Former Ute and current Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid will make his return to Salt Lake City as the guest picker for ESPN’s “College GameDay” this Saturday.
“Unfortunately, my picks last week, I think I went 1 for 10 in the tight end room, so I’ve got an uphill battle,” Kincaid said on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“My first game back at Utah, night game at Utah, those are special. It should be a great atmosphere, great experience, and I guess I do try to top Steve Young,” he said, referring to the former BYU quarterback’s perfect selection record on last week’s “GameDay” from Provo.
After Kincaid transferred from the University of San Diego to Utah, he developed into one of the best tight ends in program history, playing a vital role on Utah’s back-to-back Pac-12 championship teams. Kincaid ended his Ute career with 1,414 yards and 16 touchdowns on 107 receptions, with his magnum opus coming in Utah’s thrilling 43-42 win over USC, in which Kincaid caught 16 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown.
Kincaid was selected by the Buffalo Bills with the No. 25 pick in the 2023 NFL draft and has amassed 2,007 yards and 10 touchdowns on 179 receptions during his career. This season, he already has 315 yards and a touchdown for the Bills.
“Josh (Allen) has been balling out this year. I just feel like everything’s kind of clicking. Joe Brady is doing a fantastic job of dialing stuff up and keeping the offense having some fresh new looks,” Kincaid said.
Kincaid will be back on campus for a big-time matchup between No. 10 Utah and No. 14 Houston, one of many alumni that have been welcomed back to the program by Ute head coach Morgan Scalley.
“Starting 6-0, it’s hard not to feel real good about what he’s doing with the program,” Kincaid said. “He was my defensive coordinator when I was there, so he interacted with me a lot more than I feel defensive coordinators normally do. His main thing has been getting alumni back to campus and keeping those guys involved, and I think he’s doing a great job of that.”
The day starts at 7 a.m. MDT with “College GameDay” at Presidents Circle and will end late on Saturday night. It’s a “dark mode” game, with Utah fans encouraged to wear black.
Admission to the “College GameDay” set is free, with no tickets required.
In addition to Kincaid’s guest-picker appearance, Scalley will be live on the “GameDay” set and ESPN will air two features on the Utes.
The first, “Cowboy Up,” takes a look at Utah defensive coordinator Colton Swan’s passion for ranching and rodeos. The second, “Just the Two of Us,” will focus on the relationship between quarterbacks Devon Dampier and Byrd Ficklin and Utah’s two-quarterback sets.
