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Former Utah RB Jordan Wilmore Has Found His New Home

Nobody can fault former Utah running back Jordan Wilmore returning to his home state of California to finish out his college career. And suiting up for Fresno State is going to give the former 4* recruit a chance to play in front of his family and friends

Don't blink but Fresno State is definitely a team to keep an eye on next season after doing a great job though the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Former Washington wide receiver Ty Jones, one of the top pass catchers in the Pac-12, somewhat shockingly announced he was leaving the Huskies program for his final season of eligibility. 

He then ended up at Fresno State, announcing his commitment via Twitter on Jan. 15.

One day later and Fresno State's offense received another big-time boost, but this time coming from the backfield. Former Utah running back Jordan Wilmore announced that he was heading closer to home to suit up for the Bulldogs, a mere 3-hour, 30-minute drive from his hometown of Lawndale, California.

Entering the 2020 college football season, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham knew it was going to be difficult to replace former star running back Zack Moss.

Moss broke nearly every statistical category when it came to running the ball, both throughout his career with the Utes and single-season records. He then parlayed that into being a third round pick of the Buffalo Bills, where he finished his rookie season with 461 rushing yards and four touchdowns while adding 95 receiving yards and another score.

The good thing for the Utes is that they weren't going to be starting from scratch to find Moss' replacement. Junior Devin Brumfield and Wilmore had served as Moss'  backups last season and were set to battle it as the No. 1 running back for this season.

Unfortunately that never happened as true freshman Ty Jordan emerged from the running back group to take over as lead back. He broke out in Utah's week two loss to Washington before taking over as starter and full-time duties in the third game of the season.

Nov 28, 2020; Seattle, Washington, USA; Utah Utes running back Ty Jordan (22) rushes against Washington Huskies linebacker Jackson Sirmon (43) and linebacker Sav'ell Smalls (17) during the first quarter at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium.

With Jordan's emergence and fellow freshman Micah Bernard getting a handful of carries as well, Wilmore entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on Dec. 14 after playing in just the first two games of the season.

“Utah man what a ride it was,” Wilmore wrote. “I enjoyed my experience here. The relationships that I made here will be with me forever. To all the coaches there I appreciate you. Coach Whitt thank you for giving me the opportunity to come to this university. Coach Mac and Shah I appreciate ya’ll for everything ya’ll what it is is. But after speaking with my family I’ve decided to enter the transfer portal to continue my academic and athletic career. Utah I’ll forever be grateful for the opportunity.”

Wilmore finished up his Utah career with 67 carries for 248 yards and a score, including 18 carries for 54 yards this year. He will have three years of eligibility remaining and should be able to play this season.

Fresno State finished last season 3-3, but are primed to take a step forward with the addition of Jones and Wilmore on offense. 

Wilmore will find himself with a great opportunity to win the starting job as senior Ronnie Rivers led the team with 501 yards rushing last year. It's unknown if he will return for his 'super senior' season but that leaves junior Jordan Mims as the leading returning rusher, finishing with 145 yards last season.

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