Author: Jesse

Utah offensive lineman Spencer Fano was picked by the Cleveland Browns with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday.

Fano, a consensus All-American and Outland Trophy recipient who played in 37 games across three seasons with the Utes, became the 11th player in program history to be picked in the first round of the draft, and the third tackle overall since 2003. He was the first tackle off the draft board and the fifth Utah player to ever be drafted by Cleveland.

In many ways, Fano’s draft outcome had been expected by many for the past year or so. The 6-foot-6 Spanish Fork native began receiving draft buzz heading into his junior season, and his prolific play as Utah’s starting right tackle only solidified his profile as one of the top prospects in the 2026 class. Fano didn’t allow a single in over 350 pass blocking opportunities and helped pave the way for the most-potent rushing attack at the Power 5 level last season.

That being said, Fano’s draft declaration in December only confirmed Utah would have to slot in someone new at his spot on the O-line for the 2026 campaign. The Utes did retain a few lineman with a lot of snaps under their belts, but didn’t return a single starter from the 2025 group and as such, had to plug some holes via the transfer portal.

Utah also snagged one of the top high school tackle recruits in the 2025 class in Kelvin Obot. However, we’re predicting that he’s going to fill Caleb Lomu’s vacancy at the left tackle spot.

As for the Utes’ right tackle spot: Here’s a few names to get familiar with as we predict the position’s depth chart

Predicting Utah’s right tackle depth chart

Cedric Jefferson

After starting all 16 games for Montana State’s Football Championship Subdivision title squad in 2025, the 6-foot-5, 300 pound junior from Temecula, California, is our pick to start at right tackle for Utah in 2026.

While it remains to be seen just how ready Jefferson is to compete at the power conference level, there’s little to question about his fit with the Utes. He’s coming from an offensive scheme that, like Utah, was very much oriented on the run game. The Bobcats were No. 2 in the FCS in rush attempts (635) and No. 5 in rush yards per game (226.1) during their championship-winning season.

Under first-year offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven, Utah might not lean on the run as heavily as it did in 2025, when it posted a program-record 3,462 rush yards and recorded 41 rushing yards in 13 games. If the run game is going to be dominant in its own right again, Jefferson will likely be a major reason why.

Keith Olson

Olson, a redshirt senior with 25 career games under his belt, isn’t our pick to start at right tackle, though it wouldn’t be a surprise if Utah went with the 6-foot-6 Washington native instead of Jefferson given his experience and versatility.

That being said, it also wouldn’t be shocking if Olson slotted in at one of the guard spots instead of tackle. He spent time at both right and left guard, as well as right tackle, at various points of the 2025 season, making one start as an extra lineman during Utah’s regular season finale at Kansas. In totality, Olson allowed just two pressures and no sacks in 98 pass blocking opportunities, with most of his snaps coming in run blocking situations.

Olson could end up playing at guard, though because he’s listed at 6-foot-6 and 307 pounds, we’re picking him to play tackle with a legitmate chance to start.

Other potential right tackles

• Kelvin Obot (6-foot-5, 295 pound freshman): Four-star prospect and the No. 7-ranked tackle in the 2026 class
• Mataalii Benjamin (6-foot-7, 315 pound freshman): Four-star recruit and the No. 21-ranked tackle in the 2026 class
• Soren Shinofield (6-foot-6, 304 pound sophomore): Three-star recruit in 2025 class who didn’t play as a freshman
• Isaiah Garcia (6-foot-5, 310 pound redshirt sophomore): Four-star prospect in 2024 class who didn’t see the field in 2025 after playing two games in 2024

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A few Utah football stars will have their dreams of playing in the pros come one step closer to realization over the next 72 hours as the 2026 NFL Draft plays out from the North Shore near Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The first round of the draft kicked off Thursday at 6 p.m. MT on ESPN. The second and third rounds will be televised Friday at 5 p.m., with the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds wrapping up the draft on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Follow along below as we track each Utah draftee and where they’re headed to start their pro careers.

