Transfer portal · 2026
Utah Utes
Both windowsProjected two-deep impacti
+13
Projected two-deep roles added · 2026 arrivals
Utah added 13 transfers projected into the two-deep (8 as starters) against 22 departures whose next roles aren’t tracked here. Every number on this page is counted, not modelled — no composite portal grade is published because no defensible one exists yet.
19
Arrivals
-3
22
Departures
0.86
Avg rating in
-0.01
0.87
Avg rating out
13
Proj two-deep in
—
—
Out roles untracked
13 of 19
’25 production in
—
12 of 22
’25 production out
What changed
Depth concern
More players out than in with no two-deep answer — depth, not the starting line, is the exposure.
Still unresolved
Departures with no portal answer yet. Replacement must come from the returning roster or signing class.
How the roster changed
41 moves · 11 rooms touchediOffense0 net players
Replaced+2 players
WR
+4 in · −2 out · 3 proj starters in
InOut
Braden Pegan in from Utah State drives the room.
Upgraded+1 player
OL
+2 in · −1 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
Isaiah Kema in from Ohio State drives the room.
Replaced—
TE
+1 in · −1 out
InOut
Will Monney in from Oklahoma State drives the room.
Depth concern-1 player
QB
+1 in · −2 out
InOut
Brandon Rose in from Massachusetts drives the room.
Depth concern-2 players
RB
+1 in · −3 out
InOut
?
Steve Chavez-Soto in from San José State drives the room.
Defense-4 net players
Replaced+1 player
DL
+3 in · −2 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
Jireh Moe in from San José State drives the room.
Replaced+1 player
S
+2 in · −1 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
B
Tao Johnson out to UCLA drives the room.
Replaced-1 player
EDGE
+1 in · −2 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
John Henry Daley out to Michigan drives the room.
Unresolved-1 player
LB
+0 in · −1 out
InOut
No arrivals
Christian Thatcher out to Memphis drives the room.
Depth concern-4 players
CB
+3 in · −7 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
?
Elijah Reed in from Akron drives the room.
Specialists+1 net players
Replaced+1 player
K
+1 in · −0 out
InOutNo departures
Tanner Cragun in from UTEP drives the room.
No movement—
P
+0 in · −0 out
InOutNo arrivalsNo departures
No portal movement in this room.
No movement—
LS
+0 in · −0 out
InOutNo arrivalsNo departures
No portal movement in this room.
ArrivalDepartureHeavy ring · proj starter inThin ring · rotation inDotted · depth role or no ’25 recordMarker size = ’25 production percentile (smallest = none recorded)
Did Utah replace what it lost?
Role slots, not player-for-playerReplaced4 chains
WR
Starting slot
Out · to Michigan
JJ Buchanan
rating 0.94 · 77th pctl ’25 production · 26 rec · 427 yds · 5 TD
Upgrade
High confidence
In · from Utah State
Braden Pegan
rating 0.92 · 97th pctl ’25 production · 60 rec · 925 yds · 5 TD · wr21 starter
Jan 7
▾ Detail
OL
Starting slot
Out · to Washington State
Kalolo Ta'aga
rating 0.85
Replaced
Low confidence
In · from Montana State
Cedric Jefferson
rating 0.85 · rt1 starter
Jan 12
▾ Detail
DL
Starting slot
Out · to Penn State
Dallas Vakalahi
rating 0.87 · 36th pctl ’25 production · 11 tkl
Upgrade
High confidence
In · from San José State
Jireh Moe
rating 0.86 · 73rd pctl ’25 production · 28 tkl · 2 TFL · 1.5 sk · dt21 starter
Jan 11
▾ Detail
S
Starting slot
Out · to UCLA
Tao Johnson
rating 0.87 · 88th pctl ’25 production · 50 tkl · 2.5 TFL · 2 INT
Replaced
Medium confidence
In · from Blinn College
B
Rabbit Evans
no ’25 production record · s21 starter
—
▾ Detail
Partially replaced4 chains
RB
Rotation slot
Out · to West Virginia
NaQuari Rogers
70th pctl ’25 production · 387 rush yds · 3.9 ypc · 11 TD
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from San José State
Steve Chavez-Soto
rating 0.88 · 71st pctl ’25 production · 448 rush yds · 5.1 ypc · 7 TD · rb2 rotation
Jan 13
▾ Detail
EDGE
Starting slot
Out · to Michigan
John Henry Daley
rating 0.93 · 99th pctl ’25 production · 45 tkl · 17.5 TFL · 11.5 sk
Partial replacement
High confidence
In · from North Texas
Ethan Day
rating 0.87 · 97th pctl ’25 production · 54 tkl · 7 TFL · 4.5 sk · de21 starter
Jan 6
▾ Detail
CB
Starting slot
Out · to Michigan
Smith Snowden
rating 0.92 · 83rd pctl ’25 production · 37 tkl · 2 TFL · 2 INT
Partial replacement
High confidence
In · from Akron
Elijah Reed
rating 0.85 · 86th pctl ’25 production · 44 tkl · 2 TFL · 1 sk · 2 INT · rc1 starter
Jan 10
▾ Detail
CB
Rotation slot
Out · to unannounced
?
