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New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier transfers to Utah

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New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier transfers to Utah


Utah has its new quarterback.

New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier is following his offense coordinator, Jason Beck, to Salt Lake City.

Dampier, a sophomore, was the catalyst for the Lobos’ high-powered offense, which generated 484.2 yards per game (fourth-best in the country) and scored 33.5 points per game (No. 27 in the country).

In his first season as a full-time starter, Dampier was one of the most productive quarterbacks in college football, totaling 3,934 yards of offense in 2024 — 2,768 passing and 1,166 rushing.

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Against Power Four (and former Power Five) competition this season — Arizona, Auburn and Washington State — Dampier threw for a combined 725 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions. He added 354 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

New Mexico’s offense was the reason why the Lobos finished the year with a 5-6 record, their best mark since 2016, despite a defense that allowed 38 points and 492.1 yards per game, and Beck and Dampier will try and replicate that production at Utah.

Beck’s spread offense makes heavy use of the run-pass option and is at its best with a quarterback that can run, and Dampier fits the bill. He executed Beck’s offense at a very high level this season and was durable despite running the ball 155 times — playing in every single game this season.

Under Beck, Utah will look to run first, with the quarterback run being a huge factor. In 2024, New Mexico had the fifth-best rushing offense in the nation (253.6 yards per game), with Dampier leading the way with 1,166 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns. Running back Eli Sanders wasn’t far behind with 1,063 rushing yards and nine scores.

Dampier is a true dual-threat quarterback and is at his best when he’s running the ball. He possesses top-end speed, can make defenders miss (he forced 51 missed tackles this season, according to Pro Football Focus), and is explosive when the ball is in his hands. While there were a lot of designed quarterback runs called by Beck for Dampier, he’s also adept at both reading the defense and knowing when to run the ball on the RPO and at scrambling when there’s no receivers open.

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“We don’t win without him,” New Mexico coach Bronco Mendenhall — now at Utah State — said about Dampier after a 38-35 win over No. 19 Washington State.

“And when your quarterback could run the ball like that, that tough and that physical, with the deception also of having Eli Sanders and NaQuari (Rogers) running the ball, as well. Gosh, well, that’s what winning and really good football teams do, right? They run when they need to, and you stop the run when you have to.”

Utah has never had a 1,000-yard rusher at the quarterback position. While other quarterbacks at Utah have shown the ability to run the ball in the past, Dampier does it at a level that hasn’t been seen at the university since Alex Smith ran Urban Meyer’s spread offense in 2004.

Dampier is a fantastic runner, but that’s only half of the equation that makes up a dual-threat quarterback. This season, Dampier was one of the least accurate passers in the FBS, completing just 57.9% of his passes, and had a 1:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio (12 touchdowns, 12 interceptions).

To continue the success he enjoyed in the Mountain West Conference at the Power Four level, Dampier must improve his accuracy this offseason. With a starting season under his belt and another offseason working with Beck, he should progress in that aspect ahead of a crucial 2025 season for Utah.

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Dampier’s 2,768 passing yards ranked No. 34 among FBS quarterbacks this season and he showed that he can make plays through the air. With his scrambling ability, he has the ability to buy time for himself and was the least-sacked quarterback in all of college football. He had two 300-plus-yard passing games and nearly another against Auburn, where he racked up 291 passing yards.

As Utah begins to install a new offense for the first time since 2019, when offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig was hired for his second stint at the university, having a quarterback that is already well-versed in Beck’s system is extraordinarily important and will make the transition easier for the offense.

Dampier should have a clear path to start right away at Utah after every quarterback that played this season, except Cam Rising, entered the transfer portal this offseason. Rising has not made an official decision, but a report from 247Sports national reporter Matt Zenitz says that the current expectation is that the 25-year-old quarterback will not be on Utah’s roster next season.

Since the regular season ended, Isaac Wilson and Brandon Rose both announced their intentions to enter the transfer portal, and Luke Bottari is out of eligibility. If Rising does indeed decide to move on, the only quarterbacks — aside from Dampier — on Utah’s roster are incoming three-star freshmen Wyatt Becker and Jamarian Ficklin.

The Utes will likely try to get another quarterback from the transfer portal to shore up the position ahead of the 2025 season.

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New Mexico Lobos quarterback Devon Dampier (4) during game against Arizona Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in Tucson, Ariz. | Darryl Webb



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Utah

Nina Dobrev Wears a Bathrobe While in Utah for Sundance Film Festival

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Nina Dobrev Wears a Bathrobe While in Utah for Sundance Film Festival


Nina Dobrev‘s bathrobe photo has fans checking in from Park City, Utah, during Sundance weekend. She posted it 18 hours ago, tagged Park City, and wrote, “Final Sundance in Park City, Utah? bittersweet doesn’t begin to describe it…” Nina’s carousel from the Sundance Film Festival reads like downtime between screenings. The post shows about 480.8K likes and 888 comments.