Refresh this page for the latest draft update.

Utah Players Selected in the 2026 NFL Draft

• Spencer Fano (OL): Drafted No. 9 overall by the Cleveland Browns
• Caleb Lomu (OL): Selected No. 28 overall by the New England Patriots

Spencer Fano is first offensive lineman off the board

Utah’s star right tackle is headed to Cleveland after capping off a decorated three-year collegiate career as a consensus All-American, the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year and the Outland Trophy recipient. He became the second-highest Utah tackle drafted behind Jordan Gross (No. 8 overall in 2003).

Fano racked up multiple accolades at the end of his junior season with the Utes following a highly-efficient 2025 campaign, in which he allowed just five pressures and five hurries across 357 pass blocking opportunities, according to Pro Football Focus. In addition to not allowing a sack, the 6-foot-6 Fano helped pave the way for one of the best ground attacks in the country, with Utah recording a program-record 3,462 rushing yards across 13 games (266.3 per game, No. 1 among Power 5 teams).

Fano continued to impress scouts and other NFL personnel during the scouting combine in Indianapolis, where he checked out holding the highest athleticism score (93), the highest production score (85) and the best total score (89) of any offensive tackle prospect who participated in the drills and testing. He recorded a time of 4.91 seconds in the 40-yard dash, a 32-inch vertical jump and a 10-yard split of 1.72 seconds.

Fano and Lomu Make Utah Draft History

Caleb Lomu going No. 28 overall to New England marked the first time ever that two Utah players were selected in the same first round of the NFL draft.

Lomu, an All-Big 12 selection and two-year starting left tackle with the Utes, was the seventh offensive tackle off the board, following his teammate Fano (No. 9), Miami’s Francis Mauigoa (No. 10), Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor (No. 12), Clemson’s Blake Miller (No. 17), Georgia’s Monroe Freeling (No. 19), and Arizona State’s Max Iheanachor (No. 21).

How many Utah players have been drafted into the NFL?

Entering Thursday, Utah had churned out 189 draft picks in school history, including 10 first-round selections, 16 second-rounders and 15 third-rounders.

At least one Utes players has been drafted in 16 of the past 17 drafts, with the 2017 class standing out as the most voluminous (eight players selected, including All-Pro tackle Garett Bolles at No. 20 overall).

Who were the most recent Utah players to be drafted?

Last year, former college basketball standout and Utes tight end, Caleb Lohner, was the program’s lone representative in the draft, going No. 241 overall to the Denver Broncos.

Five Utah players heard their names called during the 2024 draft, including standout defensive back Cole Bishop (No. 60 overall to the Buffalo Bills) and stud defensive end Jonah Elliss (No. 76 overall to the Denver Broncos).

Has Utah ever produced a No. 1 overall pick?

All-American quarterback Alex Smith is the only Utes player to ever be selected with the top pick in the NFL draft.

Smith went on to play 14 seasons professionally, including including seven with the San Francisco 49ers, five with the Kansas City Chiefs and two with Washington, after being drafted No. 1 overall by San Francisco in 2005. He finished his career as a three-time Pro Bowler and recipient of the 2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award following a gruesome leg injury he suffered while with Washington.

Who is the most recent Utah player to be drafted in the first round?

Entering Thursday, Dalton Kincaid was the most recent first-rounder Utah churned out. The standout tight end was taken No. 25 overall by the Buffalo Bills in the 2023 draft.

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NEED TO KNOW

• Mikayla Matthews is sharing an update on her chronic illness

• After opening up about her fear of returning to Utah because of concerns that being back in the state would cause a flare up of her chronic illness, the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star opened up about dealing that she was dealing with some symptoms of her disease

Mikayla Matthews is opening up about a flare-up of her chronic illness.

