For the 250th birthday of the United States, the Beehive State is unveiling a brand new license plate designed for the occasion.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — For the 250th birthday of the United States, the Beehive State is unveiling a brand new license plate designed for the occasion.
The Utah Design Review Board has just unveiled its new “America 250” license plate, which will be available to Utahns beginning June 1, 2026.
New America 250 license plate design. (Courtesy: Utah Design Review Board)
The license plate features a blue background with the 1776 American flag covering the left side, while a subtle pattern using the beehive logo from the Utah State flag crosses the right side. The design review board, which oversees visual standards for license plates and driver’s licenses, says this design, “honors the nation’s founding while maintaining a clean, recognizable look consistent with Utah’s new design standards.”
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“Utahns are excited to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary and reflect on the principles that have shaped our nation. This plate is a simple way for people across our state to show that pride and be part of this historic milestone,” Senator Dan McCay, Senate representative on the Design Review Board, is quoted as saying.
These America 250 license plates will only be available for one year, and sales will conclude on July 31, 2027, “marking the close of the semiquincentennial celebration period.”
Utahns can visit dmv.utah.gov to request the license plate and even customize it for a fee. The Utah State Tax Commission notes that while “USA250” is used on the example, it is not an available option.
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Leaders at Bluffdale’s Vector Defense say the state’s business-friendly culture and workforce are allowing for optimal drone training and development to keep U.S. war fighters safe.
Mike Chen tests a Vector Hammer in Bluffdale on Friday, April 24, 2026. The Vector Hammer is a multiuse quadcopter that provides incredible capability to a maneuvering unit and is capable of deep sensing and deep strike. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
A massive American flag stretches wide across the factory wall of Vector Defense Inc. in Bluffdale.
But “Old Glory” is not merely for decoration here.
Instead, the flag is “a reminder of what we’re doing, what we’re serving, and who we’re standing up to serve,” Vector CEO and founder Andy Yakulis told the Deseret News.
“It helps us rally around the concept that the American war fighter needs the most up-to-date technology. And right now, that’s unmanned systems drones. … We’re all very focused on achieving that mission — making sure we’re streamlining the best-in-class technology to the American war fighter.”
A Vector Hammer is operated in Bluffdale on Friday, April 24, 2026. The Vector Hammer is a multiuse quadcopter that provides incredible capability to a maneuvering unit and is capable of deep sensing and deep strike. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
The minute-to-minute headlines from combat hot spots such as Ukraine and the Persian Gulf echo an emerging combat reality: Drones are changing the very character of war.
And militarized unmanned aircraft systems are presenting a battlefield paradox. Today’s drones are relatively cheap — but they are also increasingly deadly. Drones are reportedly responsible for 75% of Ukraine war casualties.
As Forbes reported, drones are not merely a new weapon — they are a new era of warfare. “The closest historical analogy may be the tank, introduced during World War I, which broke the murderous stalemate of trench warfare.”
Gov. Cox: Utah’s drone industry can protect service members — and strengthen state’s economy
Trenton Landoni assembles Picatinny rails to carbon fiber plates at Vector in Bluffdale on Friday, April 24, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
Now Vector Defense Inc. — and by extension, the Beehive State — are increasingly positioned as key players in accelerating the country’s military-grade drone ecosystem.
On his LinkedIn page, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox recently announced in a video that Utah is “answering the call to build America’s drone industrial base” — while furthering American drone dominance.
The state’s growing drone industry, he noted, “strengthens our economy and supports those who defend our nation.”
National security, said Cox, depends on building critical technology quickly, reliably and at scale — and in a regulatory friendly environment.
Utah’s drone industrial base, he added, prioritizes domestic manufacturing, vertical integration, and rapid delivery to those charged with protecting the country.
“We move fast, cut through red tape, and we support companies that are willing to build here at home,” said Cox. “Government and industry will lead the way — manufacturing in Utah, integrating in Utah, and delivering real capability with speed and discipline.
“That’s how we protect our service members. That’s how we strengthen our economy.”
What’s ‘warfare as a service’?
Andy Yakutia, CEO of Vector, is pictured with the Vector Hammer in Bluffdale on Friday, April 24, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
Protecting America’s men and women in uniform while maximizing their drone capability serve as dual missions for Yakulis and his Vector team.
A West Point grad, Yakulis spent almost two decades in the U.S. Army — including significant duty serving in Special Operations.
The former Army helicopter pilot remembers utilizing military drones such as the Reaper that searches for targets and can be used to shoot missiles similar to an airplane.
“But the drones that are being used now are being used like munitions — a one-way attack,” he said. “People sometimes call them like suicide drones. That was nowhere on our radar when I was in uniform.”
Near the end of his Army tenure, Yakulis recognized a market gap as unmanned drone systems were being used in massive quantities in Ukraine as part of the nation’s ongoing war with Russia.
Simultaneously, the drone tech across Ukraine’s front lines was iterating at lightning speeds.
“And so we saw these two things change which created this revolution of military affairs. More tech being used. More drones being used. And faster iteration on the design of the drones.”
During his Army officer career, Yakulis became well acquainted with the U.S. defense procurement system. It can take several years, he said, to get a piece of technology from R&D to actually be utilized by warfighters in combat.
Given the speedy “tech refresh” pace in Ukraine, America’s legacy procurement system presents “a massive imbalance,” he added.
By launching Vector in 2024, Yakulis set out to create a new model of providing expendable — aka “attritable” — drones to the American military.
Internal components of a proprietary Vector radio are soldered at Vector in Bluffdale on Friday, April 24, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
But the company does more than simply sell a piece of drone tech hardware. That’s only one component.
“We came up with this idea that I call ‘modern warfare as a service.’”
Vector sells to the military a “service-based contract” that involves training, product and capability development — and the large-scale delivery of unmanned systems.
“But because the military isn’t buying the drone, we don’t have to go through the legacy seven- to 10-year procurement model,” explained Yakulis.
“We can sell you a service today — and underneath that service provide you the best drone that exists on the market today. And then tomorrow, I can provide you with an updated drone underneath that same service contract.”
