Utah football enters race for former 3-star WR recruit

As Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham and his staff continue to round out their wide receiver room for the 2025 season, the Utes have remained active in the transfer portal and on the recruiting trails.

After landing a commitment from Southern Miss transfer Larry Simmons earlier this week, Whittingham and company turned their attention to 6-foot-2 wide receiver Isaiah Spencer, who posted on social media that he received a scholarship offer from Utah.

Spencer spent the past two seasons at Jackson State, where he hauled in 35 receptions for 660 yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore in 2024. A former three-star recruit, he was ranked by 247Sports as the No. 30 recruit from Mississippi and the No. 225 wide receiver prospect in the class of 2023.

Utah previously had interest in McNeese State transfer Jer’Michael Carter, a 6-foot-4 wide receiver who led the Cowboys in receiving last season. Though after visiting Whittingham and his staff last week, Carter committed to Oklahoma on Wednesday. The Sooners jumped in the race at the last second to nab the talented wideout away from Utah, Baylor, Vanderbilt and Tennessee, among others.

Carter hauled in 37 catches for 537 yards and three touchdowns while playing in all 12 games for McNeese in the 2024 season. He appeared in four games as a freshman the year prior, catching three passes for 56 yards.

Spencer became a hot commodity the moment he entered the portal. In addition to Utah, he’s received offers from Virginia Tech, Baylor, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Pitt and West Virginia.

As the list of interested parties grows, the race to land the 6-foot-2, 185-pound receiver heats up. Kentucky has positioned itself nicely after hosting an official visit with Spencer, though Baylor will look to do the same this weekend when it hosts the Madison, Mississippi, native on a visit.

With Dorian Singer off to the NFL, the Utes entered the spring with a glaring need for a receiver. Even after landing Otto Tia (Utah State), Justin Stevenson (Wyoming) and Creed Whitmore (Mississippi State) in the winter cycle, Whittingham expressed prior to the annual spring game that receiver was one of the position groups he’d like to address via the portal. And that was before Utah’s presumptive No. 1 option for next season, Zach Williams, entered the portal.

Perhaps Cal transfer Tobias Merriweather will provide the Utes what they’re looking for on the outside. Per 247Sports, Utah is in a “strong position” to land the 6-foot-5, 205-pound wide receiver from Camas, Washington. Merriweather missed the first eight games of the 2024 season due to injury, but still played the final five games to haul in 11 catches for 125 yards and one touchdown.

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