Utah football announces Daidren Zipperer will miss rest of season with injury

Utes wide receiver hadn't played a snap in 2025

Utah Utes wide receiver Daidren Zipperer (6) was ruled out for the remainder of the 2025 season by his head coach, Kyle Whittingham. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The injury report for the Utah football team didn't get any better in the lead-up to its Week 4 showdown against Texas Tech.

A day after defensive back Rabbit Evans was ruled out for the season, Kyle Whittingham announced wide receiver Daidren Zipperer would miss the rest of the 2025 campaign after sustaining an injury, according to KSL's Steve Bartle.

Zipperer had yet to see the field before being ruled out for the year by his head coach. The 6-foot, 175-pound redshirt sophomore received praise from Whittingham for his play during spring ball, providing an optimistic outlook for his future with the team after he appeared in 11 games the season prior.

With Zipperer out of the lineup, the Utes shared the wealth among their array of pass-catchers to start the season, as five different players had five or more catches through nonconference play. New Mexico transfer Ryan Davis paced the squad with 19 receptions for 171 yards — a majority of which came in the 31-6 win over Wyoming — followed by tight end Dallen Bentley with 11 receptions for 112 yards.

Utah also utilized some of its best defensive players in the pass game, including cornerback/wide receiver Smith Snowden and linebacker/tight end Lander Barton — both of whom found the endzone in Week 1 — as well as safety/receiver Jackson Bennee. Those three will likely continue to see snaps on both sides of the ball with Zipperer out for the season.

Kyle Whittingham announced that Daidren Zipperer has been injured and is now done for the year.

— Steve Bartle (@BartleKSLsports) September 17, 2025

Zipperer was a three-star recruit out of Lakeland High School (Florida) when he committed to the Utes as part of their 2023 recruiting class. Following a redshirt year, he made his Utah debut in the team's 2024 season opener against Southern Utah, hauling in three catches for 38 yards.

Zipperer, who recorded a career-high four receptions for 66 yards in the Utes' loss to Iowa State later that season, finished his redshirt freshman season with eight catches for 122 yards.

Whittingham confirmed Monday that Evans would miss the remainder of the 2025 campaign after suffering what appeared to be a leg injury during the Utes' win over the Cowboys in Laramie, Wyoming. Shortly after that, Evans posted a photo of himself post-surgery, with a caption that read in part, "Surgery went well !!"

Utah hosts Texas Tech in a top-20 showdown between Big 12 contenders at 10 a.m. local time on Saturday.