And while Vector may be headquartered in the southwest end of Salt Lake County, it functions as a global enterprise.
The company has a team stationed in Ukraine, and another in Israel. There, they observe how drone systems are being used — and then bring those insights back to Utah to update their drone training and the designs.
“We have to make a concerted effort to stay up-to-date with how warfare is constantly changing,” said Yakulis.
“That’s why it’s so important for us to have a footprint in war zones — and that’s why it’s so important to have our leadership and a lot of our engineers cycle through those war zones to make sure they understand how technology has evolved.”
What makes Utah the ideal home for drone development?
Mike Chen tests a Vector Hammer in Bluffdale on Friday, April 24, 2026. The Vector Hammer is a multiuse quadcopter that provides incredible capability to a maneuvering unit and is capable of deep sensing and deep strike. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
After separating from active duty military, Yakulis and his associates started the venture-backed Vector. They were eager to begin implementing their fast evolving mission and business model.
But first, Vector needed a home.
Given its density of industry talent, California’s Silicon Valley works “decently well” for software companies, said Yakulis. But it’s hard to build a manufacturing company in the Golden State.
“There’s so many regulatory restrictions on manufacturing in California, and space is just at a premium,” he said. “It’s very, very expensive to do a very large facility like we have here in Bluffdale.”
And there were also Vector’s employees to consider. The Bay Area’s cost of living rate is famously prohibitive.
But business-friendly Utah checked all the boxes, said Yakulis.
“There’s a very supportive culture here in Silicon Slopes,” he added. “And there’s a lot of value-driven, mission-driven individuals that want to work on something that matters.
“And the governor,” added Yakulis, “has been incredible to us.”
Beyond its business advantages, Utah is an ideal spot for drone testing and training. “Some of my colleagues or competitors in California have to travel two or two-and-a-half hours just to fly a drone,” said Yakulis.
“We walk right out to the back of our warehouse to fly a drone.”
Meanwhile, Utah military installations such as Camp Williams and those in nearby Dugway allow Vector a venue for long-range or explosives drone testing and training.
“Just having high-density military here — which is our primary customer — and access to training areas has been phenomenal for us,” Yakulis added.
Vector employs almost 100 people, with most working in Utah.
Equipping U.S. warfighters with drone tools and know-how
Integration is a defining term at Vector.
The Ukrainians, explained Yakulis, have proven adroit at integrating with their soldiers on the front line in eastern Ukraine. Obviously, Vector can’t replicate that level of combat fusion.
“So the way that we replicate how fast we are able to iterate for the American military is we do a lot of drone training for them,” he said. “This is how we got our start — as a drone training company.”
Such schooling goes beyond simply teaching a soldier how to fly a drone from Point A to Point B. Soldiers need to know how to optimize this new weapon. So drone tactics and doctrine are being perpetually examined and reinvented.
“The technology is only as good as the tactical application of it — and you will only get the maximum effectiveness out of the tactics if you know how to use your technology,” said Yakulis.
Vector employs “a very, very interesting cohort of individuals” who are experienced tacticians that also understand technology and proper training methods.
Such a training force, said Yakulis, blends prior military personnel who are high-end tactical experts working alongside drone specialists.
Vector’s training seeks to teach American war fighters how to best utilize advanced unmanned systems. “But we’re also learning from our end user to make sure that we are building exactly what they want for the American military,” said Yakulis.
And while it’s essential to understand what, say, the Ukrainian military is doing with drones in the fight against Russia, Vector can’t simply cut-and-paste such data to the American military, he added.
“You have to embed; you have to integrate with the American military with that technology to figure out, ‘How are they going to use it?’ ‘What new feature do they want on that drone?’
“And then, back here in our Bluffdale facility, we build that new feature and provide (American war fighters) on a subsequent version of that service contract.”
Next step: Improving cost-efficient counter-drone tech
Global affairs obviously aren’t pausing for Vector or any others from the nation’s drone industry to develop the latest tech and training.
Even while speaking with the Deseret News, Yakulis was monitoring the day’s events from Operation Epic Fury — the ongoing American war with Iran.
And as with the Ukraine conflict, the U.S. and its allies are dealing with the challenges and tactical opportunities of drone weaponry.
Prior to the current ceasefire in the region, Iran launched “a massive amount of unmanned systems” to attack regional neighbors. Attritable drones are having an exponential impact on the vast Middle East battlefield — and American military leaders have prioritized attacks on Iranian drone platforms.
“I’ve been talking to the company a lot about our country being at war,” said Yakulis. “We need to be on a wartime footing too — and be thinking about how fast we’re building and how fast we’re iterating.”
Developing better and cheaper tech on the counter-drone side are now key priorities for Vector and the rest of the nation’s military/defense industry.
“It’s very hard to defeat what we call ‘attritable drone mass.’ … You can take one drone down, but can you take down 100 or 1,000, especially when decoys come in the mix?
“And can you do that at a price point that makes sense?”
“Unit economics” has become a critical warfare talking point when, say, a $2 million American Patriot missile is being used to shoot down an Iranian Shahed drone made for $35,000.
“The economics just don’t work out,” said Yakulis. “We just don’t have enough Patriot missiles — and/or we will just spend too much money trying to procure too many missiles.
“So we need to do a better job to provide a cost-equal interceptor per drone.”
The NBA Draft class of 2026 appears to be absolutely nothing like the 2024 draft class, and for that, we give thanks to the basketball gods. Tangible star power that bleeds beyond the top pick has …
The NBA Draft class of 2026 appears to be absolutely nothing like the 2024 draft class, and for that, we give thanks to the basketball gods. Tangible star power that bleeds beyond the top pick has forced nearly a third of the good citizens of the league to sabotage this year’s crop for the prospects of a more plentiful harvest in the future.
Simply put, there ain’t no scrubs at the top of this year’s NBA Draft. Players who project as perennial All-Stars are up for grabs at the top, and “eh” inspiring consolation prizes are in very short supply.
The Utah Jazz tanked for good reason. As did the Indiana Pacers. As did the Washington Wizards. As did Dallas, Memphis, and Sacramento (does it count as tanking if you’re actually that bad by default?). That reason is simple: just as the Nintendo Switch has games, the class of ‘26 has hoopers. Teams want those hoopers, and since the NBA is not very pro-sharing in that regard, many teams had to wake up early and tank for a chance to be first in line for, well, the future.
