Utah redshirt freshman quarterback Nate Johnson is planning to enter the transfer portal after two seasons with the Utes. Johnson committed to Utah as a member of their class of 2022 and was rated a 3-star with a 5.6 Rivals rating. Johnson played at Clovis High School in Clovis, CA and chose Utah over UCLA, TCU, San Jose State, San Diego State, Oregon State, Michigan, Fresno State, Arizona State, and Arizona. In addition to Utah, Johnson also took official visits to Michigan and Oregon State.
This past season, Johnson played in eight games, going 39-72 for 499 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions for a 126.1 passer rating. He also rushed for 235 yards and four touchdowns for a 4.0 yards per carry average on 59 attempts.
Johnson has some upside and has the chance to make an impact for some program. He did some nice things for Utah this season. One thing to look for is whether or not he’ll end up at Michigan or Oregon State since there was some interest there coming out of high school. Those are two schools that might come calling now that he’s available.
It's also important to note that he has three years of eligibility remaining and won't have to sit, so he's going to have an opportunity to make an impact right away wherever he goes. Obviously things didn't go the way for him in Utah that he was hoping. A big issue being that he sees himself as a quarterback while Utah does not. Maybe a change of scenery will work out for him. Definitely an interesting player to keep an eye on this transfer cycle.