UTAH UTES

Nate Johnson No Longer With Utah Football, Intends To Transfer

Nov 24, 2023, 4:21 PM | Updated: Nov 26, 2023, 7:45 pm

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah quarterback Nate Johnson is no longer with the program and will be entering the NCAA Transfer Portal according to sources.

Rumors began swirling late Wednesday before the Utes’ last home game against the Colorado Buffaloes.

This story was first broken by Josh Newman of KSL.com.

Johnson ended up playing quite a bit in 2023 both as the outright starter and co-starter with Bryson Barnes after Cam Rising ended up not being available for the year.

Johnson’s departure from the program leaves Barnes, Brandon Rose, Mack Howard, and Luke Bottari to finish out the 2023 season.

More About Nate Johnson’s 2023 Season

The redshirt freshman was elevated to the primary starter three games into 2023 for Utah football after pulling some late-game heroics to secure a win for the Utes on the road against Baylor.

Johnson remained in that position for three games- Weber State, UCLA, and Oregon State, but was then replaced for Bryson Barnes for the remainder of the year.

Johnson was 2-1 as the outright starter with an additional two wins against Florida and Baylor as a co-starter with Barnes.

In 2023 Johnson completed 39 of 72 passes attempted for 499 yards, and three touchdowns. He also accumulated 59 rushes for an additional 235 yards and four more touchdowns.

Johnson was briefly introduced to the Utes in his freshman year in 2022 as a wildcat option later in the season after Cam Rising was slowed up by a knee injury sustained against USC in Salt Lake City.

Johnson had five carries that year for 51 yards and two touchdowns along with one pass attempt for a touchdown in three games played- Arizona, Stanford, and USC in the Pac-12 Title Game.

Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for KSLsports.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on XInstagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports

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