Utah football adds another piece to its wide receiver corps via the transfer portal

Utes' latest portal addition has connections to new wide receivers coach Chad Bumphis

The Utah Utes landed a signature from Mississippi State transfer wide receiver Ricky Johnson. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Having lost its top three pass-catchers to either the transfer portal or graduation, Utah went into the offseason with a clear need for more help at wide receiver.

After landing a couple of talented wideouts from Mountain West schools, the Utes went searching for more talent in SEC waters, and wound up landing someone familiar with new wide receivers coach, Chad Bumphis.

Utah added to its revamped wide receivers room Monday with a signature from Ricky Johnson, a transfer from Mississippi State who played for Bumphis when he was the wide receivers coach for the Bulldogs last season.

CBS Sports' Chris Hummer reported Johnson's move to Utah, which made the 6-foot-2 Georgia native the third wide receiver to sign with the Utes this offseason; the Utes previously reeled in Braden Pegan (Utah State) and Kyri Shoels (San José State) in their earlier attempts to retool their wide receiver corp.

Utah had to bring in new talent to help fill the voids left behind by soon-to-be graduates Ryan Davis and Dallen Bentley, as well as the massive loss of freshman tight end/wide receiver JJ Buchanan via the portal. That trio combined for 1,772 receiving yards (about 63% of Utah's total air yards), 136 of the 234 caught passes and 15 of the team's 27 receiving touchdowns.

Utah was able to retain Larry Simmons, Tobias Merriweather and Creed Whittemore during the transfer period, providing some continuity with Devon Dampier back under center for the 2026 campaign. Tight end Hunter Andrews was also expected to be back after suffering a season-ending injury during a Sept. 20 game against Texas Tech.

Still, Johnson will have opportunities to compete for meaningful playing time throughout spring and fall camps.

He didn't put up the big statistical seasons that Pegan or Shoels did at their respective stops before Utah, but that doesn't necessarily mean Johnson will have a hard time seeing the field in 2026. He possesses favorable size at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds (according to his Mississippi State profile) and will be able to continue along the development path Bumphis first set him on in 2024, giving Johnson a clear course to follow as he enters his redshirt sophomore season.

Bumphis originally recruited Johnson out of Houston County High School (Georgia), where Johnson put together one of the most impressive careers by a wide receiver in school history. After recording the second-most receiving yards in a single season as a senior (1,213), Johnson finished as Houston County's third all-time leading receiver with 2,053 yards on 118 receptions. He was ranked by 247Sports as a three-star and the No. 142 wide receiver prospect in the 2024 class.

Johnson committed to Mississippi State over competing offers from Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, Stanford, UCF and Minnesota, among others. Following a redshirt year as a freshman, he played in all 13 games and made one start in 2025, recording three receptions for 17 yards.