Leave it to the Jazz, the NBA’s poster child of the tanking epidemic, to spend the whole regular season dreaming of the NBA Draft. As an organization that has never moved up since the introduction of the lottery, Utah has plenty to dream about.
Not all players are created equal, and not every location will bring out the same level of production or development in any given player. Considering the fact that Utah doesn’t plan to dilly-dally at the bottom of the standings next season — playoffs, ho! — it’s important that the Jazz come away with a player who can both contribute to winning basketball on day one and potentially blossom into a franchise-defining centerpiece. Keeping this in mind, here are the players who I believe will fit best in Utah, ordered by who I believe will make me throw the fewest fits.
Utah Jazz 2026 NBA Draft Wish List
5 – Brayden Burries | G, Arizona
Yeah, maybe I’m higher on Burries than most, but if the Jazz intend on building a well-rounded competitive team, they need a defensive presence in the backcourt. And after a very impressive freshman season that saw him post 1.8 steals per night (not to mention 19.4 points, nearly 3 assists, and 6 rebounds). Utah needs a defensive cushion for Keyonte’s — *ahem* — shortcomings on that end, and Burries is a solid pickup if Utah drops from their 4th spot.
Father Carlos has probably been preaching the gospel of his National Player of the Year offspring since joining the Utah Jazz as a scout, but as a power forward on a team stuffed with bigs, Cameron would almost certainly come off the bench behind the three-headed (and very, very tall) dragon of Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Walker Kessler.
A stabilizing presence off the bench, Boozer brings underrated shooting and playmaking ability — both of which could be very appealing for Will Hardy’s ball-movement-heavy offensive game plan — but other players would fit more seamlessly onto the current roster still on the board, so the family reunion may have to wait.
3 – Caleb Wilson | F, North Carolina
Wilson has been building buzz since the end of the college basketball season, and for good reason. There is a lot to love about his game, and he could project to be one of the best two-way players in this class. I mean, you must be joking with season averages of 1.6 blocks and 1.7 steals as a forward, right? As UNC’s primary offensive option, to boot.
He’s improving as a ball handler, and I feel sincere terror considering how great he may become if the Jazz choose to pass on him.
As a natural power forward, though, Utah is far too dense at that range to freely let Wilson stretch out and get the in-game experience a player of his talents deserves. I’ll send you away White Fang-style if I have to. Now go on, get out of here! Go!
FOMO aside, there are still two players that I like just a touch more as a fit with the Jazz.
2 – Darryn Peterson
Probably the most polarizing figure in the draft, Peterson is also the most natural addition to Utah’s lineup, slotting next to Keyonte George in the backcourt effortlessly. No, he doesn’t really pass the ball, and no, I’m not entirely confident that his selective play time was just a “we all tried things in college” type of phase for the Kansas guard. Peterson’s role on Bill Self’s team became more and more secondary as the season progressed, and that’s concerning for any team that hopes to build its future on his back.
Injury concerns and a questionable competitive motor are cause for pause, but if you get his best career timeline, you may just be drafting an MVP.
If you want buttery scoring, a silky one-motion jump shot, delicious dribble combos, and perhaps the most obviously talented guard prospect we’ve seen since Kyrie Irving (another eccentric with a tendency to miss playing time and make bad PR moves), you have that in Peterson. He’s a strong defender, a nonchalant assassin. If he lands in Utah, the Jazz are in business.
1 – AJ Dybantsa | F, BYU
It’s no secret that Utah wants Dybantsa. Owner Ryan Smith has been instrumental in keeping the collegiate superstar and consensus All-American in the Beehive State with his commitment to BYU (arriving along with a notable NIL package). Still, Dybantsa is on record saying he’s loved his time in Utah, prefers quieter settings, and probably has mutual feelings about the Utah Jazz picking him on draft night, given the chance.
Face it, Utah. I know you. You know you. And I know that you know that I know you. If the Jazz land the number-one overall pick, they’ll be buzzing Adam Silver’s cell phone with their submission nonstop from midnight until the commissioner finally announces their selection from the podium.
Still, understanding that Utah’s current lineup probably has no wiggle room for demoting Markkanen, JJJ, or Kessler to the second unit, if Dybantsa stays in Utah, it’ll probably be Ace Bailey who slips to sixth man. Is AJ equipped to defend NBA-quality 2-guards? That’s yet to be determined, but he has the physical tools and the drive to figure it out if he’s not quite there right away. Bailey’s development may decelerate a tad if Dybantsa starts taking his reps, but if that becomes a problem, you don’t pass up on a potential MVP and perennial All-Star for a player with a lower ceiling — you trade the lesser prospect and build your roster around Dybantsa.
Calvin Barrett is a writer, editor, and prolific Mario Kart racer located in Tokyo, Japan. He has covered the NBA and College Sports since 2024.
The unexpected result has shined a national light on a rare Democratic pickup opportunity and energized the party’s left flank.
UtahDemocrats may be on the brink of an unexpected political realignment after a progressive newcomer pulled off a convention upset that has reshaped a closely watched House race.
Progressive first-time candidate Liban Mohamed narrowly won Utah Democrats’ convention endorsement Saturday in the state’s newly redrawn 1st Congressional District, defeating establishment favorite Ben McAdams, an outcome that has energized the party’s left flank.
Newsweek reached out to Mohamed via email for comment.
Some Democrats have framed this result as a potential turning point, with Angel Vice, chair of the Utah Democratic Party Women’s Caucus, telling the Deseret News after the vote that her party now has an opportunity for a “Mamdani moment.”
Mohamed’s upset has intensified national attention on a rare Democratic pickup opportunity in Utah and raised fresh questions about whether the party’s center of gravity is shifting left. The result reshapes a competitive Democratic primary and fuels speculation that in the Beehive State—long viewed as politically stable—may be entering a more volatile and ideologically dynamic era.