In a video posted to Instagram on April 22, the momfluencer shared that, within two days of returning to Utah following a brand trip to Costa Rica, she had begun experiencing symptoms of her chronic illness again.

“As you can tell, like my hands flared up really bad. My neck flared up really bad,” Matthews said, as she showed her hands to the camera.

“I’m sitting here truly feeling like… in Utah, in this environment, I am just surviving with chronic illness,” she added, before saying, “When I was in Costa Rica, when I was in California, I’m living with chronic illness. My life is still going on. It’s not at the forefront of my mind.”

Earlier this month, on April 16, Matthews posted a message to her Instagram Stories as she returned from a trip in Costa Rica with former Dancing with the Stars pro Lindsay Arnold’s The Movement Club. Posting from her airplane seat, the momfluencer shared that she had the “worst anxiety going back home to Utah.” Matthews said that she was scared to lose “all the progress” she had made with her health while she was away from home. Online and on the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Matthews has been open about dealing with her illness, recently revealing that the name of her disease is a chronic inflammatory response syndrome, or CIRS, which she said was “brought on [by] prolonged exposures to toxins (mold).”

Now, having returned to Utah, Matthews said that her skin “is in a lot of physical pain,” which has caused her to “say no” to events she has coming up.

“I hate doing interviews on the carpet, taking pictures, and that’s out there for everyone to see,” she added, touching on how online comments about her appearance have gotten to her.

“I’m in so much pain laying on my bed not able to go up and get my kids from school or wake up with them and take them to school,” she said. Matthews also said she had considered selling her Utah home, but was afraid she would still be dealing with the same conditions in another one if she did.

“Nobody is ever going to understand the impact, chronic illness, and skin condition, and the way that it has completely, completely stripped me of so much happiness, stripped me of so much time with my family, with my kids, that I’m never gonna get back,” she said.

Matthews first opened up about her chronic illness in a post on Instagram in September 2024, revealing that she had been “fighting for my life” while filming the first season of Mormon Wives, in part because of mysterious skin flare-ups.

Back in 2023, Matthews shared that she’s experienced chronic eczema since childhood, but suspected her other symptoms that would later be diagnosed as CIRS began after getting breast implants in March of that year.

The influencer, who is mom to son Beckham, 8, and daughters Haven, 5½, Tommie, 3, and Lottie June, 8 months, with her husband Jace Terry, also said that, as a result of her struggles with her chronic illness, her “mom guilt” has “eaten [her] alive.”

Read the original article on People

A playoff series has turned into a full-on identity battle in Salt Lake City—and Utah is making its pitch loud and visible.

When the Utah Mammoth dropped the puck on their inaugural season in 2024, the Vegas Golden Knights already had a foothold in the region, having spent years cultivating a fanbase across Utah. Now, with the two clubs meeting in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time, Utah isn’t just trying to win games—it’s trying to win people over.

On Friday, the Mammoth will stage their first-ever jersey exchange outside Delta Center, inviting fans to trade in Golden Knights sweaters for a clean, logo-only Mammoth home jersey. The offer is simple: first come, first served, no cost attached—just a symbolic reset of allegiance, while supplies last.

“It’s been incredible to see the way Utah has embraced this team from day one,” owners Ryan Smith and Ashley Smith said in a joint statement.

The timing isn’t accidental. The exchange begins at noon local time, just hours before Utah hosts its first-ever home playoff game. The series itself is already simmering, tied 1–1 after the Mammoth stole Game 2 in Vegas with a 3–2 win Tuesday night.

Long before Utah had a franchise to call its own, Salt Lake City existed in a kind of hockey gray area—one the Golden Knights were quick to claim.

From their inception in 2017, Vegas—backed by owner Bill Foley—aggressively pursued a broader regional identity, branding themselves as a team not just for Nevada, but for the entire Mountain West. Broadcast reach through AT&T Sports Network helped extend that footprint, and Utah became a natural extension of their audience.

