Utah's Smith Snowden receives national honor for Week 1 performance

Snowden finished with six catches for 51 yards and added three carries for 15 yards and recorded a touchdown on Utah's second drive of the game. He also recorded a tackle on defense and played some special teams as well, logging 47 snaps in total with 22 coming on offense, 22 on defense and three via special teams.

The flexibility Snowden exhibited throughout the Utes' season opener earned him the first weekly accolade from the Paul Hornung Award, which has been presented annually to the most versatile player in major college football since 2010. Snowden was previously named to the preseason watch list for the prestigious award back in July.

In the offseason, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham alluded to there being opportunities for Snowden to make an impact on the offensive side of the ball during his junior season with the Utes, though it wasn't foretold how exactly offensive coordinator Jason Beck would utilize the former high school wide receiver in his schemes.

Apparently, Beck couldn't wait to see what Snowden could do with the ball in his hands, as the Utes' first-year offensive coordinator drew up a quick bubble screen for Snowden, who took the pass from Devon Dampier 11 yards for a first down on the first play from scrimmage. Snowden later capped off Utah's second offensive series with an 11-yard rush for a score to put his team up 13-0 in the first quarter.

Based on his outing against the Bruins, Snowden will likely remain in consideration for one of the sport's most prominent honors as a two-way athlete for the Utes in 2025.

"It was nice that I had an idea of what it was going to look like, but, that's where most of my pregame butterflies came from with just knowing that I'm going to go out there and play some offense," Snowden said after the game. "The offense went out there, took care of business; it was just a great team win."