Remember Kyle Whittingham and Utah Utes’ 2024 pre-season graph? This time last year, ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum only had good words to say about Whittingham while he predicted which Big 12 team was best positioned to be the league’s flagship program. “You start with Utah. They are a legitimate program and have been for a very long time. I still think there are some really good, good schools,” said Finebaum.

Talking about success among the most consistently successful coaches of the 21st century? Whittingham surely makes it to the list. Although the Big 12 title slipped out of Whittingham’s grip last season, the Utah head coach holds a career winning record of 66 percent heading into 2025. So, this is definitely something that guarantees his first-ballot induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, whose ceiling is a winning percentage of 60% or higher. Headed by Whittingham, college football analyst Joel Klatt believes that the Utes will be soaring high.

On the July 21st episode of The Joel Klatt Show, the analyst shared,  “Utah should be better. They should be an eight-nine- maybe even 10-win team. Won’t surprise me at all if they compete for the Big 12 title, thus compete for a playoff spot.” Now, this was not enough of Whittingham hype by Klatt. Here comes a big honor.

Yes, we know many of Whittingham’s contemporaries have similar or higher winning percentages than Whittingham. Former Kansas coach Les Miles held a winning percentage of 66. But the Utah head coach has something that has put Klatt in confidence. So much so, he claimed, “Kyle’s been one of the great coaches in college football. And I always say this, and there are a few, and I don’t want to make anyone upset. But if my kids were good enough to play college football, and that’s a big if, I would want them to play for guys like, or specifically, Kyle Whittingham. He’s that good. He runs his program the right way.” Now, this big claim by Klatt might come off as shocking for many fans.  

Klatt led the Colorado Buffaloes to consecutive bowl appearances in the early 2000s. Back when Deion Sanders flipped from Jackson State to Colorado, the proud alum waved a green flag, claiming it to be among the best changes in college football history. However, can he trust his kids with Coach Prime? No. He thinks Whittingham is the best mentor for them. BYU Cougars’ head coach Kalani Sitake, too, is in his good books.

Right now, the Cougars program is wading through choppy waters after losing its veteran quarterback, Jake Retzlaff. Even though Klatt shared that if given a chance, he would sell off BYU, Sitake holds a soft place in his heart. As he shared, “A lot of people high on them in the offseason, but part of that was the fact that they felt like with Jake Retzlaff back on offense, they could handle some of the losses on the defensive side. I love Kalani Sitake. Again, this is not indicative of an overall program decline. It’s just indicative of terrible timing at the most important position on the field.” So, other than Whittingham, the analyst can’t place anyone else in his kids’ mentor seat. Now, that’s the sweet fruit that the head coach is reaping for sticking around through the rough times.  

Why Kyle Whittingham isn’t ready to walk away just yet 

There was a point when Utah lost seven straight games and finished at 5-7. It marked Whittingham’s third losing season. That’s when the Utes’ Big 12 championship hopes vanished in thin air. After all, he has got some unfinished business. He has an all-time total of 167 career wins in his 21 seasons in Salt Lake City. Yes, yet then, Whittingham is in no mood to hit the ‘SETTLE’ button any soon.

In an interview with ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the head coach shared, “I couldn’t step away on that note. It was too frustrating and too disappointing. Had we won the championship last year, I might not be sitting here.” But what went wrong for them in 2024?  The Utes entered the 2024 season projected to win the Big 12 behind quarterback Cam Rising. But the universe had other plans as Rising suffered multiple injuries and missed the majority of the season. The head coach is now betting on his new weapon to pull off a redemption.

That’s none other than the 2022 MaxPreps Arizona Player of the Year and now Kyle Whittingham’s quarterback, Devon Dampier. And the quarterback has already passed Phil Steele’s quality check. As the analyst shared on the 365 Sports podcast, “I look for much better quarterback play. Now they bring in Devon Dampier from New Mexico, who shocked me last year. I did not expect New Mexico to have the type of production they had—he was outstanding.” The 5’11” may have a shorter frame for quarterbacks, but that did not stunt him on the gridiron as he racked up 1,166 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns in New Mexico. Is Whittingham on track to close his Utah legacy with a Big 12 crown?