Jesse – Page 143 – Utah News

May 2, 2025

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 t …

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 Offered pic.twitter.com/5jd3EeYu2K

— Isaiah Spencer (@iamisaiahspence) April 30, 2025

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.

MORE UTAH NEWS & ANALYSIS

Source: Utah News

May 1, 2025

Utah Hockey Club may have accidentally leaked new name

Utah Hockey Club center Nick Schmaltz celebrates a goal with center Clayton Keller against the Nashville Predators. / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images The NHL’s newest expansion team, the Utah Hockey Club, …

The NHL‘s newest expansion team, the Utah Hockey Club, is expected to officially debut a new name before the start of the 2025-26 season However, fans may have got an early glimpse at what the permanent name could be.

On Wednesday, eagle-eyed fans noticed that the team’s official YouTube page changed its URL and handle from “@UtahHockeyClub” to “@UtahMammoth.”

Mammoth was among the finalists to become the expansion franchise’s new team names.

The page was deactivated shortly after it was spotted, but everything on the internet lives on forever and screenshots of leaked “@UtahMammoth” handle quickly went viral on social media.

Looks like YouTube handle has officially given away Mammoth as team name in Utah.

The teams YT url is now https://t.co/sEm4SrJswc pic.twitter.com/XIi0jh7lfA

— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) April 30, 2025

Lindsay Aerts of KTVX in Salt Lake City spoke to Smith Entertainment Group executive Mike Maughan about the YouTube channel and he provided a vague response.

Smith Entertainment Group owns the Utah Hockey Club.

FANS ARE WONDERING? The @utahhockeyclub‘s YouTube channel mysteriously had @ UtahMammoth as its handle for a time last night, then the page came down. I asked SEG exec @MikeMaughan why. @abc4utah pic.twitter.com/fPJXCYxIyL

— Lindsay Aerts (@LindsayOnAir) April 30, 2025

“Progress continues on exploring all three of the name options that were chosen as finalists by our fans,” Maughan said. “We’re fully on track to announce a permanent name and identity ahead of the 25-26 NHL season and look forward to sharing that with our fans when we do.”

What does that mean exactly? We’ll have to wait and see, but for now, the team is just “fully on track to announce a permanent name and identity” ahead of next season.”

Along with the Mammoth and the Utah Hockey Club, the Utah Outlaws is being considered.

GET MORE TOP STORIES from The Big Lead by subscribing to TBL YouTube channel

MLB: Pirates fan reportedly suffers ‘skull fracture’ in 20-foot PNC Park fall

NBA: LeBron James gets real about retirement talk after Lakers playoff exit

NFL: Shedeur Sanders tops NFL rookie jersey sales following 2025 NFL Draft

CFB: Bill Belichick statement defends 24-year-old gf Jordon Hudson, rips media narrative

SPORTS MEDIA: Dirk Nowitzki has hilarious response to Steve Nash joining Amazon Prime Video

Source: Utah News

May 1, 2025

Did you feel it? Earthquake rattles parts of Utah early Thursday morning

A small earthquake rattled parts of Utah Thursday morning. Just after midnight, the University of Utah seismograph stations reported a 3.9 magnitude earthquake. The quake occurred about 5 kilometers …

A small earthquake rattled parts of Utah Thursday morning. Just after midnight, the University of Utah seismograph stations reported a 3.9 magnitude earthquake.

The quake occurred about 5 kilometers west of Independence but could be felt across the Utah and Salt Lake Valleys, including Springville, Provo, Orem, and parts of Salt Lake City.

3.9 magnitude earthquake shakes Utah; no damage or injuries reported

A 3.9 magnitude earthquake shook a portion of Utah early Thursday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The earthquake was reported just after midnight local time about two miles northwest of Independence, Utah, and about 44 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, according to the geological survey.

Residents as far north as Ogden and as far south as Spanish Fork reported feeling some weak to light shaking from the earthquake, which was reported at a depth of about seven miles. Shaking was also felt in Draper, Provo, Lehi and West Jordan, according to the USGS.

There have been no reports of injuries or damage.

Last month, a 2.6 magnitude earthquake hit about 12 miles northwest of Emery, Utah and about 123 miles south of Salt Lake City. No shaking, damage or injuries were reported from that earthquake, according to the USGS.

