SALT LAKE CITY — In 2017, the University of Utah did something almost unheard of in college football as they replaced a senior quarterback, a team captain, in Troy Williams for an unproven but athletic Tyler Huntley.

Williams was coming off a nine-win season when Huntley, a sophomore and former Florida Gatorade Player of the Year, won the job. His skillset better matched the needs of new offensive coordinator Troy Taylor's system.

In all likelihood, it cost the Utes some games last season. Huntley’s inexperience and more reckless style of play led Utah to a season of inconsistency, beating up on lesser opponents early in the season before an injury cost him a chance at a fully-developed first season.

When Huntley returned from injury, he struggled to throw the ball as Utah lost four out of five games before missing the final regular season game against Colorado.

Through the first four weeks of the 2018 season, Huntley’s inconsistent play returned. The Utes started 2-2, again beating lesser opponents in Weber State and Northern Illinois, before struggling offensively against Washington and Washington State — both losses.

A year and a half into the Huntley experience, the Utes had an overall record of 9-8 and an offense that was struggling to consistently score points.

Against Stanford, though, everything seemed to change. The Utes poured in 40 points on the road against the 15th-ranked Cardinal, including a remarkable 57-yard touchdown pass to Samson Nacua with a defender draped around Huntley’s feet. It was Huntley’s first touchdown pass of the season against an FBS school, and from there, Utah's offensive floodgates have been open.

Huntley has replicated his extraordinary playmaking, both in and outside of the pocket, and is accurately completing passes with a high percentage. He's also finding teammates open downfield after extending plays with his legs. As a result, the Utes have scored 40 points or more in each of their last three games, fully realizing the combination of Huntley’s playmaking skill set and Taylor’s offensive system for the first time 14 months after it began.

Amid Huntley's emergence, Utah learned another hard lesson that success carries its own cost, sometimes off the field. With Huntley firmly in control of Utah’s offense, and still just a junior, there seemingly won’t be an opening at the quarterback position at Utah until 2020.

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As players met in the middle of the field to shake hands following the conclusion of Utah’s drubbing of the visiting USC Trojans, some Utah players took the opportunity to wave goodbye to the opposing side. The gesture irritated many on the USC side and a war of words and close, heated conversations resulted between the players.

That simple fact may have cost them the highest-rated high school recruit the school has ever landed. Last Thursday, Jack Tuttle, the former four-star recruit who committed to Utah over the likes of bluechip schools Alabama and USC, announced he was leaving the program before ever taking a snap.

With Huntley playing at a high level, the Utes can survive the loss of a backup quarterback, regardless of how highly recruited that player was; that comes with the territory in college football. When a job is won or lost, it’s not uncommon for the backup to transfer, especially with quarterbacks.

How Tuttle would have fared in Utah, though, will remain a mystery, and will only be answered once Tuttle finds a landing spot and Huntley finishes his career at Utah.

Huntley, though, appears to be on the verge of a major breakthrough. And with the Utes controlling their own destiny in the Pac-12 South, the gamble to turn the team over to Huntley appears to be paying off. But with a few extra losses last season, and the loss of the prep phenom Tuttle, it hasn’t come without a cost.

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