5 transfers who could make an impact for Utes during first season in the Big 12

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The transfer portal has completely changed college football, allowing significant roster change every offseason as schools try to upgrade their talent levels.

Last season, Utah had numerous transfers make a difference — Miles Battle (Ole Miss), Cole Becker (Colorado), Logan Fano (BYU), Levani Damuni (Stanford) and Landen King (Auburn).

This year, the Utes have 11 incoming transfers. Here are five who could make an impact in Utah’s inaugural season in the Big 12.

Dorian Singer, WR

Perhaps the transfer that got Ute fans most excited, Singer has a good shot to be the most impactful portal pickup this season.

We got a glimpse at what quarterback Cam Rising and the USC transfer could do in Utah’s spring game when the duo connected five times for 92 yards, including a 40-yard deep shot.

“We can do a lot of stuff. We got a pretty good connection. A lot of it’s because we meet outside of football. We always hang out, just building our relationship up so we can have good chemistry on the field,” Singer said of his connection with Rising.

Singer should get plenty of opportunities and a chance to look more like he did in 2022 at Arizona, when he became one of the the Pac-12′s best receivers with 66 receptions for 1,105 yards and six touchdowns.

In 2023, at USC, he didn’t get the same run and was on the field for 405 fewer snaps compared to 2022.

With Devaughn Vele in the NFL, Singer has a great chance to be Utah’s No. 1 receiver this year and one of Rising’s go-to targets.

Kenan Johnson, CB

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said in March during spring camp that if the season were to begin then, Johnson would start at one of the outside cornerback positions.

“He’s made plays from day one,” Whittingham said. “He was a great addition to our football team and has really helped solidify that secondary.”

Throughout spring, Johnson impressed with his play — including a goal-line interception in which his body stretched nearly horizontal — and made himself the favorite to slide in at the vacant outside cornerback spot opposite Zemaiah Vaughn, which opened up with the transfer of JaTravis Broughton to TCU and Battle’s move to the NFL.

The Georgia Tech transfer had 29 tackles, two forced fumbles, four pass deflections and an interception while being one of the highest-rated players on the Yellow Jackets’ defense, according to Pro Football Focus.

Johnson’s blazing speed, strength and leadership qualities, as well as his “incredible intelligence,” as defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley opined, has Utah coaches excited about this addition to the secondary.

Alaka’i Gilman, S

In a defense that has a ton of continuity from last year’s squad that allowed just 19.3 points per game, safety will see the most change with 2023 starters Sione Vaki and Cole Bishop off to the NFL.

Tao Johnson, who spent some time at free safety last season but the majority of the time at nickel, should assume the free safety spot full time, with a fall camp battle between sophomores Nate Ritchie, Jonathan Hall and Gilman at strong safety.

“Throughout spring, I felt like I’ve made a lot of progress, just feeling more comfortable. Before spring started, I felt like I knew everything on paper,” Gilman said. “I did as much study as I can to install as much as the defense as I could, but it really just came with the reps, really cementing myself on the field knowing like, ‘Hey, this is where I need to be, this is how it feels kind of thing.’”

The Stanford transfer has been a quick adapter of Scalley’s defense, and has the most Division I experience in the safety room after playing in 32 games for the Cardinal.

Last season for Stanford, Gilman had 50 tackles, an interception and three pass breakups over nine games.

Time will tell if the veteran is able to win a starting spot, but even if he doesn’t, he still should see the field.

Carsen Ryan, TE

While Ryan wasn’t a participant in Utah’s spring practice due to an injury, he’s a good candidate to make an impact in the fall. He’ll have competition at the tight end position — namely Brant Kuithe and Landen King — but is in good position to get quality reps as a second or third option in Andy Ludwig’s offense.

Under Chip Kelly at UCLA, the Orem native had a bit of a breakout season last year with 13 receptions for 205 yards and three touchdowns while playing in all 12 games and starting eight.

“In Carsen I see a guy with really good size. He’s 255 pounds, he’s strong, he moves very well, he’s athletic, so he is in that mold of a guy that is very diverse,” tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham said. “He can play at the line of scrimmage and block in the run game. You can split him out and run good quality routes with good hands.”

Ryan provides another pass-catching tight end option for Ludwig, who has shown a propensity to utilize tight ends in the past and likes what he’s seeing out of this group.

“You add in Carsen Ryan, who has not been with us on the field this spring, but I think we got five tight ends and that’s something that was lacking last year,” Ludwig said. “We like to feature tight ends if the personnel warrants it, but I think this year it should really be a much more prevalent personnel group for us.”

Damien Alford, WR

A later addition to Utah’s roster, the Utes picked up Alford from Syracuse in mid-April to bolster the wide receiver room.

The 6-foot-5, 210-pound senior was Syracuse’s leading receiver last year with 33 receptions for 610 yards and three touchdowns. His 19.2 yards per catch over his career ranks 10th in Orange history, illustrating his deep-threat ability.

Alford’s size and speed, in addition to his proven Division I success, make him a great candidate for a breakout season in his first year at Utah.

With Alford, Singer, Money Parks, Mycah Pittman, Daidren Zipperer and Munir McClain, Utah’s receiver room has seen an upgrade this offseason.

In case you missed it:

The Runnin’ Utes added a new assistant coach this week, as Craig Smith tapped David Evans to join his staff. Evans has a decade of coaching experience in the Utah high school ranks.

From the archive

Extra points

• 3-star LB Max Fonoimoana commits to Utah (Deseret News)
• It is time to get familiar with these top NCAA gymnastics prospects (Deseret News)
• Utah basketball has lost another assistant coach (Deseret News)