This race looks very different from what it was just a few years ago. Utah’s 1st Congressional District is newly configured after a court-approved redistricting process placed Salt Lake City entirely within a single compact district for the first time since 2000.
The change matters because concentrating the state’s most Democratic city into one seat has transformed what was once a safely Republican district into one Democrats now see as winnable, attracting national attention and early investment that would have been unlikely under the old map.
Why It Matters
Mohamed’s victory signals the growing influence of the party’s progressive wing in a state where moderation has historically been rewarded.
It also lands as Democrats see new structural and demographic openings created by redistricting and shifting voter behavior.
A Convention Upset Few Expected
At Utah’s Democratic Party convention in Sandy on Saturday, Mohamed, who has been endorsed by Democratic Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, secured 51.18 percent of delegate votes, edging out former Salt Lake County mayor and ex-congressman Ben McAdams, who finished with 48.5 percent.
The result surprised many party insiders. Just weeks earlier, McAdams had been widely viewed as the frontrunner, buoyed by strong name recognition, fundraising strength and favorable polling among moderate voters.
Speaking after the vote, Mohamed framed the outcome as part of a broader movement rather than a personal breakthrough.
“It’s progressives’ time to lead. It’s the working class’ time to lead,” he told reporters, calling the convention endorsement “just the beginning” as support continues to grow.
What Prediction Markets And Ratings Say
Despite the primary uncertainty, outside indicators suggest Democrats are well-positioned heading into November.
On Kalshi, a regulated U.S. prediction market, traders currently assign an 88 percent chance that a Democrat will win Utah’s 1st Congressional District. The market resolves based on which party’s candidate is sworn into Congress in 2027, with outcomes verified by official Library of Congress records.
Prediction markets differ from traditional polling in that they aggregate real-money wagers rather than survey responses, which can make them sensitive to elite expectations and breaking news.
Still, low trading volume and sudden sentiment swings can exaggerate confidence levels.
Traditional analysts are similarly bullish. The Cook Political Report rates the seat Solid Democratic, citing the district’s newly compact shape centered on Salt Lake City following redistricting.
Why the Upset Was So Striking
Mohamed’s convention win looks even more dramatic when set against earlier polling.
A survey conducted March 23-26, 2026, among 381 likely Democratic primary voters by Democratic firm Data for Progress showed McAdams leading the field with 36 percent support. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.
Mohamed, then a little-known first-time candidate, carried a net favorability of just +12, with 80 percent of respondents saying they did not know enough about him to form an opinion.
Delegates, however, told a different story, suggesting organizational strength, activist enthusiasm and in-person campaigning outweighed early name recognition and polling advantages.
Utah’s Democratic primary is open, allowing unaffiliated voters to participate, a system that has historically favored moderate candidates.
The convention result raises new questions about whether that dynamic still holds.
Progressive Energy Versus Establishment Caution
The convention exposed a party energized but divided over strategy.
Mohamed was among several candidates offering unapologetically progressive messages, including calls for universal healthcare, the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the end of U.S. aid to Israel. Those proposals drew some of the loudest applause of the day.
More centrist Democrats urged restraint. State Senator Kathleen Riebe, who endorsed McAdams, argued for a nominee capable of lowering political temperature and building coalitions. McAdams rejected the idea that progressivism and pragmatism are mutually exclusive.
“Progressive has to mean making progress,” he said, emphasizing his focus on coalition-building while standing firm on core values.
Over the past two decades, Latter‑day Saints have shifted away from the Republican Party—and from President Donald Trump in particular—more than any other major religious group except atheists, according to analyses of Cooperative Election Study data by YouGov.
Trump’s rhetoric and conduct have created lasting friction with voters who once anchored Utah’s Republican dominance. Combined with redistricting and demographic shifts around Salt Lake City, that erosion has widened the path for Democrats, particularly candidates capable of mobilizing younger and more diverse voters.
What Comes Next
McAdams, Nate Blouin and Michael Farrell will all appear on the June 23 Democratic primary ballot alongside Mohamed because they secured the necessary signatures to qualify, despite not having won at the convention.
The winner will face Republican Riley Owen in November, competing in a district far less hospitable to the GOP than it was under previous maps.
Whether Utah is experiencing a lasting progressive realignment or a moment shaped by redistricting and activist energy will become clearer after the primary. For now, Democrats are confronting a reality their polling missed: the voters they thought they understood may no longer behave the way the models predict.
There may never been another football player like Bobby Wagner, and Utah State will make the former Aggie star one-of-one in at least one regard soon.
Bobby Wagner of the Washington Commanders reacts after defeating the Arizona Cardinals 42-14 at State Farm Stadium on September 29, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. | Christian Petersen/Getty Images.
LOGAN (KSL.com) — There may never been another football player like Bobby Wagner, and Utah State will make the former Aggie star one-of-one in at least one regard soon.
The Aggies announced Monday that the 14-year NFL linebacker and member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team from 2010-20 will have his number retired during a halftime ceremony in either the 2026 or 2027 season. The specific date of the game will be determined based on Wagner’s availability.
Wagner will be just the third player in program history to have his number retired, and the first since Merlin Olsen’s No. 71 and Elmer “Bear” Ward’s No. 35 were inducted into the special honor.
“Bobby exemplifies what it means to be an Aggie, and this honor is long overdue,” Utah State athletic director Cameron Walker said in a statement. “We are excited to recognize his achievements in a Utah State uniform and all he has accomplished in the NFL and in his community.
“Retiring his number and displaying it on the side of our press box for current and future Aggies to see is a well-deserved honor to celebrate an amazing football career and a remarkable person.”
Bobby Wagner an Aggie all-time great
Wagner earned All-Western Athletic Conference honors three times and led the Aggies in tackles for three seasons, starting 46 of his 48 career games and totaling 446 tackles — which is still tied for the most in school history. He also had 29.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, four interceptions, three fumble recoveries and a forced fumble to go with 23 double-digit tackle performances in his career.
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“I’m truly honored to have my number retired,” Wagner said in a statement. “This is something I could have never imagined. Utah State took a chance on me. They were my only offer and the only school that truly believed in me. They gave me more than just an opportunity to play football. They helped me build a career and provided stability during a difficult time in my life. The coaches, professors, staff, and students all played a role in shaping who I am today. I’ll forever be grateful. Go Aggies!”
