Patrick Kinahan: Often criticized transfer portal revitalizes Utah football's stagnant offense

SALT LAKE CITY — For all the angst the transfer portal has caused in college football, the ability to gain immediate eligibility upon changing schools has transformed Utah's program.

Without the relatively new rule, there's no way the Utes would have the same level of optimism that surrounds the program going into this season. With the portal, despite coming off last season's 5-7 disaster, Associated Press voters think enough of the Utes to start them barely outside the top 25.

Utah played most of last year with an offense practically incapable of getting a first down let alone touchdowns. The program was stagnant, at least from the offensive perspective, desperately needing significant improvement.

Well-respected assistant coach Andy Ludwig, who coordinated the offense that won consecutive Pac-12 championships, was forced to take the hit for the mess. He resigned during the season and was followed out the door by two assistants after the misery ended.

Thanks to the portal, last season might as well have been a generation ago. Instead of beginning this season with another group of unproven quarterbacks, which was the case last year after relying on oft-injured Cam Rising to stay healthy, Utah secured the services of the dynamic Devon Dampier.

Think back to last winter when social media was abuzz with all sorts of opinions of Keanu Tanuvasa's decision to transfer from Utah to dreaded rival BYU. Anonymous keyboard warriors blasted the defensive lineman for being a traitor by changing his mind and joining the suddenly cash-rich Cougars.

In his first public comment in January after losing Tanuvasa and cornerback Cam Calhoun to Alabama, coach Kyle Whittingham was emphatic in attributing the departures to money. NIL was the culprit, he insisted.

"The absolute overriding factor was NIL," Whittingham said, "there's no doubt about it in my opinion."

Even if the reasons were different, the good folks in Albuquerque, New Mexico, shared the similar type of disappointment in losing Dampier. The perpetually downtrodden New Mexico Lobos finally found a ray of hope in the scintillating play of their quarterback, who was a one-man juggernaut last season in producing nearly 4,000 yards of offense with his arm and legs.

While Dampier may have escaped the rhetoric heaped upon Tanuvasa, his coach was torched. Fans and local media blasted Bronco Mendenhall for leaving after only one season to become the coach at Utah State.

In the former BYU coach's lone season, the Lobos fell one game short of qualifying for a bowl game for the first time since 2016. Forget about building off it, though, as several players and coaches — including new Utah offensive coordinator Jason Beck — joined Mendenhall in leaving for various destinations.

A New Mexico columnist wrote: "You're a phony, Bronco, one for whom New Mexico clearly meant next to nothing. First chance you get, you're gone."

As the modified old saying goes: All's fair in love, politics, the transfer portal and coaching. Coaches across the country continue to complain about the portal being out of control yet it doesn't stop them from repeatedly tapping into it.

In this case, nobody can blame Whittingham for taking the two-for-one deal. Along with Beck, who was a reserve quarterback at BYU and coached for Ron McBride at Weber State, Utah gets a desperately needed new quarterback.

In the old world of college football, the Utes would have been forced to recruit a junior college transfer or rely on returning sophomore Isaac Wilson or an incoming freshman. For all the consistency the Utes have shown on defense over the years, it still would have been tough to compete for the Big 12 championship without Dampier.

As expected, Utah's numbers on offense last season were awful — the average of 328.8 yards per game ranked 115th. New Mexico ranked fourth nationally at 484.2 yards per game.

Not a bad upgrade.

Related topics