How strong do earthquakes need to be to cause damage?

According to the USGS, there is not one magnitude above which damage will occur. It depends on other variables, such as the distance from the earthquake, what type of soil you are on, building construction, among others.

However, the USGS says damage does not usually occur until the earthquake magnitude reaches somewhere above 4 or 5.

This story has been updated to add new information.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.

Source: Utah News

May 1, 2025

Class of 2025: Utah Valley University awards record number of degrees

Graduates at Utah’s largest university encouraged to draw upon resilience, relationships to overcome future challenges.

Source: Utah News

May 1, 2025

How Utah HC Can Turn Its Recent YouTube Leak Into A Win

The odds that Utah Mammoth will be the official name of Utah Hockey Club certainly seems to be as close to official as it can get.

Oct 30, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Hockey Club center Clayton Keller (9) scores a goal against the Calgary Flames during the third period at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The odds that Utah Mammoth will be the official name of Utah Hockey Club certainly seems to be as close to official as it can get.

The speculation of Utah’s name change certainly has blown up after Utah Hockey Club’s official youtube channel underwent some… interesting changes to say the least.

Derick Fox of ABC4.com also reported that Mike Maughan, an executive for Smith Entertainment Group, would not confirm whether the YouTube URL changes revealed the upcoming team name, instead just confirming the team is on track to announce the name ahead of the upcoming season.

While Utah Hockey Club has stayed tight-lipped about what its official name will be, the club could use this leak to its advantage.

Since this is an internal leak, appearing on its own YouTube channel rather than through a viral tweet leaking the teams name, like in the case of the Washington Commanders, fans have only been able to point to this one instance as a clear sign of what Utah’s name will be.

So even if this is a mistake, Utah still holds the cards on how it can reveal its name and can do a lot more than just wait for its official press release.

Is Utah’s Connor Ingram Next for a Contract Extension? The offseason signing period for Utah Hockey Club has already kicked off,

with goalie Jaxson Stauber signing a two-way contract.

For starters, Utah could choose to play into the leak with posts from its social media team. After all, it would be amusing if Utah Hockey Club “intentionally” leaked more information on its social pages, even hinting at its other speculated name, Utah Outlaws.

It would certainly generate more attention if the team teased fans about Utah Mammoth even more, this time through its social team playing off the accidental leak rather than ignoring it.

After all, with an offseason without any hockey in Utah, it would be smart if the team focused its energy onto the upcoming rebrand.

But it is worth considering that this leak could just be the first sign that an official announcement is coming sooner rather than later, especially with the NHL draft lottery just around the corner on May 5.

Instead of just posting on social media, Utah could prefer to have its team name announced in conjunction with the actual NHL draft on June 27.

NHL Draft Lottery Set For May 5 — How High Can Utah Pick? The NHL has announced the date for the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery. It will take place on Monday, May 5th. With the Utah Hockey Club now in the bottom 11 teams, the question is: where exactly did they finish—and how high can they move up?

With every team staying in its own city for this year’s NHL draft, announcing the official team name alongside its draft pick in Salt Lake City would bring a lot of attention to the draft and to the relatively new hockey audience in Utah.

Announcing the team’s official name on the day of the lottery draft could make a lot sense considering it’s the first NHL event connected to the 2025-26 season. Announcing its new moniker then would certainly help fans get excited for its new name early.

But depending on Utah’s strategy, it may want to make the release of its official name its own separate event, unrelated to anything connected to the NHL draft.

However, Utah could want to have more build up to its team name, instead opting to set a date closer to the beginning of the season, perhaps when the renovations at the Delta Center are finished.

Source: Utah News

April 30, 2025

Utah owners announce 1st phase of renovations for Delta Center

Will turn basketball arena into dual-sport facility over next 3 years; progressing on permanent brand identity …

The NHL will look different in Utah next season.

Smith Entertainment Group announced Wednesday it has begun the first phase of renovations of Delta Center in Salt Lake City, pushing technology further than ever before to turn an arena built for basketball into a dual-sport facility. It is also progressing on the permanent brand identity for the Utah Hockey Club.

