creed Whittemore — but as camp rolled along, Utah’s coaches have become more and more optimistic about the group, particularly Cal transfer Merriweather and Southern Miss transfer Larry Simmons.

‘A different buzz in the building’

Optimism, in fact, has been the theme of this team in 2025.

As the losses piled up last season, it felt like “Groundhog Day.” The Utes would lose the same way pretty much every game — lack of offensive production — and it started to wear down everyone involved in the program.

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The 2025 season feels like a fresh start, mostly due to the changes on offense, but also because the program has closed one era and started another.

It’s hard to quantify why, but things feel different around the program during fall camp. Players and coaches seem looser and there’s more energy in the facility.

“There’s just a different buzz in the building than there was in years past,” linebacker Lander Barton said. “I mean you can just feel it. It’s an energy, it’s a buzz. Just deep down it feels different.”

A lot of the vibe shift has to do with Dampier, who has been a leader from the moment he arrived on campus, and the new faces on the coaching staff, but the players and coaches that have been here for a while have made a concerted effort to inject the program with a positive atmosphere.

“A lot of juice and energy on this football team right now, and that was evident all throughout the winter conditioning that this team really has a lot of energy,” Whittingham said. “It’s a good point. I think the infusion of a bunch of new players, not that the old players were bad, but just guys that are new to the program and new coaching staff, that’s got a lot of energy, so I think that is very apparent. That’s a big difference.”

While Utah is done dwelling about last season — Whittingham said Saturday at the school’s fan fest event at Rice-Eccles Stadium that he hasn’t talked a whole lot about last season to the team — but it’s been the background beat to everything leading up to the 2025 opener at UCLA.

“I feel like the vibes have shifted and what I feel like made that happen is we just know the feeling from last year,” cornerback Scooby Davis said. “We don’t want to ever feel that again. Losing what I think it was, what, six, seven in a row. We just don’t ever want to feel that again.”

The desire to not feel like they did when the team was in the throes of a seven-game losing streak is at the forefront of everyone’s mind, but more importantly, the team as a whole knows how critical this season is for the state of the program.

Everything is on the line for the Utes in 2025.

Another losing season — and the third disappointing campaign in a row — would definitely start a downward trend. Utah is desperate to prove that last season was the outlier and not indicative of the direction of the program.

“I feel like it feels critical, especially for myself and a lot of older guys on the team,” safety Tao Johnson said. “Two back-to-back seasons like that, that’s not who we are. That’s not what we want to start Utah football in that trending direction, so we’re going to get this thing turned around and we’ll take the burden. We’ll take all the pressure on us. We love it.”

The start of another season represents a new era, the 21st chapter in Whittingham’s storied career, and possibly his final season.

It starts Aug. 30 at the Rose Bowl, the place where a program’s biggest dreams were dashed to ring in the new year in 2023.

In 2025, the stadium in the hills of Pasadena offers a new beginning to one of the most important seasons of Whittingham’s career.