Winners and losers from Utah football's transfer portal efforts

A few takeaways from the Utes' transfer portal additions and losses

Utah Utes head coach Morgan Scalley and his program utilized the transfer portal to fill holes and add depth to certain positions of need for the 2026 season. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

With the dust settling on the transfer portal, the Utah football team's roster for the 2026 season is near finalization.

The Utes might have a couple more moves up their sleeves, but for the most part, Morgan Scalley and company accomplished what they needed to get done during college football's free agency period.

The offseason sure got off to a much different pace than Utah fans had been accustomed to, given there was a new staff navigating a newly-implemented, 14-day portal window that replaced the previous winter and spring windows from last season. Not to mention, the Utes made several coaching changes, bringing a fresh start to the program once their 2025 campaign officially ended in December.

As Utah potentially looks to make one or two more acquisitions while it still can, let's take a look at the winners and losers from its transfer portal efforts.

Loser: Continuity In The Trenches

A whole lot of fresh faces will be tasked with maintaining Utah's identity as one of the most physically-imposing teams in college football.

All five starters from last season's offensive line, including standout tackles Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, plus both rush ends (Logan Fano and John Henry Daley) and starting interior defensive linemen (Jonah Lea'ea and Aliki Vimahi) on the other side of the trenches have graduated, left via the portal or entered the NFL draft pool.

There's reason to be hopeful the additions Utah made to its defensive line group, including Ethan Day, Lucas Samsula and Jamal Wallace, along with some of the returners like Karson Kaufusi, Pupu Sepulona and Kash Dillon, make up for the team's losses in the aggregate. Scalley, being the defensive-minded coach that he is, and newly-promoted defensive coordinator Colton Swan should be able to find the right combination of run-stuffers and pass-rushers in that collection.

Where a lack in continuity might hurt Utah the most is along its offensive line. The Utes didn't have to worry about that being an issue going into 2025, but they do now. And considering they'll still want to feature the run plenty next season, it's vital that the new pieces of their front line mesh and build chemistry among each other throughout spring and fall camp.

Winner: Kevin McGiven

Kevin McGiven, Utah's new offensive coordinator who spent last season at Utah State, has plenty of reasons to be excited for his first year as the Utes' play-caller.

For starters, he'll be surrounded by plenty of familiar faces. His top receiver from Utah State, Braden Pegan, has decided to follow him from Logan, Utah, down to Salt Lake City after a career-year with the Aggies (60 catches, 926 yards, five touchdowns). The soon-to-senior will join another disciple of McGiven's in Kyri Shoels, who spent the 2024 season with McGiven as his wide receivers coach at San José State.

McGiven also has to be happy with the fact Utah retained both its quarterbacks, Devon Dampier and Byrd Ficklin, for one more year. Bringing back Dampier, especially, sets the Utes up to be nearly as potent on offense as they were in 2025. He'll have to adjust playing behind a new offensive line and running a new scheme for the first time since his freshman season at New Mexico, though the upside of being able to stretch the field more and toss the ball around the yard should come as intriguing for everyone involved.

Inheriting the quarterback tandem that commanded an offense that averaged over 40 points per game last season, while incorporating his hand-picked receivers into the rotation, make McGiven one of the winners of Utah's offseason.

Loser: Traditionalists

Those opposed to the transfer portal and what it allows coaches and players to do were probably appalled by the aftermath of Kyle Whittingham's decision to take over Michigan.

In total, the Wolverines snagged five Utah transfers out of the portal, in addition to several assistant coaches who left Salt Lake City to join Whittingham in Ann Arbor. Among those departures: four-star athlete and ex-Utah signee, Salesi Moa; stud wide receiver JJ Buchanan; All-Big 12 cornerback Smith Snowden; and Daley, who was an All-American edge rusher with the Utes last season.

As expected, Utah fans weren't exactly thrilled that the team's former coach was able to bring several of his top players with him on his new endeavor. The manner in which it all played out was unsettling for many who remember the times when players had to sit out a year if they decided to transfer, and revenue-share/NIL not being the driving force behind such decisions.

Obviously, those days are long-gone. No one really knows where this is all headed, but for the time being, it's the reality.

Winner: Utah's Skill Position Depth

On the aforementioned pass-catchers who'll probably make an immediate impact, Utah will roster a trio of receivers from last season's squad (Larry Simmons, Tobias Merriweather and Creed Whittemore) as well as a few versatile skill position guys in Nate Johnson, Daniel Bray and Hunter Andrews.

The Utes will also have their leading rusher, Wayshawn Parker, back in the fold to receive handoffs from Dampier and Ficklin. That trio alone combined for 2,514 yards from scrimmage in 2025, equating to about 40% of Utah's total offensive production (6,278 scrimmage yards) in that regard.

That's quite the retention strategy Scalley and company put on display, considering Utah had to replace its head coach and offensive coordinator, plus its offensive line coach, tight end coach and wide receiver coach — all while the portal was open for business.