Arizona State football’s trip to Salt Lake City this week had coach Kenny Dillingham thinking about the missed opportunity to land then-class of 2023 quarterback Devon Dampier.
“I definitely should have recruited him harder to be honest,” Dillingham said Monday of the Scottsdale Saguaro High School product. “He definitely proved me wrong. I always thought he was a really good player, but how productive he’s been in college football, I mean, super impressed with him.
“The completion percentage (is) sky-high, his ability to extend plays, the way he runs the offense and makes it work…definitely a failure on my part, 100 percent. Congratulations to (Utah) for having him on their team.”
This season, the junior’s completion percentage is certainly noteworthy, as his mark of 72.5 percent (111 of 153) is more than three percentage points higher than second-best Behren Morton of Texas Tech (69.3 percent).
His passing touchdowns (11) and interceptions (three) rank near the Big 12 midsection, but his rushing numbers of 258 yards and two touchdowns are third-best among quarterbacks — behind Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby (291, five) and ASU’s Sam Leavitt (281, five).
Before transferring to Utah last December, Dampier spent two seasons at New Mexico, where in 2024 he was the first in program history to earn first-team All-Mountain West honors. He did so behind 3,934 yards from scrimmage (2,768 passing, 1,166 rushing) and made 13 total starts between his freshman and sophomore campaigns.
“He’s a tough guy to play against, he gets the ball out quick,” Dillingham added. “He does a lot of things well, that’s why he won a lot of games at Saguaro High School. … I’m happy for him. I mean, my brother-in-law was his quarterbacks coach, (current ASU tight ends coach) Jason Mohns was his head coach.
“So even though we play him this week… I have nothing but respect for him and I wish him well for the rest.”
Before leading the Sabercats to a runner-up finish in the 2022 AIA Open State championship — Chandler’s Basha High School won 28-21 — Dampier was committed to New Mexico, but among his first offers were Northern Arizona and Arizona, according to 247 Sports.
He previously led Saguaro to a state title in 2021, beating Chandler High School 20-15.
ASU defensive coordinator Brian Ward said Tuesday that Dampier is a “creator” and that Utah’s entire offense is tailor-made for him to operate.
“Everything they do really starts with their quarterback, the running game and the passing game,” Ward said.
Ward joked that the information he learned from Mohns, who was Saguaro’s head coach for 11 years and with the program for 16 years, “scared” us, but what he really absorbed was how Dampier, 21, evolved from mistakes since his freshman year.
Between his final season with New Mexico and now, Dampier has truly transformed himself as a passer, with almost as many touchdown passes in five games (11) as in 12 last year (12) and an increase of about 15% in completion percentage (57.9% in 2024).
He was also named Big 12 co-offensive player of the week alongside Iowa State’s Rocco Becht for a Week 1 performance that included 206 passing yards and two touchdowns in a 43–10 win over UCLA.
Catch ASU-Utah Saturday at 7:15 p.m. MST on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app. It will be televised on ESPN.
