Utah secures major commitment from 4-star wide receiver transfer

Utes acquired a top-25 receiver on the open market

The Utah Utes acquired their potential No. 1 receiving option for 2026 via the transfer portal. | James Snook-Imagn Images

Make that two key pieces of the Utah State offense joining Utah for the 2026 season.

Less than a week after Aggies' offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven was hired to serve the same position with the Utes, it was reported that his top receiver, Braden Pegan, would be following him to Salt Lake City.

Pegan reportedly committed to Utah on Wednesday, giving the Utes a serious threat in the passing game for the 2026 season. It'll be his final year of eligibility.

Pegan, a four-star transfer and the No. 21 wide receiver available on the open market, according to 247Sports, picked Utah after going on visits to Rutgers and Wisconsin.

“There were a lot of reasons why I chose Utah but development and being around great people played a big role," Pegan told On3. "That was the most important thing for me when it comes to choosing a program and Utah has that."

The familiarity Pegan has with Utah's new offensive coordinator likely played a role in his decision as well, especially when considering he enjoyed a career year with McGiven as his play-caller in 2025.

Pegan was the No. 1 receiving option for an Aggies team that ranked No. 2 in the Mountain West in scoring (31.8 points per game) and No. 3 in total offense (422.4 yards per game), leading Utah State with 60 receptions for 926 yards and five touchdowns, including three games with 100-plus receiving yards.

It also helped that Utah brought back a familiar face in Chad Bumphis, who was recently named the team's wide receivers coach. In that same role with the Utes back in 2021, Bumphis recruited Pegan when he was a coveted recruit at San Juan Hills High School (California).

Pegan wound up committing to UCLA as a three-star prospect in the 2022 class and spent the first two seasons of his collegiate career in Los Angeles, logging one catch for seven yards in 13 games with the Bruins. Playing only four games as a freshman in 2022 preserved Pegan's redshirt year, which he used in 2024 before transferring to Utah State. His arrival to Logan, Utah, coincided with McGiven's first year as the Aggies' offensive coordinator.

Pegan proved to be a great fit in McGiven's offense as he averaged 15.4 yards per catch and 77.2 receiving yards per game.

Landing Pegan was a massive move for the Utes, considering their top three pass-catchers from 2025 — Ryan Davis (graduation), Dallen Bentley (graduation) and JJ Buchanan (portal) — are set to leave the program.