Nina Dobrev shares a bathrobe photo from Utah during Sundance Film Festival

Have a look at Nina Dobrev in a bathrobe:

Photo Credit: Nina Dobrev Instagram

The “Vampire Diaries” alum wears a plush white hotel robe, loosely cinched at the waist. It falls open at the neckline. Her hair looks half-done, pinned up at the crown, with loose lengths down.

The warm bathroom lighting highlights marble counters and polished wood doors. The photos also landed after she discussed recovering from a dirt bike injury. Fans replied fast, with one writing, “Such a cutie,” another said, “Gorgeous,” and a third added, “THE DIVA”.

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Originally reported by Santanu Das on Reality Tea





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State officials killed three wolves in northern Utah. Here’s why.

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State officials killed three wolves in northern Utah. Here’s why.


The killings took place in a region exempt from federal gray wolf protections.

(Dawn Villella |AP) A gray wolf is pictured in 2004 in Minnesota. Utah officials recently killed three wolves after they were seen near livestock in Cache County.

In a rural stretch of southwestern Cache County, state officials killed three wolves earlier this month after the animals were spotted near livestock, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources confirmed Tuesday.

The wolves were shot Jan. 9 by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, said DWR spokesperson Faith Jolley, a move allowed because the animals were found in a small corner of northeastern Utah exempt from federal gray wolf protections.

The region, which lies mostly east of Interstate 15 and extends roughly as far south as Ogden, is considered part of the greater Yellowstone region, where the predator is in recovery. It is the only part of Utah where the state is allowed to manage wolves.

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(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)

Across the rest of the state, the animal is considered an endangered species. It’s illegal to hunt, harass, trap, shoot or harm them without permission from the federal government.

Jolley said state law directs DWR to prevent wolves from breeding in the delisted area. While the animals were not considered a pack, she said they were believed to be traveling together.

“Lethal removals ensure they don’t establish breeding populations in Utah,” Jolley wrote in a text message.

Caroline Hargraves, a spokesperson for the state agriculture department, said the wolves were found near Avon, a small census-designated community in Cache County of about 500 residents, surrounded mostly by farmland.

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Utah leaders have long been hostile to wolves for preying on livestock and thwarting hunters. The state has doled out millions in taxpayer dollars in an effort to get gray wolves removed from the federal endangered species list.

Most confirmed wolf sightings in Utah have involved lone wolves, Jolley said, though small groups have been documented on a few occasions since the first confirmed sighting in 2002.

During the past year, she said, a handful of lone wolves have migrated into Utah from Wyoming and Colorado.

Wolves from Wyoming and Idaho have made their way into Utah at least 21 times since 2004, according to DWR. In September, the agency said it was aware of at least one lone male wolf present in the state.



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Utah family fights to bring children home after mother reportedly arrested in Croatia

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Utah family fights to bring children home after mother reportedly arrested in Croatia


Family members of four Utah children who disappeared with their mother in November are speaking out after the children were located in Croatia.

Now, the family is working through international legal channels to bring the children back home.

The children were last seen on surveillance video at Salt Lake City International Airport boarding a flight with their mother, 35-year-old Elleshia Seymour. Authorities say Seymour took the children without the permission of their fathers after posting what family members describe as “doomsday” claims on social media.

MORE | Missing Children

Seymour was arrested in Dubrovnik on January 15 after the family says news articles alerted people she was talking to in Croatia about the accused kidnapping. She now faces four felony counts of custodial interference. Since her arrest, the four children have been placed in a government-run children’s center in Croatia.

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Jill Seymour, the children’s aunt, has been in Croatia for nine days with her brother Kendall Seymour, who is three of the children’s fathers. They are trying to secure their release.

“We’re just kind of in limbo waiting to get them out,” Seymour said. “These are our kids, and we can’t get custody of them.”

She says the family is only allowed to see the children for two hours a day. Despite providing the requested documentation, the family has not yet been given a clear timeline for when the children can return home.

“They are most definitely trapped there, and they feel trapped,” Seymour said. “We don’t have a clear-cut answer. We’ve provided all the documents we’ve been asked to provide.”

The family has hired Croatian attorneys and is working with the U.S. Embassy to navigate the legal process. Utah-based attorney Skye Lazaro, who has experience with international custody cases, says Croatia’s participation in the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction could ultimately help the family.

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“In this case, it’s a good thing and a benefit that they are part of this Hague Convention,” Lazaro said.

However, Lazaro explained that the process can be slow due to translation requirements and court procedures in the foreign country.

“It requires retaining an attorney in that country who can translate the documents into Croatian and provide all the necessary information to a court,” Lazaro said. “That stuff just takes time.”

If local legal efforts stall, the family can formally petition under the Hague Convention, which may speed up the process, though it could still take several weeks.

“To have to continually say goodbye every day is very hard,” Seymour said. “It’s an emotional rollercoaster.”

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As the legal battle continues, the family is also facing mounting expenses, including short-term housing in Croatia and international legal fees. A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover costs and pay for the children’s flight home.

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