When the puck drops for 2025-26, each seat in the lower bowl will have a great view for hockey, and a new logo will be at center ice.

“Just in Year 1, we’re going to see a great improvement in the lower-bowl capacity for hockey,” said Jim Olson, president of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, who is leading facilities projects for SEG.

Delta Center was built in 1991 as the home of the Jazz and underwent a significant renovation in 2017. The NHL established a new franchise in Utah on April 18, 2024. SEG sprinted to ready the arena for hockey for 2024-25, doing what it could in about six months, including adding NHL locker rooms.

But the main problem remained. Only 11,131 seats had a full view of the ice. About 5,000 seats had a view of one goal, most of them in the upper bowl.

“I think it’s the best basketball venue in the NBA,” Olson said. “It was built for basketball with sightlines that created just an incredible fan experience for basketball. And when you come and plop the size of an ice sheet in that venue with those sightlines, the geometry just doesn’t work.”

SEG set out to retain the experience for basketball while creating one for hockey. The renovation work must be done in the offseason for the NHL and NBA. Olson said SEG is hopeful and optimistic the full renovation will be completed over the next three summers.

“We’ve got all the plans and everything ready to go for the work this summer, and we’re still working on the plans, the design and everything, for the next two summers,” Olson said. “If the scope changes, that could change the timeline a little bit. A few other factors could come into play that could change the timeline.”

This offseason, SEG will raise the floor two feet, lengthen the arena bowl by about 12 feet at each end and install a revolutionary retractable seating system that will accommodate a nearly 12-foot variance in elevation between the rink and court endlines. The lower bowl will have 1,000 new seats for hockey, and 400 limited-view seats will become full-view.

“We are replacing the retractable seating in both the end zones and sidelines,” Larry Lippold of SCI Architects said. “We’re really maintaining the basketball sightlines, maintaining the basketball bowl, so you’re really not going to feel a change in the basketball experience. But we will have a premium experience for hockey as well, so [it’s] really packing in the fans close to the action.”

This is the key:

“We are going with a much steeper rake for hockey in the end zones behind the net,” Lippold said. “It’s similar technology that’s been used in other buildings, but what they’re using now is a triple scissor lift, so the change in rake is greater than any other building to switch over between basketball and hockey, so [it’s] using existing technology but really, really pushing it.”

Source: Utah News

April 30, 2025

Did Utah Hockey Club leak the new team name?

The Utah Hockey Club seems to have leaked its new team name. As first pointed out publicly by @dusty_bxnes on X, the team’s official YouTube channel has changed its handle to “ @UtahMammoth ” — though …

The Utah Hockey Club seems to have leaked its new team name.

As first pointed out publicly by @dusty_bxnes on X, the team’s official YouTube channel has changed its handle to “@UtahMammoth” — though the official name of the channel remains “Utah Hockey Club.”

Source: Utah News

April 30, 2025

Is Utah’s Connor Ingram Next for a Contract Extension?

The offseason signing period for Utah Hockey Club has already kicked off, with goalie Jaxson Stauber signing a two-way contract.

Considering all the contracts Utah signed before the free agency period, it should come as no surprise to see the club looking to continue re-signing pieces from a roster that came so close to a playoff run.

While Stauber’s extension continues that trend, it does not answer some of Utah’s major offseason questions, such as what kind of deal the club will offer Jack McBain and whether Nick Bjugstad and other unrestricted free agents will be re-signed.

But the biggest question Stauber’s signing raises is what Connor Ingram’s future with Utah will be. Right now, Ingram is signed through the 2025–26 season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2027.

There has been no update on his status in the NHL’s player assistance program, and he has not posted on social media since announcing his entry into the program on March 9.

“A lot of it is unknown. When players go into the program, we don’t have any contact with him so it’s hard for us to speculate,” Armstrong said. “The good news for us as we sit here in this room is we know he is in a good place at the program. We wish him the best.”

Aside from Armstrong’s comment, the status on Ingram is relatively unknown. So as of now, Utah and its fans can only hope Ingram is doing good and getting the help he needs from the NHL.

Utah’s GM Bill Armstrong Provides Update On Connor Ingram Yesterday, Utah Hockey Club GM Bill Armstrong provided an update on Connor Ingram during his end-of-season exit interview.

