Standout Utah defensive back will enter the transfer portal

Utes lost another key piece to their defense on the first official day of transfer cycle

Utah Utes head coach Morgan Scalley will need to fill several vacancies on his staff and roster in the offseason. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Friday marked the first day of the college football transfer portal cycle, opening the doors for players around the country to seek opportunities elsewhere as coaches and their administrations put on their recruiting hats and get out their checkbooks for the ensuing two-week period.

If the immense staff changes going on at Utah indicated anything, it was that several Utes players would exercise their right to enter the portal and continue their collegiate careers outside of Salt Lake City when given the chance. In fact, their All-American edge rusher, John Henry Daley, announced his intentions of entering the portal before Utah's win over Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl — as did a few other Utes in the lead up to their 2025 season finale.

With the portal officially opened, Utah cornerback Smith Snowden wasted no time in throwing his name in the hat of players looking for new homes.

Snowden had yet to finalize the move when 247Sports' Blair Angulo reported Friday morning that the All-Big 12 defensive back intended on entering his name into the portal, though it seemed as a matter of time before his name was officially entered into the portal database. Several other reports stated Snowden planned on entering his name in the portal, including On3's Pete Nakos.

Snowden spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career at Utah, the school he committed to as a four-star recruit in the 2023 class. The Lehi, Utah, native and Skyridge High School product played in 35 career games with 23 starts.

The Utes utilized Snowden's athleticism and versatility any which way they could over his three seasons in Salt Lake City, moving him around as a cornerback, nickel back, kick returner and even as a wide receiver early on in the 2025 campaign. His importance to the Utah defense began to manifest during the 2024 season, as he racked up 48 total tackles, including four for loss, plus defended 10 passes (two interceptions, eight pass break-ups) and forced one fumble across his 12 appearances at nickel back.

Entering the 2025 season on the watch lists for the Chuck Bednarik Award and Paul Hornung Award, Snowden was expected to play an impactful role for the Utes once again as they tried to rebound from their disappointing 5-7 finish to 2024. Though he didn't finish as a finalist for any national honors, Snowden still carried his weight for one of the top pass defenses in the Big 12, finishing with 37 tackles, including two for loss, and tallying 11 passes defended (nine pass break-ups, two picks).

Snowden could've left Utah after his sophomore season, given his skillset and growing reputation. But he decided to stay and helped Utah finish with an 11-2 record in 2025, capped off by a 44-22 win on New Year's Eve over Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl.

With Kyle Whittingham taking over Michigan, it would be reasonable to suspect the Wolverines will get involved in Snowden's recruitment before long. Several Utah assistant coaches have already made their way to Ann Arbor, including offensive coordinator Jason Beck; tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham; quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr.; wide receivers coach Micah Simon; offensive line coach Jim Harding and defensive ends coach Lewis Powell.

BYU will be another school to watch. The Cougars were heavily involved in his high school recruitment process and would make sense for Snowden if he didn't want to move outside his home state.