Utah's Kyle Whittingham provides positive injury update ahead of Arizona State game

Utes had several players exit the game during their 34-point win over West Virginia

Utah Utes running back Wayshawn Parker (1) celebrates after his touchdown catch was ruled a catch during the third quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium. | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

The Utah football team's bye week couldn't have come at a better time.

While the Utes were on their way to a 4-1 start to the 2025 campaign, they sustained injuries to several key players during their 48-14 victory over West Virginia.

In addition to already having three players out for the season, Utah's bill of health only worsened by the end of Week 5 — safety Nate Ritchie went down with what appeared to be a serious leg injury that left him in a brace, two-way standout Jackson Benne also exited the West Virginia game after enduring a leg injury and defensive tackle Dallas Vakalahi had to leave the field as well. Running back Wayshawn Parker had to briefly go to the sidelines but would later return to finish with 66 rushing yards and a touchdown.

In a season that's already had the Utes hobbled and banged-up in other places, the Mountaineers game essentially underscored the team's week-by-week health status. But Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham was able to provide some positive reassurance following the team's bye week, even if it wasn't all that specific.

"None of those injuries were season-ending," Whittingham said Monday during his weekly press conference. "Fortunately, not season-ending. We'll see who we have available this week and who we don't."

Sep 6, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Utah has already had to rule out a few players for the season due to injury. Last month, Whittingham said wide receiver Daidren Zipperer would miss the rest of the 2025 campaign, a day after he broke the news that defensive back Rabbit Evans wouldn't play for the remainder of the season. A week later, Whittingham mentioned that versatile H-back Hunter Andrews would also be out for the year.

Those three players obviously were out for the Mountaineers game, along with safety Josh Sovereign, offensive lineman Isaiah Garcia, defensive end Paul Fitzgerald and defensive tackle Aliki Vimahi. The absence of a few impactful players on defense didn't end up costing the Utes, who held the Mountaineers to just 85 passing yards and 4-of-14 on third down conversion attempts, allowing Utah's offense to dictate the flow of the game with another strong day on the ground and an efficient outing through the air.

Moving forward, though, the Utes would probably like to have as many players available for the rest of their Big 12 slate, starting with Saturday's contest against Arizona State (8:15 p.m. MT on ESPN).

"Just going forward, you'll just check the ... availability report on, I think it comes out Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and maybe even Saturday; there's a lot of them," Whittingham said. "Anyway, check those and that'll tell you the status."