That strategy paid off. For years, Golden Knights jerseys dotted crowds in Salt Lake City, a visual reminder of a market without its own team.

That dynamic began to change in 2024, when Smith Entertainment Group secured an NHL franchise in the wake of the Arizona Coyotes relocation. Suddenly, Utah wasn’t a secondary market—it was center stage.

Foley, for his part, downplayed the shift at the time.

“We give up Salt Lake City as a secondary territory, but we get Arizona, so we’re OK,” he told KLAS-TV. “We still have our sphere of influence. But we love Salt Lake. We have a lot of fans there.”

That may still be true—but the Mammoth are clearly intent on shrinking that number, one jersey at a time.

Friday’s exchange won’t officially change anyone’s loyalty. But visually, at least, it’s a bold attempt to redraw the map—and in the middle of a playoff series, it adds another layer to an already charged matchup.

Tiki Teeples, one of the top defensive lineman recruits from the state of Arizona, has committed to the Utah football program.

The Utes secured the Canyon View High School product’s pledge Wednesday evening, giving Morgan Scalley and company their third commitment in the class of 2027.

Teeples, who chose Utah over competing interest from multiple Power 5 programs, announced his commitment via X with the caption: “After a lot of prayer, hard work, and talks with my family, I’m blessed to announce that I am %100 COMMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH! Thank you to all my coaches, teammates, and everyone who has supported me through this journey. This is just the beginning. #GoUtes”

Teeples committed to the Utes as 247Sports’ No. 118-ranked defensive line recruit in the nation and the No. 24 overall prospect from Arizona. Only two other defensive line players from Arizona — Basha High School’s T.K. Cunningham and Desert Edge High School’s Yahzeen Zion — were graded higher than Teeples on the recruiting site’s database.

Utah beat out a few Big 12 schools to land the 6-foot-4 rising senior, including Iowa State, Texas Tech and West Virginia. Other programs out West, like Fresno State, Idaho and Utah State, had also extended offers.

Teeples’ recruitment picked up steam following a highly-productive junior season in which he recorded 63 tackles, including 18 for loss and 12.5 sacks, earning first-team all-region and second-team all-state defensive line honors.

About a month after the 2025 season ended, Teeples had coaching staffs from all over the West Coast, including representatives from Arizona, Arizona State, San Diego State and Boise State, among others, pay him visits during the January contact period. He also got to check out Texas Tech and New Mexico while on unofficial visits in February.

Utah didn’t officially join the mix until defensive tackles coach Luther Elliss pitched the Utes and extended Teeples an offer in March. Just four weeks later, the three-star recruit shared on social media that he’d scheduled an official visit with Utah for June 5-7.

Obviously, Teeples didn’t need to take his official visit with the Utes to be sold on what Scalley and his staff are selling him. For Utah, it secures its second defensive lineman and its third overall prospect in the 2027 class, which also features commits from three-star edge Jack Henderson and three-star wide receiver Kingston Parks.

Teeples shared on social media earlier this month that he’d arranged a visit with Iowa State for May 28-30; time will tell whether he goes on that visit.

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The identity of the 2026-27 Utah men’s basketball squad has come into focus as Alex Jensen and his staff have replenished their roster with new talent to fill in the holes and voids created by the many portal departures the team experienced over the past few weeks.

By the time the transfer portal closed Tuesday night, 11 players from the 2025-26 squad had entered their names into college basketball’s free agency pool, creating a blank slate for the second-year head coach of the Runnin’ Utes to work with as he attempts to turn things around from a disappointing 10-22 showing in his first season at the helm. Utah also lost a couple of key players due to eligibility exhaustion in Don McHenry and James Okonkwo, ensuring that an entirely new starting five would be in play for the upcoming season.

