Utah football star among highest-graded players for Week 5

Utah junior and two-way star Smith Snowden had a productive outing in his team's win over West Virginia in Week 5, earning himself an exceptional grade from reputable sports analytics company, Pro Football Focus.

Snowden's three total tackles and two pass break-ups spearheaded a dominant effort defensively from the Utes in their 48-14 triumph against the Mountaineers, as well as obtaining a spot on PFF's "college football team of the week" roster.

PFF's national team of the week list, which honors the top performers on both sides of the ball, featured Snowden for the first time in the 2025 campaign following his busy outing against West Virginia. His pair of pass break-ups marked a season-high, while his three total tackles came after he recorded five in Utah's loss to Texas Tech the week prior.

Subsequently, Snowden was also placed on PFF's latest Big 12 team of the week. He was joined by teammates Lander Barton and Jonah Lea'ea.

Barton had eight total tackles in the 34-point triumph over the Mountaineers, his most since a 12-tackle outing against Houston last October. Lea'ea, meanwhile, tallied the most tackles he's had in his collegiate career with eight against West Virginia.

The Utes' defense was stout from the get-go, limiting the Mountaineers to just five first downs and 90 total yards on their first five possessions before the move was made to swap quarterback Jaylen Henderson for redshirt freshman Khalil Wilkins in the third quarter.

Jul 9, 2025; Frisco, TX, USA; Utah defensive back Smith Snowden speaks with the media during 2025 Big 12 Football Media Days at The Star. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Utah shut down the home team's passing attack, holding West Virginia to just 85 yards through the air on 6-of-13 passing. It was the fewest passing yards the Utes had allowed in the 2025 regular season and the third time since the start of the 2024 campaign that they held an opponent under 100 passing yards. The Mountaineers were also a paltry 4-of-14 on third down and managed to make it to the red zone just once.

Utah, conversely, managed to convert 8-of-13 third down attempts and was a perfect 7-for-7 in the red zone. The Utes' offense was guided by a career day from junior quarterback Devon Dampier, who tossed four touchdown passes while going 21-of-26 through the air for 237 passing yards. He also ran the ball 11 times for 35 yards and a touchdown.

Snowden was among three Big 12 players mentioned on PFF's team of the week for Week 5, joining Arizona State edge rusher Prince Dorbah and Iowa State cornerback Jontez Williams.

.@SnowdenSmith rightfully earned his way onto the 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟱 @PFF_College 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸‼️

🔴 3 Total Tackles
🔴 2 Pass Break-Ups#GoUtes https://t.co/drLytb2lsh pic.twitter.com/zftPulKH11
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 29, 2025

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