A University of Utah wide receiver has entered the NCAA transfer portal.
Ryan Peppins, a true freshman out of Alabama, entered the portal Friday, according to both On3 and 247Sports’ Steve Bartle.
Peppins made the news official via Twitter a few hours after the reports surfaced.
New journey! Let’s ride. #GODSPLAN pic.twitter.com/OZiHTxZhTP
— Ryan Peppins (@RPeppins) April 16, 2022
Peppins was an early enrollee in the Utes’ 2022 recruiting class. He was one of three wide receivers signed in Utah’s 2022 class, along with Chris Reed and Sidney Mbanasor.
Though the 5-foot-8, 147-pound Peppins received scholarship offers from only two Power Five programs — Utah and Maryland, per 247 Sports — he had proven to show playmaking ability in multiple roles.
He was named the 2021 Alabama Mr. Football by the Alabama Sports Writers Association and helped Thompson High School win three straight state titles.
His high school coach, Thompson’s Mark Freeman, told AL.com Peppins was “invaluable” as a player he could use in a variety of ways to generate offense.
“He doesn’t shy away from pressure,” Freeman told AL.com. “Ryan wanted to be the guy who was counted on, and he was always willing to earn that. He didn’t ever walk into our building with an attitude of, ‘Hey, they need to get me the ball.’ He worked to get that distinction.
“He has those intangibles of quickness, speed, knowledge and determination. It’s hard to find guys with all of those qualities. He had them all, and it made him successful.”
During his prep career, Peppins had 2,755 receiving yards and 43 receiving touchdowns — that included 1,379 yards and 23 touchdowns as a senior — and added 326 return yards and a touchdown on special teams, per AL.com.