As such, Jensen and company got to work in the portal and recruiting trails. Utah brought in three transfers to play on the perimeter in Jackson Holcombe (Utah Valley), Taison Chatman (Ohio State) and TJ Burch (Wright State), and added one of the top European prospects in Noam Yaacov to potentially start at the point guard spot. Those additions — plus 2026 signees Styles Clemmons, Simeon Suguturaga and David Katoa — will look to gel with the Utes’ lone returning guard, Lucas Langarita, in the backcourt.

Utah also welcomes German forward Alec Anigbata, French wing Zati Loubaki and former four-star recruit Jaxon Johnson as part of its 2026 class. A couple of bigs in Fynn Schott and Weber State transfer Malek Gomma will mix with Babacar Faye, who missed all of last season due to injury, in the Utes’ frontcourt.

With just a couple of roster spots available, it would appear Utah is close to finalizing its 2026-27 team. And while Jensen and general manager Wes Wilcox have retooled their squad admirably, there’s still a noticeable need they should look to address: A true center with favorable size and length.

Right now, the tallest player on the Utes’ roster is between Faye and Loubaki (both are listed at 6-foot-9). There are four other players hovering around that height in Anigbata, Gomma, Johnson and Schott (all at 6-foot-8), but none of the returners or newcomers stand at 6-foot-10 or taller. Not to mention, not all of those players are true centers — some profile as wings more so than anything else (Loubaki, Anigbata and Johnson, notably).

It also wouldn’t hurt the Utes to have a rim-runner who has experience playing at the Division I level. Currently, Faye is the only frontcourt player who fits that bill.

Given Utah struggled to keep opponents off the glass and convert in the paint on the offensive end last season, acquiring a bonafide center to deter opponents at the goal and provide a legitimate presence on the boards would help put a bow on the Utes’ roster revamp for next season.

Prior to when the portal opened on April 7, there were three centers Utah could’ve reasonably targeted: Anton Bonke (Charlotte), Ben Defty (Boston College) and Chol Machot (College of Charleston). All three are 7-footers who can defend at serviceable levels. Bonke and Defty are also solid post scorers, while Machot uses his athleticism to pose as a matchup nightmare on the wing.

The good news for the Utes: Two of those players are still available in the transfer market (Bonke committed to Michigan State shortly after this post published). The bad news, though, is that they’re essentially in the next tier of portal centers down from Massamba Diop and Moustapha Thiam, which means every big man-needy school, except for the two that land Diop and Thiam, could turn their focus to the next group of centers available when the two bigs of note are off the board.

That said, it’d probably cost Utah a pretty penny to bring in a starting-caliber center out of the portal. With essentially everyone trying to copy Michigan’s title-winning blueprint, the market for big wings and lengthy centers is most likely through the roof at this point. And since a majority of the top power forwards and centers have already committed, the pool of players Utah could snag to compete in the Big 12 right away is dwindling by the day.

Regardless, the Utes need to be better in the paint if they’re to be more competitive in the Big 12 next season. In 2025-26, Utah ranked No. 318 nationally in 2-point field goal defense allowing opponents to shoot 54.6% from inside the arc, and were No. 166 in blocks per game (3.4). Jensen’s group also converted just 51.5% of its attempts from inside the arc and were No. 14 in the conference in rebounding margin (-1.4 per game).

If those figures change for the better in 2026-27, it’ll be because the Utes’ frontcourt had the required size, length and toughness to hang with the rest of the Big 12.

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After months of floating above 50% approval in Utah during his second term, President Donald Trump’s job approval rating dropped underwater in the Beehive State in April, driven largely by flagging support among Republicans and religious voters.

A new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll conducted by Morning Consult shows that more than half (54%) of Utah voters disapprove of Trump’s job performance, outweighing the 44% of voters who said they approve.

That’s a major swing from last month when it was almost the opposite: In March, 51% of Utah voters said they approved of Trump’s job performance compared to 46% who disapproved.

It’s the first time in recent memory the president has had such a pendulum swing in the state. But that swing appears to be unique to Utah as national polling did not show a dramatic shift in either direction among Republicans or religious voters.

