Zach Williams to the portal

[SLC-UteFan]

WR1.

Ugh.

https://x.com/PeteNakos_/status/1914774725311479875

[Tednab]

$&$@… and here we go .

[SouthJordanUte]

College football is getting dumber by the day

[D T]

What are the odds tds is involved in this?

[D T]

Alex Markham/Dan Sorensen both confirming tds is tampering with some of our players not yet in the portal when contacted.

[Rick Walker]

While I think byu has been tampering with many of our players I doubt Zach is one of them. Just because he’s not an lds recruit (to my knowledge) and byu has a deep enough WR room and they like their guys.

[D T]

ZW isn’t one of the 3 confirmed players.

[Rick Walker]

On the last day of the spring portal window too. Somebody somewhere definitely rolled out the checkbook

[Tednab]

According to Dan Sorenson , tds has offered Caleb Lomu , Dallas vakalahi and smith Snowden .

[highlandute7]

I know Snowden was contacted last year during the portal by TDS as well. Hopefully they are all solid.

[Utah#1]

They are trying to destabilize and completely destroy Utah’s football program. They are evil and nothing godly or Christ-like about their religious institution. Ever since money entered the business, they took cheating and stealing to another level. I’m not wishing anything bad on them, but they do wish significant misfortune on us in a heartbeat! They will be the first ones to stick a knife in our necks and slit our throats while looking into our eyes and get a sick satisfaction doing it with no care in the world. believe they are even pass that thought already and to them going to hell to destroy Utah is worth it all

[Caleb]

If Utah had the means to do what BYU is doing right now, I would support ’em doing just that. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there and the Utes are quickly falling behind the game.

[Ute Squatch]

Some very detailed analogies. I’m not going to take college athletics quite so seriously to have the take that people are going to hell for the (rumored) possibility that another program may be interested in some Utah players. I would bet there are a lot of schools that are interested in some of Utahs players and the players themselves would be fools not to listen to all the 3rd party to 3rd party conversations out there. When I was in college $100 was a lot. I think I’d be interested in hearing if another employer was willing to pay me 10’s and hundreds of thousands more. It’s weird but it’s what is allowed in college athletics today and Utah should probably join the party or get left in the dust.

[AlohaUte]

Quit acting like BYU is doing something unethical or out of the norm. They are operating the same way every school – who’s smart and embracing the current wild west of the College sports – do. And it’s most likely not BYU out tampering with our players, it’s likely the players’ agents going to BYU (and any other number of schools) and trying to get a better deal.

[Kellso]

There are rules against tampering.

[Utah#1]

That maybe true and I don’t doubt that, but I’m not naive to believe they are not capable of such nefarious activity! If you think BYU a truly righteous holier than thou school and is not behind a lot of it, then you need to become street smart.

[Rick Walker]

Bad take imo, just because everyone does something doesn’t mean it isn’t unethical. Don’t forget it’s still technically against the rules, the NCAA just doesn’t have the backbone anymore to enforce anything. But it is all 100% unethical, unfortunately everyone (Utah included) does it.

[NarfUte]

the last day is Friday the 25th, but yeah this sucks

[highlandute7]

This sucks. I see we have apparent visits setup with two 6’4 WRs from McNeese St and Pitt, for what it’s worth.

WR

[Yergensen]

Quick clarification, Mosley is a class of 2026 recruit from Pittsburg, CA not a transfer from Pitt that can immediatley fill void of WRs that just hit the portal.

[Charlie]

It is sad. But also realize most of these players will not go on to the NFL and college football will give them their best opportunity to make money until late in the career or maybe ever. I don’t begrudge them getting their share of what college football makes but I would like to see it done in a process that does not pay them more to be a perpetual free agent. Some sort of salary cap is in order.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Curious to see if he has a deal already in place or shopping around to find one. I hope it’s worth it. He was set to be WR 1. New school, new program and new offense.

[//r00t4Utes]

That’s what is most surprising to me is that everything was pointing to him being the #1WR and making it hurt.

Doesn’t look like it is likely, but here’s to hoping he comes back.

[Larry B]

Can’t believe I’d ever be saying this, but after 20+ years of being a season ticket holder, this might be my final season. Until NIL, the transfer portal and tampering is fixed, I’m not going to continue paying more and more for a sub par product.

[Tednab]

Blame this on the spring game, there is no value advertising our product

[HeyyyUguyyys]

The baffling thing to me isn’t that players are following the money. That’s the understandable part. The baffling thing to me is that we seem to have such a weak counter punch to these programs that are waving cash in front of our players. Who knew we would be so far behind in adapting to the modern college football landscape. We are out there preaching family and culture and draft picks and all of the stuff that we all wish it was still about, but it just isn’t. At least not in the same way. The narrative has shifted and we haven’t shifted with it.