His 2,000 career tackles ranks third in NFL history, and he’s just 60 tackles shy of the most tackles in NFL history. He’s currently a free agent after playing the past two seasons on one-year contracts with the Washington Commanders.
Even at 35 years old, Wagner is still going strong. He graded out at 990.3 last season by Pro Football Focus, which cited him for just eight missed tackles on the season. The 6-foot, 242-pound linebacker made 162 tackles including 79 solo stops and 4.5 sacks last year with the Commanders, to go along with two interceptions and four passes defended while playing for his third NFL team.
Wagner was named the Art Rooney Award winner in 2023, recognizing a player for outstanding sportsmanship, and earned Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year honors in 2025, honoring a players’ commitment to philanthropy and community impact. He’s also a minority owner in the WNBA’s Seattle Storm.
The Aggies inducted Wagner into the school’s athletics hall of fame in 2021.
It doesn’t make sense, none of it. Not the new job halfway across the continent. Not the strange fit. Not leaving behind decades of the carefully orchestrated at Utah for the sheer unknown of it all …
April 28, 2026, 6:36 a.m. ET
ANN ARBOR, MI — It doesn’t make sense, none of it. Not the new job halfway across the continent. Not the strange fit. Not leaving behind decades of the carefully orchestrated at Utah for the sheer unknown of it all at Michigan.
“I’d have been pissed off at myself down the road had I not taken the job,” Kyle Whittingham says.
Because no matter how good Whittingham had it for two-plus decades of doing more with less at Utah, he needed this Michigan job. Needed to finally see, beyond any measure of doubt, what would happen when less became more.
When everything he possibly could want or need was a phone call or conversation away. When competing in the best conference in college football — one that has grown exponentially more difficult to navigate beyond rival Ohio State — with all the pressure and expectations that come with it, meant challenging himself like never before.
What happens when a man who has pushed himself to the limit his entire life — from competing with the elite of college football despite a financial hand behind your back, to becoming an Expert Level 7 skier, to his daily, 90-minute workout regimen that currently sits at 6,500-plus days and counting — is given everything he needs to push it one step further?
He takes a job sight unseen.
“Didn’t need to see it,” Whittingham told USA TODAY Sports in a wide-ranging interview earlier this month. “Knew what it was, knew the challenge, wanted the challenge.”
Who does something so drastic, so out of character and routine, that it’s hard to reconcile the obvious ends of the equation? The same guy who believes in feeding the wolf.
Force yourself into the unknown. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Expand and stretch who and what you are.
Either retire after Utah and Whittingham couldn’t agree on terms to continue his employment, or take a no-brainer opportunity in the great unknown. There’s no powder in Michigan, no slopes to fuel his offseason sanctuary. No long rides through the desert on one of his many motorcycles, or the calming, healing landscape of the wide open West.
Everything has changed and everything is different, with the exception of one critical thing: He’s still a ball coach. Still the same guy who orchestrated eight 10-win seasons at Utah, trailing only Dabo Swinney (13) in active coaches with 10-win seasons. Still the guy who did more with less.
And now here comes more with more, strolling into his life and just daring him to take a chance.
He could’ve bent to Utah’s contract demands at the end of another 10-win season, and been comfortable finishing his career in Salt Lake City. In the safe, comfortable known with the successful program he built, and the full life he lived outside it.
But he has never chosen easy over difficult, and he sure as hell wasn’t starting now. So he’s not a Michigan Man, so what? The guy who last fit that mold won a national title, and left two NCAA investigations in his wake before escaping for the NFL.
Make no mistake, Michigan needs a no-frills sheriff as much as it needs a balls-to-the-wall football coach. And before you believe Whittingham, 66, was brought in to do the dirty work to set up the next guy, think about his obsessive workout routine.
The weightlifting isn’t as prevalent as it once was, but the cardio and core work of sit-ups and pushups is still going strong. Everything, he says — while staring deep into another potential soul to convert — revolves around core strength and stretching.
Every single day, except Sundays, since July 1, 2008. Even the Almighty took a day off every seventh.
Whittingham woke up that July morning nearly two decades ago, and felt like a bag of rocks. Needed to change, needed to challenge himself.
So the streak began and the next thing you know, six months passed and Utah finished 13-0 in his fourth season, the first of those eight double-digit win seasons. Which leads him back to preaching and converting.
There is no coincidence in life, he says. There’s work, and there’s the payoff.
Fit body, calm mind, and a deep passion for what makes you tick. All of it, from powdery slopes to unchartered trails to an overloaded backside blitz, feeds the wolf.
That’s how you do more with less than any other coach in the game over the past two decades.
“I feel like I’m 18,” Whittingham said. “As you get older in life, you lose flexibility. You’re all stoved up, and you can’t, you know, move. That’s a problem.”
And who knows if he’s talking the laws of physiology, or coaching in the ever-changing college football landscape? But it doesn’t really matter at this point.
“The expectations here are high, and they should be,” Whittingham said. “But I adapt to change well. So here we go, new chapter.”
Players win games
They filed into the Big House earlier this month for the first public sight of Whittingham’s Michigan team. The last of 15 spring practices, the Maize and Blue game — with all of 13 points scored — was about as exciting as an enema.
Not long after the event that was more introduction than finished product, Whittingham took to the podium at his postgame news conference and finally explained what he had been telling his team since Day 1.
Players win games. Full stop.
Coaches will develop and put players in the right position to reach their ceilings. But nothing gets done, championships aren’t won, without players at the point.
“If you’ve got your top 10% of your team that works their butt off and trains hard, everyone else seems to follow suit,” Whittingham said. “Set the bar, demand everyone else live up to it.”
A continent away and on vacation in Europe, former Utah All-American linebacker Stevenson Sylvester heard what Whittingham said and the world moved to 2007, the year before Utah won a school-record 13 games and embarrassed big, bad Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to cap the unbeaten season. Beat them so badly, in fact, that Tide coach Nick Saban, of all people, created what would become the typical postseason refrain after SEC losses: The game didn’t mean anything.