Ingram has had assistance before, during his time with the Nashville Predators in the 2021–22 season, and returned to play the next season with the Arizona Coyotes.

So based on that, Utah should be confident that Ingram will be ready in time for next season, but until Ingram rejoins the team, Utah is left waiting to hear from Ingram like everyone else.

But with only a year on Ingram’s contract remaining, Utah will soon have to make another decision regarding one of its goalies.

After all, before Karel Vejmelka’s rise to the starting position that earned him a five-year contract extension and the starting goalie job, Ingram was slated to be the starter heading into the season.

It makes sense that Utah still sees Ingram in a positive light, even though he has lost the starting role to Vejmelka. Despite Ingram’s inconsistency this season, Utah has to feel confident that his play will improve when he is able to play a full season and remain consistently available.

Report: Utah Changes Youtube Channel Username To “Mammoth” It looks like the Utah Hockey Club may have made a change. In the very early hours of the morning (April 30), their official YouTube channel’s username was updated—and then the entire channel went dark.

Even with Jaxson Stauber serving as Vejmelka’s backup for most of the season when Ingram was not playing, Utah still decided to bring in goalie Matt Villalta by the end of the season, opting to keep Stauber with its AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners.

Considering Vejmelka started 22 straight games, regardless of Utah had as a backup, Utah will need figure out who will backup Vejmelka as he starts his five-year contract.

Based on Utah’s signings this year, it seems likely the team could offer Ingram a contract extension, or in other words, retain another piece from its current roster.

But with Ingram still away from the team and no timetable for his return ahead of next season, a contract extension probably will not come this offseason.

Instead, Utah may want to see how Ingram performs at training camp and throughout the season before offering him an extension.

What Will Utah HC’s Second Line Look Like Next Year? With Utah’s offseason just beginning, there will be time to heal, watch and learn from the current playoff teams, and game plan for the upcoming season.

There is also the possibility that Utah decides to trade Ingram if Stauber shows signs of growth and the club feels it would rather move on from Ingram’s expiring contract at the trade deadline.

Considering Vejmelka was in Ingram’s position as a backup goalie on an expiring contract, Utah could look to extend Ingram, just as it did with Vejmelka in the week leading up to the trade deadline.

But with three goalies currently signed under contract including its starter for years to come, utah won’t need to worry about getting Ingram under a contract immediatle;ly and is in position where it can wait to see how Ingram is when he returns to the team.

Rather, Utah’s next move likely will be figuring out McBain’s contract as a restircted free agent and deciding who of its unrestricted free agents it wahts to return and who it wants to look for in free agency.

Source: Utah News

April 30, 2025

NHL’s Utah Hockey Club Appears To Leak New Team Name

Ryan Smith—already well-known to Utah fans as the owner of the NBA’s Utah Jazz—wanted the community to help choose a permanent team name. So, he and the organization let fans vote on the original …

Utah Hockey Club wrapped up its inaugural NHL season by finishing sixth in the Central Division with a 38-21-13 record and 89 points. Despite missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs, excitement over hockey in Salt Lake City has been through the roof, especially late Tuesday night, local time.

When owners Ryan and Ashley Smith brought the Arizona Coyotes’ roster, coaching staff, and front office to Utah in April 2024, Ryan Smith made it clear he wouldn’t rush the process of choosing a team nickname.

“It will 100 percent be ‘Utah,’ and then it will be ‘Utah Something,’ obviously,” he said. “I don’t think given this timeline that we’re going to have time — or nor should we rush with everything else that’s going on — to go force what that is in the next three months.”

Ryan Smith—already well-known to Utah fans as the owner of the NBA’s Utah Jazz—wanted the community to help choose a permanent team name. So, he and the organization let fans vote on the original options and then the finalists, which included Utah Mammoth, Utah Hockey Club, and Utah Outlaws.

The name was expected to be announced this summer before the 2025–26 NHL season, but those plans may now be changing.

Utah Hockey Club celebrates after a goal.© Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Just after midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday morning, a fan scrolling through the official team YouTube account noticed the handle read “UtahMammoth” instead of “Utah Hockey Club.”

The news then began to spread like a wildfire on social media.

Source: Utah News