Utah Utes football: Christopher thriving for the Utes after moving from QB to receiver

SALT LAKE CITY — The question from the TV reporter caught DeVonte Christopher by surprise.

"How does last week's game rank in your college career?"

Considering that he had caught a grand total of two passes all of last season and had caught eight passes for 155 yards and a touchdown in Utah's win over No. 15-ranked Pitt, which earned him Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week honors, Christopher paused for a second before giving the easy answer.

"It's the best game, obviously," he said.

Ya think?

Christopher then bailed out the TV guy, going on to say the game was one of highlights of his whole football career, going back to his days growing up in Las Vegas, where on three occasions he threw six touchdown passes in a single high school game.

The 20-year-old sophomore was certainly the breakout star of the Utes' opening game victory and he's looking forward to his encore this week against his hometown team, UNLV, Saturday at 2 p.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

"I pretty much approach every game the same," he said. "But being from Vegas and getting to play against UNLV and against some of my AAU teammates and some guys I knew in high school (wide receiver Phillip Payne, linebacker Chris Jones), that adds a little more to it."

Christopher was recruited to Utah to play quarterback after being named the 2007 Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year and Nevada Prep Player of the Year. However, things changed after the Utes recruited Jordan Wynn the year after he came to Utah and Christopher was asked to move to wide receiver, which he had played as a sophomore in high school.

"At first it was hard, trying to explain it to my family," Christopher said. "Coach Whit (Kyle Whittingham) thought I'd have a better chance of being a more complete player at receiver, which I bought into. I feel it's really paying off now."

It took a little while. Christopher redshirted his first season before being switched and last year he didn't see much action, although he played in every game but one.

However, when fall camp opened last month, Christopher's name was nowhere to be found on the two-deep depth chart for receivers. It wasn't that he wasn't as talented as the other receivers on the team. But he was coming off a so-so spring camp and the coaches were perhaps trying to send him a message.