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Utah football mailbag: Smith Snowden, wide receivers, late kickoffs, Wu-Tang and more
SALT LAKE CITY — We now have a baseline from which to judge the University of Utah football team.
The Utes opened the season emphatically late Saturday night by running UCLA out of the Rose Bowl 43-10 behind 293 total yards from junior quarterback Devon Dampier.
Now, even with a too-small sample size after just one game, we can start examining things.
For example, how about junior nickel Smith Snowden playing both ways against the Bruins?
Concern? Not after one game, but I absolutely think it bears careful attention, especially after Kyle Whittingham indicated during his weekly press conference on Monday that Smith Snowden, Lander Barton, and Jackson Bennee would continue to see action on both sides of the ball.
Utah's Kyle Whittingham wants this WR more involved moving forward
For all the positives Kyle Whititngham noticed out of his football team in its season-opening win, there was still something missing from Utah's offense during its blowout victory over UCLA at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.
While some of the Utes' two-way players found ways to make an impact with the ball in their hands, one of Utah's newest deep threats, 6-foot-5 wide receiver Tobias Merriweather, had a much lesser role in the 43-10 triumph over the Bruins.
Merriweather, a former Notre Dame commit who spent last season at Cal, was held to just one catch for 36 yards in his Utes debut, prompting his head coach to address the junior's usage rate during his weekly press conference leading up to a Week 2 matchup against Cal Poly.
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Utah's Smith Snowden Earns National Award
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 30: Smith Snowden #2 of the Utah Utes rushes for a touchdown during the first half of a game against the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl Stadium on August 30, 2025 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah football’s Smith Snowden is listed as a defensive back on his bio, but you wouldn’t know that by watching his performance in a 43-10 win at UCLA in the Rose Bowl.
Snowden played 22 snaps each on offense and defense, while adding three special teams snaps for an all-around impact.
The outing earned Snowden recognition as the Paul Hornung National Player of the Week for week one.
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