Only it meant everything for the 12 months of development at Utah, from the time the Utes beat Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl in December of 2007 — and Sylvester saw Whittingham sprinting at him through the mass of postgame humanity on the field. The Utes had lost 14 games in the three seasons since Whittingham replaced Urban Meyer, including the last two to bitter rival BYU.
It wasn’t exactly playing out how everyone thought it would, and Whittingham finally embraced an uneasy truth: Coaching wasn’t all about control. So he shook hands with then-Navy coach Ken Niamatalolo, and raced to find Sylvester.
“He grabbed me and says, ‘This team is yours. We go as far as you go.’ And he runs off,” Sylvester said. “I was 20 years old. I’m thinking, why the hell did he come to me and say that?”
This, everyone, is the key to all those years of winning less with more — and the tantalizing idea of Whittingham now doing more with more at Michigan. Players win games.
At some point, every championship team becomes a group that controls and governs itself on and off the field. A nucleus of elite, talented players and leadership that transcends the moment. It’s corny and it’s hokey — and it’s absolutely undeniable.
There may be no better example than the 2024 Ohio State team that lost at home to double-digit underdog Michigan, and got up from that unthinkable gut punch to produce a masterful championship run of four double-digit victories over the Nos. 1, 5, 7 and 9th-ranked teams in the College Football Playoff.
That’s why Whittingham was holed up in an Orlando hotel for three days last December, conducting 1-on-1 interviews with every Michigan player during Citrus Bowl preparations. He had to know what he was walking into.
“These guys have been through a lot, and I didn’t know if I was going to get a bunch of entitled players,” Whittingham said. “I was really impressed with their character, their priorities. These guys know where they’re going in life after football. They get it. Good players, good people. That’s a dangerous combination.”
New world, new challenge
This is still a team that won nine games last season. Still a team that, despite unthinkably poor decisions of the past from ill-equipped former coach Sherrone Moore, and from a brilliant former coach and Prodigal Son, was one win last season from reaching the CFP.
All that instability and uncertainty, and a group of players that overcame the odds in spite of it. If you still don’t think players win games, look at the world that has evolved over the past five years of NIL and free player movement.
College football was a play away last season from an Indiana vs. Ole Miss national championship game. The historical armpit of college football, vs. the SEC tomato can of the modern era. It’s as unthinkable as it is remarkable to this very moment.
The process to winning big is simplistic: money, players, coaching.
So when the guy who lived and thrived with less at Utah first walked into the shining city on the hill that is the Schembechler Hall football facility on this historic campus, he was just like any other schlub who saw the palace for the time. Speechless.
“I loved my time at Utah, and I won’t say anything bad about it,” Whittingham said. “But there were certain things we just didn’t have.”
When he’s asked how many times he was told “no” at Utah, Whittingham doesn’t blink and says matter-of-factly, “Hundreds.”
Michigan makes double what Utah makes within the Big Ten media rights deal. Michigan has a deep alumni base of committed donors. Michigan has the new ace in the hole of college football: the engaged and committed billionaire.
And just to be clear, Cody Campbell (Texas Tech), Todd Graves (LSU), Lex Wexner (Ohio State) and Mark Cuban (Indiana) aren’t getting into a who’s got more argument with Larry Ellison.
Within the first month of his arrival at Michigan, Whittingham and strength and conditioning coach Doug Elisaia — Whittingham’s right-hand man at Utah for all 21 seasons — walked into the recently renovated weight room in Schembechler Hall. The largest and most impressive training center in all of college football.
And the damn thing didn’t fit.
Not the bones of it, but the way it was laid out within the cavernous 32,000 square feet. Elisaia uses metabolic, trench-specific strength training, and he’s the most important piece to the program returning to winning through strength and toughness. Or as Harbaugh routinely declared: with character and cruelty.
The same place where tougher, smarter and better prepared turned all of those two- and three-star recruits at Utah into four- and five-star execution on Saturdays.
“It didn’t fit and it wasn’t going to be cheap to make it work for us,” Elisaia said. “I told Kyle what it would take, he says let me get back to you. And I’m thinking, here we go.”
Elisaia had been down this road for two decades, the path of wish we could but we just can’t — even though the proof was in the annual performance. It’s what so many programs outside the revenue rich Big Ten and SEC go through every single season.
A day later, Elisaia got his answer: Whatever it takes.
Elisaia and his family built a life in Utah, had everything they needed and could’ve ever wanted. His four kids were off to college, and he and his wife, Leata, had done the heavy lifting and were primed to reap the benefits of all that hard work off the field in a place they loved. Then Whittingham asked him to walk away from it all, pack up everything and get uncomfortable again to right battleship Michigan.
“Kyle comes back and gives me the yes, and I’m thinking, OK, we’ve made the right move,” Elisaia said. “This is going to work.”
Right coach, right place
Not everything is as easy as it looks. Michigan ended spring drills, and already there’s controversy. Not within the rebuild, but the widely passionate fan base.
Quarterback Bryce Underwood struggled in limited time, and the quarterback with the multimillion dollar NIL deal and no quarterback coach during his first season under Moore — yes, that’s not a misprint — looked like the second-best quarterback on the field.
It also didn’t help that the other quarterback, freshman Tommy Carr, is the grandson of former coach and Michigan legend Lloyd Carr. You can see where this is headed.
But true to form, Whittingham didn’t flinch. This is about player development, about molding the 55 new players on the roster with those returning who were a game away from the CFP. About getting the right pieces in the right place and everyone on the same page.
Underwood made big strides in the spring with new offensive coordinator — and quarterbacks coach — Jason Beck. The little things most don’t see (mechanics, footwork, increased comfort and knowledge within the offense) that become the big things when it’s 3rd-and-9 on the road, and you can barely hear yourself think in Happy Valley.
But that doesn’t mean Carr, who enrolled early at Michigan and has been on campus all of four months, can’t push Underwood. Nobody’s job is safe. Not any player, not Whittingham’s. It’s the way he has coached his entire career.
Knew the challenge at Utah, and knows it now at Michigan. Wanted the challenge. Wanted to once again get comfortable being uncomfortable.
