A deep stable of pass-catching options at the University of Utah is now smaller by one.
Jaylen Dixon, a redshirt junior slot receiver, announced Monday afternoon he has entered his name into the NCAA Transfer Portal.
A three-star recruit in Utah’s 2017 recruiting class, Dixon took a redshirt in 2017, then caught 56 passes for 932 yards and three touchdowns across the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
The return of a healthy Britain Covey to Utah’s offense may have helped fuel Dixon’s departure. Covey, a redshirt junior, has 113 catches for 1,233 yards and five touchdowns in 29 career games. The Provo native will figure very prominently in the Utes' offense this fall. Utes offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig was saying as much Friday morning, hours before training camp opened.
In Covey’s two healthy seasons, 2015 and the majority of 2018, he led Utah in receptions with 43 and 60, respectively. He took a two-year LDS mission in 2016 and 2017.
“Brit Covey is like a guerrilla warfare player,” Ludwig said. “I’m not saying that Brit Covey is an ‘X’ receiver, ‘R’ receiver, slot receiver, outside, he’s everything. He’s going to line up as a running back, he’s going to line up in the slot, in the perimeter, he’s going to be moving and getting carries out of the backfield, getting carries on the fly sweep positions, things like that.”
When Utah released its pre-camp depth chart Friday, Dixon was listed third at one receiver spot, with Covey, Bryan Thompson and Solomon Enis listed as the projected starters.