Blake Cotton
72nd pctl ’25 production · 27 tkl · 2 TFL · 7 PD
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from South Florida
James Chenault
rating 0.86 · 76th pctl ’25 production · 32 tkl · 1 TFL · 2 INT · rc2 rotation
Jan 13
▾ Detail
Not replaced3 chains
QB
Production lost
Out · to Colorado
Isaac Wilson
rating 0.86 · 3rd pctl ’25 production
Unresolved
Room restocked · slot open
In
No starter/rotation addition
1 depth arrival in room
Jan 7
▾ Detail
RB
Production lost
Out · to LSU
Raycine Guillory
rating 0.85 · 4th pctl ’25 production
Unresolved
Room restocked · slot open
In
No further two-deep addition
1 two-deep arrival answers other losses
Jan 5
▾ Detail
CB
Production lost
Out · to Purdue
Don Saunders
rating 0.86 · 43rd pctl ’25 production · 7 tkl · 2 PD
Unresolved
Room restocked · slot open
In
No further two-deep addition
2 two-deep arrivals answer other losses · 1 depth arrival in room · 3 producing losses unanswered
Jan 11
▾ Detail
Quality vs experience
Portal rating
0.750.800.850.900.951.00
No ’25 production record
High-upside betProven impactDevelopmentalExperienced depth0th pctl25th pctl50th pctl75th pctl
’25 production · national position percentile
8 unrated moves not plotted — see the ledger
How much Utah depends on transfers
Projected 2026 two-deep · 48 slotsQuarterback50%
1
1
Skill (RB/WR/TE)62%
5
2
6
Offensive line20%
8
2
Front seven (EDGE/DL/LB)38%
8
2
3
Secondary (CB/S)25%
3
1
Specialists33%
4
1
1
Returning signeesPrior-cycle transfers2026 transfers
40%
Projected two-deep from transfers
19 of 48 two-deep slots
12 of 27
Projected starters from transfers
8 from the 2026 cycle, 4 held over
13th
Big 12 percentile · transfer share
14th-most transfer-dependent two-deep of 16 Big 12 teams
Returning portal corePrior-cycle transfers still in the two-deep
Paul Fitzgerald
EDGE · from Utah State · 2024 cycle · DE22 rotation
36th pctl
’25 production · Utah
Devon Dampier
QB · from New Mexico · 2025 cycle · WR1 starter
90th pctl
’25 production · Utah
Orion Phillips
P · from Missouri · 2025 cycle · PT1 starter
35th pctl
’25 production · Utah
Wayshawn Parker
RB · from Washington State · 2025 cycle · RB1 starter
95th pctl
’25 production · Utah
Lance Holtzclaw
EDGE · from Washington · 2025 cycle · DE1 starter
78th pctl
’25 production · Utah
Where Utah’s transfers came from — and where they went
Sources · 19 arrivals22 departures · destinations
Arrived from · 19
Mountain West
5 players
Non-FBS
4 players
SEC
3 players
American Athletic
2 players
Mid-American
2 players
Pac-12
1 player
+
Other
2 players
Departed to · 22
Big Ten
8 players
Big 12
3 players
American Athletic
3 players
+
Unannounced
2 players
Non-FBS
2 players
SEC
1 player
+
Other
3 players
5arrivals came from Mountain West programs — the single largest source.
13arrivals are projected straight into the two-deep (5 of 19 arrivals came from P4 leagues).
3departures stayed inside the Big 12.
How the window developed
Cumulative net moves · in − out2 undated moves not plotted
All portal moves
41 of 41 moves match · 25 shownShow
Role in
Sort
PlayerPosDirectionOrigin / destinationRating’25 productionEligProjected roleDate
BP
Winter window · 4★
SC
Winter window · 3★
ED
Winter window · 3★
LS
Winter window · 3★
IK
Winter window · 3★
KS
Winter window · 3★
JM
Winter window · 3★
JW
Winter window · 3★
JC
Winter window · 3★
MW
Winter window · 3★
ER
Winter window · 3★
JJ
Winter window · 3★
OCT 28
5:55 AM
WR
CHART MOVE
Now first-team WR
WAS BRADEN PEGAN
OCT 28
5:55 AM
LG
CHART MOVE
Now first-team LG
WAS KELVIN OBOT
OCT 28
5:55 AM
TE
CHART MOVE
Now first-team TE
WAS SEMI TAULANGA
OCT 28
5:55 AM
QB
CHART MOVE
Moved to first-team QB
QB2 → QB1
OCT 27
5:52 AM
WR
CHART MOVE
Now first-team WR
WAS RICKY JOHNSON
OCT 27
5:52 AM
WR2
CHART MOVE
Now first-team WR2
WAS BRADEN PEGAN
OCT 27
5:52 AM
TE
CHART MOVE
Now first-team TE
WAS SIONE MOTUAPUAKA
OCT 27
5:52 AM
DE
CHART MOVE
Now first-team DE
WAS LANCE HOLTZCLAW
OCT 27
5:52 AM
DE2
CHART MOVE
Moved to first-team DE2
DE22 → DE21