“I’m in the facility at 10 at night, and I walk by the quarterback room, and there’s Tommy Carr watching film all by himself,” Whittingham said. “He’s completely immersed in his development as far as trying to get better.”
Feed the wolf, everyone.
Then find out what happens when more with less becomes more with more.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.
NHL Game recap for the Vegas Vegas Golden Knights vs. Utah Utah Mammoth game on April 27, 2026. Follow every play as it happens throughout the NHL season on CBS Sports and the CBS Sports app.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Shea Theodore scored on a snap shot from the high slot with 51.5 seconds left in overtime as the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Utah Mammoth 5-4 on Monday night after squandering a three-goal lead, tying the first-round playoff series at two games apiece.
Game 5 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
The Golden Knights appeared to have won the game earlier in OT when Pavel Dorofeyev tapped in a loose puck with 9:41 left, but the apparent score was waved off when it was determined Vegas was offsides.
Vegas’ Brett Howden scored his second goal of the game on a tip-in with 9:35 remaining in the third period, and the goal forced overtime after Utah had stormed back with four straight goals.
The Golden Knights raced out to a 3-0 lead with two goals in the first and one early in the second by Dorofeyev, Howden, and Cole Smith.
Utah countered with four straight scores, capped by Clayton Keller’s wrist shot off a deflection for a 4-3 lead at the 5:10 mark of the third period.
Utah’s Karel Vejmelka had 31 stops. Carter Hart had 27 saves for Vegas.
Facing a three-goal deficit, Utah’s Nick Schmaltz and Ian Cole scored 29 seconds apart in the second period to set the Mammoth’s comeback in motion. Schmaltz got Utah on the board at the 8:04 mark, and Cole followed with a 50-foot slapshot at 8:33 of the second.
Michael Carcone tied it on another slapshot at 1:44 of the third.
Dorofeyev flicked home a wrist shot to put the Golden Knights in front just 72 seconds into the first. Howden then threaded another wrist shot past Vejmelka’s skate for a short-handed goal with 1:22 left in the period.
Smith’s tip-in at 3:27 of the second gave the Golden Knights their third goal.
—
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Vegas scored three goals to start before Utah scored four in a row in a high-scoring game of shifting momentum.
SALT LAKE CITY — John Tortorella’s Monday morning media availability, ahead of Game 4 between his Vegas Golden Knights and the Utah Mammoth, barely lasted more than a minute.
The veteran coach wasn’t in the mood to talk, other than to say his team would be ready to play. He answered three questions with nothing more than, “We’re ready to play.”
And he was right, at least for the first half of the game.
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The Golden Knights came flying out of the starting blocks, shredding the Mammoth with an unrelenting forecheck and scoring three straight goals to open the game. Utah stormed back with four straight goals of its own to force overtime, then Shea Theodore won it for Vegas 5-4 with less than a minute left in overtime to tie the series 2-2.
Pavel Dorofeyev opened the scoring on his first shift of the game. Jack Eichel made a strong play behind the net, absorbing a hit from Utah’s MacKenzie Weegar before finding Ivan Barbashev in the low slot. Barbashev bumped the puck across to Dorofeyev, who crushed it into the wide-open net for his first goal of the series. It was the fourth point of the series for both Barbashev and Eichel, which leads Vegas.
Utah winger Michael Carcone had a golden opportunity to tie the game early on the power play, but sailed his shot over the crossbar. The puck was bouncing in the slot when Lawson Crouse made a great play to dive and knock the puck across to Carcone, who had a wide-open net to shoot at.
Brett Howden extended Vegas’ lead to two with a shorthanded goal late in the first period. Utah netminder Karel Vejmelka hesitated to move the puck and eventually flipped it to the half wall, where it was collected by Vegas forward Mitch Marner. Marner found Howden all alone in front, and he finished the play with a deke around the goaltender.
The Golden Knights controlled the opening frame, pressuring the Mammoth and living in the offensive zone. They allowed only three shots, and took a two-goal lead into the intermission.
Vegas extended its lead to three goals early in the second period, when fourth-line winger Cole Smith scored the first playoff goal of his career. As most of Vegas’ offense did on Monday, it started with a turnover forced on the forecheck. Noah Hanifin shot it from the point, and the puck was sailing well wide of the Utah net before Smith reached out and redirected it past Vejmelka.
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The Mammoth eventually found their game midway through the second period and pulled within a goal thanks to back-to-back goals by Nick Schmaltz and Ian Cole. Schmaltz’s goal was a great individual effort, batting a rebound out of the air past Vegas goalie Carter Hart. Only 29 seconds later, Cole made it 3-2 with a shot from the point that beat Hart’s glove, went off the post and into the net.
As the game wore on, Utah’s speed started to show more and more. This game followed a similar pattern to the last two, with the Golden Knights needing far more time with the puck to generate offense than the Mammoth. Vegas holds the puck in the offensive zone for shift after shift, but creates very little with it. Then Utah scores in the blink of an eye going the other direction.
Utah opened the third period with two goals to take a 4-3 lead. The first was a blistering one-timer by Carcone, who redeemed his miss earlier in the game with a shot from a bad angle that beat Hart on the short side. The second was a goal credited to Clayton Keller, who sent a centering pass in front of the Vegas net. It bounced off the traffic in front to give the Mammoth their first lead of the night.
The Golden Knights answered, though: Howden scored his second of the game with a gorgeous tip on a shot from Hanifin to tie it 4-4 midway through the final period.
For a moment, it appeared Dorofeyev won it for the Golden Knights 10 minutes into overtime, putting a rebound over the line, but after a review the officials determined Jack Eichel entered the zone offside, so the goal was overturned.
Theodore won it for Vegas with only 51 seconds left in overtime, one-timing a puck past Vejmelka from the slot.
Dorofeyev ends drought
Tortorella had been searching for a place for Dorofeyev, and he found it Monday night beside Eichel on the Golden Knights’ top line — at least for the start.
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The 25-year-old winger, who led Vegas with 37 goals in the regular season, had gone 10 straight playoff games without a goal entering Game 4, and hadn’t scored at even strength in 13 postseason games dating back to 2024.
