Utah
What Utah’s players said after blowout win vs. Arizona State
After dealing with a nagging injury for a few weeks, Devon Dampier looked like his true self during Utah’s blowout victory over Arizona State on Saturday night.
The dual-threat quarterback didn’t need to throw the ball much against the Sun Devils, but there wasn’t much of a need to, given the Utes’ success on the ground.
Dampier spearheaded the attack, recording a season-high 120 rushing yards and three touchdowns with his legs to guide his team to a 42-10 win over Arizona State. He also went 7-of-12 through the air for 104 yards in his team’s fourth 30-point win of the season, helping snap Utah’s five-game home losing streak to Big 12 foes while breaking Arizona State’s eight-game win streak over conference opponents.
Meanwhile, the Utes’ defense made it difficult for the Sam Leavitt-less Sun Devils to establish any sort of rhythm offensively, holding the visitors to just 259 total yards while sacking backup Jeff Sims five times, including a stretch of three straight quarterback takedowns during one of the Sun Devils’ second-half series.
Defensive end John Henry Daley led the charge with 1.5 sacks, bringing his total to 8.0 on the season. Jackson Bennee was among the bright spots for Utah’s secondary and had one of the top plays of the night with a blocked field goal attempt.
Here’s what Dampier, Henry Daley and Bennee had to say after the game.
“We trust those boys up front. Our front five — I trust those guys over anybody. So, yeah, I mean, we take whatever the defense gives us, and our run game was moving. We were moving the ball efficiently [and] stuck to it.”
“Huge shoutout to obviously coach [Jason] Beck. Play-calling was magnificent. And again, our O-line, it’s pretty easy running behind those guys. So, I thought they gave me great space for me to be able to make plays.”
“Yeah, I think just every game I go into there’s always a chip on my shoulder. I had a long journey to get to the point I’m at right now, and yeah, I mean, every game, I got something to prove every time I’m out there.”
“Man, I don’t think it can be overstated. We love our fans, and we appreciate when they come out. And I don’t know if they’ve noticed, over the past couple games, there’s been a lot of false starts, and that’s all because of our fans. So we really appreciate them.”
“I mean, the game plan stayed the same. We wanted to control the pass lanes, make sure that he couldn’t scramble out and extend plays and be able to make some of those throws farther downfield. I mean, obviously it was a bummer that Sam wasn’t there, but we played the exact same way that we would have if he was playing; going out there, playing Utah football, and I’m glad with the result that we were able to come up with tonight.”
Yeah, [defensive coordinator Morgan] Scalley, he’s a master when it comes to scheming something up like that. They showed what we were looking for, and honestly, we were kind of moving around; I didn’t think we were going to get it off. But yeah, it worked out.”
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Utah
Utah man dies of injuries sustained in avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A man died after he was caught in an avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon over the weekend.
A spokesperson for the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Thursday that Kevin Williams, 57, had died.
He, along with one other person, was hospitalized in critical condition after Saturday’s avalanche in the backcountry.
MORE | Big Cottonwood Canyon Avalanche
In an interview with 2News earlier this week, one of Williams’ close friends, Nate Burbidge, described him as a loving family man.
“Kevin’s an amazing guy. He’s always serving, looking for ways that he can connect with others,” Burbidge said.
A GoFundMe was set up to help support Williams’ family.
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Utah
911 recordings detail hours leading up to discovery of Utah girl, mother dead in Las Vegas
CONTENT WARNING: This report discusses suicide and includes descriptions of audio from 911 calls that some viewers may find disturbing.
LAS VEGAS — Exclusively obtained 911 recordings detail the hours leading up to the discovery of an 11-year-old Utah girl and her mother dead inside a Las Vegas hotel room in an apparent murder-suicide.
Addi Smith and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, lived in West Jordan and had traveled to Nevada for the JAMZ cheerleading competition.
The calls show a growing sense of urgency from family members and coaches, and several hours passing before relatives learned what happened.
MORE | Murder-Suicide
Below is a timeline of the key moments, according to dispatch records. All times are Pacific Time.
10:33 a.m. — Call 1
After Addi and her mother failed to appear at the cheerleading competition, Addi’s father and stepmother called dispatch for a welfare check.