The terrifying part isn’t the prospect of losing a single player like Williams, it’s the prospect of losing the foundation. Utah doesn’t have the type of tradition to withstand multiple losing seasons. We are not Alabama or Ohio State or Notre Dame. If donors aren’t willing to pony up on the heels of multiple Pac 12 championships, do you think they are going to be ready to do it if we are sub .500 for multiple years? Do you think a guy like Scalley who could potentially be a successful coach for the next 20 years is going to stay around knowing that he doesn’t have the support needed to put contending teams on the field every year? We still have some really solid units (o-line, linebacker,etc) but the momentum has clearly shifted and not in our favor.

[Utah5410]

I cannot believe contracts hold no value in this world of college. I agree above. I have season tickets this year and will go. But this will be my last until this stuff gets figured out.

[J Rocksville]

This feels like a kid that knows he’s our best option, but isn’t being paid like a top 15 team’s #1 option and wants to.

I have a feeling he’s coming back.

[RustyShackleford]

College sports are becoming increasingly frustrating to follow.

[RoboUte]

Is this a meltdown thread for a guy coming off of a 100 yard season?

I get that we’re incapable of utilizing WRs but holy s**t if this our presumptive number one im glad my ability to give a s**t hit the portal in late 23.

[Tednab]

Washington just hit the portal

[RoboUte]

Absolutely every husky all at once?

[Tednab]

lol , no Utah’s other unknown WR

[Trailgoat]

Good point RU. If Utah’s #1 WR going into next season compiles a whopping 10 catches for 101 yards in two games last season, 70% of the production against an unmotivated 4-8 UCF team. WR recruiting and utilization is an inherent program problem that has not changed and never will under KW’s leadership. This is really nothing new.

[Yergensen]

It’s a loss. Watching the UCF game, the one game ZW started in 2024 and largely what his stats were based on, you saw the talent.

We don’t throw the ball to WR enough, but when we do or decide to do it more ZW makes us better.

[Trailgoat]

Agree he’s a loss if it’s your 3rd or maybe 2nd talented player in the WR rotation. I have a hard time endorsing ZW as a top level play maker loss based on a breakout game against UCF and 15 days of Spring football. I was somewhat surprised ZW, per KW, emerged as the #1 WR considering WR was a top portal priority.

[Yergensen]

Point is probably moot, but if you care to go watch him in the UCF game.

I don’t put all my stock in stats, good or bad. I put little to no stock in what Whitt says. I put a lot more in what I see.

This is a money move and P2 has the money. Don’t be surprised if he goes P2, which should be, to a degree, a validation of his talent and potential.

[HeyyyUguyyys]

Not sure I get the indifference reaction. You want the best players on your team to stay on your team. To each their own I guess. Does anyone really think he was only going to bring 10 catches and a hundred yards to the table this season? Everyone isn’t productive until they are. He was clearly talented and just needs an opportunity to showcase that more. The bigger concern is that he went through spring ball and the spring game and was clearly intending to play. He knew he was going to get big opportunities on the field and still left anyway. Again, this is about Utah not being able to figure out how to stay competitive on the NIL landscape.

[Caleb]

Yeah. This speaks as equally to the state of things with Utah football as it does the actual talent. You can be “wait and see” with the talent, which is a perfectly viable view but losing the number one designated WR (and another WR with Washington the same day) should throw up some concerns and red flags about Utah’s standing in the NIL era.

In fact, if you think this player isn’t impressive, and likely not worth it anyway, what does it say that Utah has him pegged their top receiver and he’s jumping ship? That’s even worse, imo, than losing a very talented player because it means he probably ends up at a school no better than Utah if that’s the case. I don’t think it will be – I assume he’ll go to UCLA or another P2 school but if he’s not impressive and makes an at best lateral jump, what’s that say about our program?

[pedro]

If we give Harlan credit for the recruit that signed earlier this week, do we give him credit for those leaving today? Asking for a friend….

[EagleMountainUte]

Without a Collective Bargaining Agreement I don’t see how it gets any better. Problem with that is the players are going all around to different conferences and levels within college football. They only have to remain subject to the CBA for two years? I am not an expert but I think a lawyer would have problems with any contract.

Which is why some super conferences deal needs to be in place. But frankly any school can sign kids to NIL so it doesn’t solve the problem completely.

College football is dying. Which maybe it isn’t a terrible thing because it has always been based on a pretty unfair system.

[chinngiskhaan]

The NCAA had every opportunity to fix things before all of this happened. Case after case after case in court slowly leading to this mess, and they did NOTHING. If the NCAA hadn’t been so damn greedy we wouldn’t be in this position.

[hbUte]

Signed with USC today.

Money aside, baffling to me that he would transfer there as from what I’ve read so far, he won’t even be starting. Goes from WR1 to a back-up.

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