Utah cornerback Kenan Johnson will be out for the season after suffering an injury to his left knee in Thursday’s opener, Utes coach Kyle Whittingham confirmed Monday.
The Utes entered the weekend with concerns about the status of Johnson and senior defensive tackle Aliki Vimahi. Whittingham expects the latter to be back with the team at some point this season.
Johnson’s year, however, is done, though Whittingham said there is a chance for the senior who transferred from Georgia Tech to earn a redshirt year for 2025.
“Yeah, unfortunately, that injury is season-ending,” the Utes coach said. “If there is a silver lining, he will be able to get another year. You know, we haven’t had that discussion yet. It just depends on what he wants to do and how he wants to handle it. But from what feedback I have gotten, it would be pretty much a slam dunk to get him another year if he wants to go down that road.”
Johnson’s injury is a major blow to the Utes’ already thin defensive back depth. In 2023, Johnson finished with 29 tackles, three pass deflections and one interception. Before the injury, he was the unquestioned starter alongside senior cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn.
The Utes will now survey their options by potentially moving nickel corner Smith Snowden to the outside. Whittingham said that sophomore cornerback Elijah Davis and freshman Cameron Calhoun could also be options to replace Johnson.
“Right now we don’t have the exact answer configuration,” Whittingham said. “But we’ll take a look at the configurations in practice and determine in the next day or two what the best option is going to be moving forward.”
After defeating Southern Utah in week one, the No. 12 Utes (1-0) will next take on Baylor (1-0) at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.