Addi and her mother were staying at the Rio hotel. The father told dispatch that hotel security had already attempted contact.
“Security went up and knocked on the door. There’s no answer or response it doesn’t look like they checked out or anything…”
11:18 a.m. and 11:27 a.m. — Calls 2 and 3
As concern grew, Addi’s coach contacted the police two times within minutes.
“We think the child possibly is in imminent danger…”
11:26 a.m. — Call 4
Addi’s stepmother placed another call to dispatch, expressing escalating concern.
“We are extremely concerned we believe that something might have seriously happened.”
She said that Tawnia’s car was still at the hotel.
Police indicated officers were on the way.
2:26 p.m. — Call 5
Nearly three hours after the initial welfare check request, fire personnel were en route to the scene. It appeared they had been in contact with hotel security.
Fire told police that they were responding to a possible suicide.
“They found a note on the door.”
2:35 p.m. — Call 6
Emergency medical personnel at the scene told police they had located two victims.
“It’s going to be gunshot wound to the head for both patients with notes”
A dispatcher responded:
“Oh my goodness that’s not okay.”
2:36 p.m. — Call 7
Moments later, fire personnel relayed their assessment to law enforcement:
“It’s going to be a murder suicide, a juvenile and a mother.”
2:39 p.m. — Call 8
Unaware of what had been discovered, Addi’s father called dispatch again.
“I’m trying to file a missing persons report for my daughter.”
He repeats the details he knows for the second time.
3:13 p.m. — Call 9
Father and stepmother call again seeking information and continue to press for answers.
“We just need some information. There was a room check done around 3:00 we really don’t know where to start with all of this Can we have them call us back immediately?”
Dispatch responded:
“As soon as there’s a free officer, we’ll have them reach out to you.”
4:05 p.m. — Call 10
More than an hour later, Addi’s father was put in contact with the police on the scene. He pleaded for immediate action.
“I need someone there I need someone there looking in that room”
The officer confirmed that they had officers currently in the room.
Addi’s father asks again what they found, if Addi and her mother are there, and if their things were missing.
The officer, who was not on scene, said he had received limited information.
5:23 p.m. — Call 11
Nearly seven hours after the first welfare check request, Addi’s grandmother contacted police, describing conflicting information circulating within the family.
“Some people are telling us that they were able to get in, and they were not in the hotel room, and other people saying they were not able to get in the hotel room, and we need to know”
She repeated the details of the case. Dispatch said officers will call her back once they have more information.
Around 8:00 p.m. — Press Conference
Later that evening, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police held a news conference confirming that Addi and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, were found dead inside the hotel room.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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Utah
Ban on AI glasses in Utah classrooms inches closer to passing
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — AI glasses could allow you to get answers, snap photos, access audio and take phone calls—and now a proposal moving through the legislature would ban the glasses from Utah school classrooms.
“I think it’s a great idea,” said Kizzy Guyton Murphy, a mother who accompanied her child’s class on a field trip to the state Capitol on Wednesday. “You can’t see inside what the student is looking at, and it’s just grounds for cheating.”
Mom Tristan Davies Seamons also sees trouble with AI glasses.
“I don’t think they should have any more technology in schools than they currently have,” she said.
Her twin daughters, fourth graders Finley and Grayson, don’t have cell phones yet.
“Not until we’re like 14,” said Grayson, adding they do have Chromebooks in school.
2News sent questions to the Utah State Board of Education:
- Does it have reports of students using AI glasses?
- Does it see cheating and privacy as major concerns?
- Does it support a ban from classrooms?
Matt Winters, USBE AI specialist, said the board has not received reports from school districts of students with AI glasses.
“Local Education Agencies (school districts) have local control over these decisions based on current law and code,” said Winters. “The Board has not taken a position on AI glasses.
MORE | Utah State Legislature:
Some districts across the country have reportedly put restrictions on the glasses in schools.
“I think it should be up to the teachers,” said Briauna Later, another mother who is all for preventing cheating, but senses a ban could leave administrators with tired eyes.
“It’s one more thing for the administration to have to keep track of,” said Later.
The proposal, HB 42, passed the House and cleared a Senate committee on Wednesday.
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