Utah QB Devon Dampier earns prestigious postseason award

By all accounts, Devon Dampier put together one of the best quarterback performances of the college football postseason during Utah's win over Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Dampier guided the Utes to a 44-22 victory while going 19-of-31 through the air for 310 yards with two touchdown passes, in addition to rushing for 148 yards and three scores on 19 carries. That effort earned him game MVP honors, as Dampier tied former Utah quarterback Travis Wilson for the most rushing touchdowns by a Utah player in a bowl game and surpassed Alex Smith's program record of total yards of offense (408) in a bowl game.

It also caught the attention of Davey O’Brien Foundation, which announced Dampier as one of the eight quarterbacks named to the Davey O’Brien Award’s Postseason Great 8 list on Monday.

Dampier, who earned the Davey O'Brien weekly award in his debut with the Utes back in August, ended the 2025 campaign in a similar manner while being honored alongside Miami’s Carson Beck, Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss, Arch Manning of Texas, Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, Dante Moore of Oregon, TCU’s Ken Seals and Conner Weigman of Houston as one of the top postseason peformers.

As a whole, Dampier was the main source of offense for the Utes throughout the season. Despite dealing with an injury, he amassed 3,325 yards (2,490 passing, 835 rushing) and 34 total touchdowns (24 through the air, 10 on the ground) in 12 starts, propelling Utah to average 41.3 points (No. 4 nationally) and 482.9 total yards of offense (also No. 4). His quarterback rating of 82.0 was ninth-best in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Though Dampier's impressive debut season with the Utes didn't earn him the Davey O'Brien Award — that honor went to Mendoza instead — it did garner Big 12 Newcomer of the Year award, third team all-conference recognition and a spot on the Associated Press all-bowl team. And thanks to his bowl game performance, Dampier was added as a late finalist for the Manning Award ahead of the College Football Playoff semifinal round.

The winner of the Manning Award will be announced after the College Football Playoff National Championship on January 19.

The Davey O'Brien Award — named after the legendary TCU quarterback — is college football's oldest quarterback-centric award, as it dates back to 1981 following the creation of the Davey O’Brien Foundation in 1977. Since then, the foundation has given away more than $1.4 million in scholarships and university grants.