Ryan Davis leads deep group of Utah wide receivers

The Utes added four intriguing receivers through the transfer portal

Utah Utes transfer wide receiver Ryan Davis. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Things move fast these days in college football. The Utah Utes’ wide receiver room is a great example. 

Three days after coach Kyle Whittingham said Zacharyus Williams “continues to really separate himself as wide receiver one,” the sophomore entered the transfer portal.

It was a surprise, for sure, but wide receiver is one position where the Utes seem to be in great shape, at least in terms of numbers, and these guys are probably salivating at the thought of catching passes from Devon Dampier. One of them, Ryan Davis, already has.

Whittingham said during the 22 Forever spring game that after Williams, “we’ve got four or five guys jockeying for position and that competition most likely will continue into fall camp to determine that pecking order.”

He also said the Utes would like to pluck another wideout from the portal, so the landscape could continue to shift. 

At the moment, the Utes have returning wideouts Daidren Zipperer, a sophomore, and Luca Caldarella, a senior. 

They also loaded up with four transfers. The most intriguing of the four is Davis, a redshirt senior who caught 54 passes from Dampier last year at New Mexico, for 747 yards and three touchdowns. Dampier, Davis and wide receivers coach Micah Simon all followed offensive coordinator Jason Beck from New Mexico to Utah, and their familiarity with Beck’s system could quickly pay off as the Utes look to bounce back from a 5-7 season.

Utah Utes transfer wide receiver Ryan Davis. | John Reed-Imagn Images

Three other transfers who will compete for playing time are Otto Tia from Utah State, Justin Stevenson from Wyoming and Creed Whittemore from Mississippi State. 

Tia, a redshirt senior from Layton, had 44 catches for 434 yards and seven TDs with the Aggies while Stevenson, a redshirt sophomore, caught 17 balls for 204 yards and three scores at Mountain West rival Wyoming. Whittemore, a redshirt sophomore, had four catches for 65 yards in four games with the Rebels before he was redshirted.

Last year’s leading receiver, Dorian Singer (53 catches, 702 yards, 1 TD), lost his appeal for an additional year of eligibility and began preparing for the NFL Draft.