Dorofeyev started Game 3 on Friday with Mitch Marner and Brett Howden on Vegas’ second line, but Tortorella moved him around throughout the game. At one point, he moved Dorofeyev down to the third line with Tomas Hertl, before eventually bumping him all the way down to the fourth, checking line near the end of the game. Interestingly enough, that’s where Dorofeyev earned his best scoring chances of the series to that point, which was enough to give Tortorella the confidence to put him on the top line beside Eichel to begin Game 4.
The fit makes sense. Barbashev is great on the forecheck and at winning possession along the boards. Eichel is the Golden Knights’ best playmaker and hasn’t looked to shoot very often in these playoffs, so giving him the team’s best finisher is a natural fit. It didn’t take long for the move to pay off. They scored on their first shift of the game, with all three players factoring on the goal.
The trio didn’t last, though. Dorofeyev turned the puck over in the defensive zone, leading directly to Utah’s first goal, and spent a lot of the second period on the bench. He eventually found his way back onto Hertl’s line in the third period.
Schmaltz finds his game
As well as the Mammoth have played in this series, their top-line center hadn’t done much coming into Friday’s game. That changed in a big way, as Schmaltz was all around the front of the Vegas net and registered two massive points.
Schmaltz willed Utah onto the scoreboard midway through the second period, fighting his way through Vegas defenders to establish position next to the net. He pounced on a rebound, batted it into the net and started the comeback.
Less than two minutes into the third period, Schmaltz assisted on Keller’s goal to give Utah a 4-3 lead. He gave Utah a much-needed boost.
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Goaltending troubles on both ends of the ice
Vejmelka had been playing really well for Utah through the first three games of the series, but his postseason save percentage plummeted below .900 after allowing five goals on 33 shots on Friday night.
The big Czech goalie made some big stops throughout the night, but just wasn’t as sharp as he had been prior to Game 4. It just appeared his timing was slightly off, as pucks that he had been absorbing were hitting his chest and bouncing perilously into the slot. Vejmelka was sliding around, outside of his posts more than usual for a sound positional goalie of his caliber.
That being said, Vejmelka stood on his head early in overtime. Mark Stone had a chance from point-blank range on the power play, and Vejmelka robbed him by kicking out the pad.
On the other end, Hart continues to struggle for the Golden Knights. Part of the reason Utah has matched or exceeded Vegas’ offense in this series without having nearly as much possession is Hart’s inability to come up with big saves.
A couple of Utah’s goals were strange bounces in front, but the Carcone goal came from outside the dots, with no traffic, and beat Hart’s glove hand clean. It’s not the first time the Mammoth have beaten Hart’s gloves in this series. It will be interesting to see how long Tortorella, who has expressed nothing but the strongest confidence in Hart, will stick with his former Flyers goalie with Adin Hill on the bench. Hill had an awful 2025-26 regular season, but he backstopped Vegas to the Cup in 2023 and has a .917 career save percentage in the playoffs.
For more information about Taste Utah visit tasteutah.com and kutv.com.Follow Fresh Living on social media, subscribe to our newsletter, and check out our podca …
KUTV — A new dining experience is turning heads in downtown Salt Lake City—and it’s anything but ordinary.
Gossip Kitchen blends contemporary Italian elegance with the mystery of a Japanese-style speakeasy, creating an atmosphere that’s as intriguing as its menu. Recently, Katy Sine from Taste Utah stopped by to check it out, adding to the buzz around this hidden gem.
At the heart of the experience are two distinct culinary influences. Guests can enjoy handcrafted pastas from Chef Carmine alongside refined Japanese tapas by Chef Soy, offering a unique fusion that invites diners to explore something new with every visit. The menu is complemented by artfully crafted cocktails designed to match the restaurant’s elevated and immersive vibe.
Tucked away in the city, Gossip Kitchen leans into its hidden, discoverable feel—making it more than just a place to eat. It’s a destination meant to be experienced, shared, and talked about.
For those looking to try something different, this under-the-radar spot is quickly becoming one of Salt Lake City’s most buzzworthy dining experiences.
University of Utah Health and IVI RMA North America formed a strategic affiliation to broaden access to fertility care in the Mountain West while advancing training and research in reproductive …
These resources will help the program deliver the highest quality fertility care to patients while giving students, residents, and fellows experience that prepares them for advanced practice in reproductive medicine.
Looking ahead, IVI RMA North America plans to build a new, state-of-the-art fertility laboratory in 2028, which will serve as a premier laboratory for future REIs in fellowship at the University of Utah. IVI RMA North America brings decades of experience in clinic and lab operations.
“Affiliating with University of Utah Health and its renowned reproductive medicine division represents an exciting step forward in advancing fertility care and training new cohorts of REIs that will sustain and strengthen the field,” said Lynn Mason, CEO of IVI RMA North America. “We share a deep commitment to high-quality, innovative care. Together, we are providing fellows and students with real-world laboratory experiences, advanced clinical training, and mentorship that will prepare them to deliver exceptional care and shape the future of this field.”
As part of the affiliation, University of Utah fellows will have the opportunity to train directly with IVI RMA North America and the company’s board-certified and fellowship-trained physicians, who have deep knowledge of Utah and the mountain states communities. They will also gain access to the expansive resources of IVI RMA Global, the world’s largest company exclusively devoted to assisted reproduction technology, and its renowned IVI RMA Global Research Alliance, a world leader in scientific research and technology development in reproductive medicine.
“Training reproductive endocrinologists is at the heart of our mission—and this relationship with IVI RMA North America takes that commitment to a new level,” said Erica Johnstone, M.D., Fellowship Director at the University of Utah. “IVI RMA’s leadership and reputation for innovation in fertility care means our students and fellows will gain valuable industry experience so they are ready to deliver excellent, evidence-based care from the moment they graduate.”
“The affiliation with University of Utah Health underscores IVI RMA North America’s goal of forging relationships to advance both patient care and physician training,” said Thomas Molinaro, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at IVI RMA North America. “Our investments into shared research, innovation, and clinical excellence translate directly into better doctors, stronger fertility programs, and broader access for families.”
