WHAT IT MEANS: CB Johnson Transfers to Utah

The University of Utah landed another transfer portal addition on Friday with the announcement of former Georgia Tech CB Kenan Johnson.

The 6-foot-1 corner when to Lake Minneola HS in Minneola, Florida where he was a 3-star defensive back in the 2019 class. He was briefly committed to North Carolina before signing with the Yellow Jackets in December of 2018. At the time, Utah was never in the mix with the Tar Heels, Georgia Tech or some of the other east coast and southeast schools, however, Johnson did have an offer from Utah State.

Johnson was rated by PFF a 73.9 on 521 snaps this past season, which would have placed him just behind Utah's Zemaiah Vaughn (74.3 on 554 snaps), and in front of Miles Battle (67.3), Tao Johnson (64.6), and JaTravis Broughton (44.5). Nearly all of his plays were at outside corner in 2023, with just 27 in the box and 12 at nickel. On 1,002 career snaps, Kenan Johnson has 61 tackles, 13 missed tackles, 9 PBU, 1 INT, and given up 38 catches on 69 targets (55.1%). He also forced two fumbles and had one recovery.

Johnson visited Utah earlier this week.

What Utah is getting

Johnson was the highest-rated defender on Georgia Tech's defense and had a panache for making big plays. He was a good rotational player for the Yellow Jackets his first two seasons before stepping into a bigger role in 2023. He had a nose for making big plays in high school and he continued to make an impact when he made it to Atlanta. Johnson earned his degree in business administration in May 2023 and comes to Utah with two years to play.

Johnson should immediately push for starting opposite Vaughn at the outside corner spot, which should give the defense flexibility as they fill in the voids left by Cole Bishop and Sione Vaki leaving for the NFL. At the very least, he gives the corners good depth and veteran leadership as young corners CJ Blocker and Smith Snowden continue to develop.

What This Means for the Class

Johnson is the second transfer portal commitment for Utah after the announcement of TE Carsen Ryan from UCLA earlier in the week. He was followed soon after by BYU defensive end transfer John Henry Daley. Continuing to add at wide receiver and the defensive backfield will remain a priority. Their work in the portal is far from over.