Both groups, though, had a major drop in Utah.

“What’s interesting about this particular poll is, yes (Trump’s) underwater — but it’s where that movement is coming from,” said Jason Perry, director of the Hinckley Institute at the University of Utah.

About 83% of Republican voters nationwide approved of Trump’s job performance, holding steady from the last Deseret News/Hinckley Institute national poll in February that found 86% of GOP voters in the same camp.

However, only 74% of Utah Republicans said they approved of Trump’s performance in April — a 10-point drop from the month before. Twenty-two percent of Utah GOP voters said they disapproved of his performance.

While it’s not clear what exactly caused the dip, there are several likely factors at play such as the Trump administration’s shifting strategy with the war in Iran, its inconsistent messaging on the war’s objectives, and the president’s recent social media posts, including a depiction of Trump as a Christ-like figure and his posts targeting Pope Leo XIV.

Iran war emerges as primary factor

The prime suspect in the case of Trump’s dwindling approval ratings in Utah is the war in Iran — which would explain why there was such a drastic drop among Utah voters in just the last month.

“The important thing to remember is, polls are just snapshots in time. And this poll came at a very interesting time, and one of the key driving forces here is the war in Iran,” Perry said. “In this survey, President Trump’s handling of this war is lower than his overall job approval, which shows that there’s a lot of division and a lack of support on that.”

In the last Deseret News/Hinckley Institute poll, the military action had only just begun, and the duration of the conflict and its impacts were still unclear. But now, more than a month later, the picture is vastly different, and Utah voters are increasingly unhappy with how the president is handling the war.

“When we ask specifically about Trump’s handling of the conflict, Utah voters give him even worse marks than his overall performance,” said Matt Monday, director of public affairs for Morning Consult, which administered the survey. “Given the war’s salience, we think it’s doing most of the work here.”

The numbers reflect that sentiment. When asked specifically about Trump’s handling of the conflict in Iran, only 41% of Utah voters say they approve — 3 percentage points lower than his overall approval rating in the state. A majority of voters (54%) say they disapprove.

Those numbers boost the theory of Iran’s influence on Trump’s falling approval in Utah, especially when paired with the fact that the only other Cabinet official who saw a downward turn in approval ratings since March was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — the main Trump administration official associated with the war.

About 40% of Utah voters said they disapprove of Hegseth’s job performance while 39% said they were in favor. Another 21% said they were unsure.

Trump loses support among religious voters in Utah

Another factor for Trump’s lower approval ratings in Utah stems from a loss of support among religious voters.

Those dwindling numbers could be from a “secondary theory,” Monday said: Trump’s social media activity. The most recent poll surveyed respondents between April 15-20 — two weeks after Trump issued an expletive-laden post on Easter Sunday, and just two days after posting a now-deleted AI image that depicted him as a Jesus-like figure.

Trump’s approval rating among religious groups took a dip after those posts, particularly in Utah. About 51% of Christians in Utah said they approve of Trump’s performance in the latest poll, a significant drop from the 63% who said the same in March.

That’s a far cry from national polling that showed 50% of Christian voters nationwide approved of Trump’s performance in April — a one-point increase from the last national poll in February.

The drop in support among Utah’s religious groups was especially prevalent among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While a majority of the demographic (54%) still approves, that’s a 9-point drop from the month before.

About 43% of church members said they disapproved of Trump’s job performance in April, up from the 35% who said the same in March.

“Utah voters, they tend to respond not just to policy, but they do respond to tone, particularly when it touches on things like religion or respect for institutions. That’s certainly what we saw in one big month,” Perry said. “You put all of these together into one, into really a small period of time, and it has had a direct impact on his approval rating here in the state of Utah.”

“Utah voters are patient,” he added, “but they do have a threshold.”

The poll surveyed 815 Utahns between April 15-20 and it has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The national poll surveyed 2,057 U.S. voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.