Utah
Arizona Adds Former Utah Running Back Mike Mitchell Out of Transfer Portal
The additions keep coming for Arizona this offseason.
Knowing they needed to overhaul this roster after a disappointing campaign where the Wildcats drastically underperformed, Brent Brennan and his coaching staff have attacked the transfer portal and added some potential difference makers.
That’s going to be important for Arizona.
They have plenty to replace based on graduations and players turning professional before even looking at those who put their names into the portal and have committed elsewhere.
Offensive playmakers are certainly needed after Tetairoa McMillan declared for the draft, especially since that unit was poor even with the program’s all-time leading receiver on the roster.
The latest player the Wildcats landed out of the portal is former Utah running back Mike Mitchell.
Dynamic addition to the running back room 🔥
Welcome to Tucson, @Mike_Mitchell14 🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/eC3igUL6PC
— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) December 29, 2024
The 6-foot, 210-pounder was a three-star in the 2023 class.
He redshirted his freshman season before getting action this past campaign, totaling 158 yards rushing and a touchdown on 47 carries.
Mitchell is an addition who could make an impact next year and beyond with three seasons of eligibility remaining.
He also becomes the second running back Arizona has grabbed out of the portal, joining former Texas State star Ismail Mahdi who figures to compete with Kedrick Reescano for the starting role.
The Wildcats have to replace Quali Conley, Rayshon Luke and Brandon Johnson, with Conley being lost to graduation and the latter two looking to transfer.
A three-headed attack consisting of Mahdi, who led the FBS level in all-purpose yards during the 2023 season, Reescano, who produced 359 yards on the ground in a backup role, and Mitchell, who could be a productive player at the collegiate level, should have this offense much better positioned to move the ball consistently in 2025.
Utah
Here’s who will lead Utah Valley University as its next president
Jon Anderson will be charged with moving the Orem school forward following the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on campus last year.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Incoming UVU President Jon Anderson poses for a photo with his family after an event announcing his selection at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, July 17, 2026.
Utah
Beaver County residents set up thousands of sandbags ahead of flashfloods
BEAVER COUNTY, Utah — A massive community effort is underway as volunteers and Beaver County crews distribute thousands of sandbags to protect homes from the potential path of floodwaters.
After the Cottonwood Fires, residents have been waiting for weeks for relief to come in the form of rain, though officials now warn it may come all at once with an increased risk of flooding and debris flow.
Emergency Service Director Les Whitney believes that the fire has left plenty of debris to bring trouble for residents.
“We got a lot of water. We’re bringing debris with it, so tree branches, tree limbs, logs, lots of different size firewood, and that’s all in the creeks. We’re worried about that plugging up our bridges and stuff, so we have heavy equipment and excavators located in strategic places so that we can keep those bridges open,” said Whitney.
An estimated 140 homes and condominiums were spared from the flames, but remain in the paths of floodwaters.
Residents can also pick up sandbags at the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office or at the Beaver County Rodeo Fairgrounds.
Utah
Utah man arrested again for allegedly abusing dog twice in three months
EAGLE MOUNTAIN — An Eagle Mountain man currently on pretrial release in 4th District Court who is accused of abusing his dog has been arrested again for allegedly punching the same animal.
Keith Reaves Davis, 43, was booked into the Utah County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of aggravated cruelty to an animal.
Utah County sheriff’s deputies were called Wednesday afternoon to a grocery store on a report that a man was beating his dog after it had gotten off its leash and was stopped by a bystander, according to a police booking affidavit.
“I reviewed security camera footage from the grocery store, and an individual matching the description of the suspect was seen holding the dog in the air by one paw and repeatedly striking the dog on the right hind leg area. I observed the male strike the dog several times before dropping the dog from approximately 1-2 feet. The strikes appeared to be as hard as the male could hit,” the arresting deputy wrote in the affidavit. “The dog did not cry out or whimper as if the dog was accustomed to the abuse.”
When questioned, Davis “admitted to striking the dog because it was not behaving,” the affidavit states.
An animal control officer who responded to the scene to take custody of the dog noted it was the same dog he had taken from Davis exactly three months earlier during another animal abuse investigation.
In that case, Davis was charged in 4th District Court with aggravated cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor; and public intoxication, a class C misdemeanor, after deputies received a tip from a neighbor that a dog was being abused at Davis’ home, according to charging documents. When questioned, Davis “acknowledged hitting his dog as punishment,” the charges state.
Deputies also reviewed videos that the neighbor had filmed. The neighbor told investigators “there was blood from the dog on the ground of the garage and (the neighbor) can hear the dog screaming as if it’s being hurt. Deputies got the videos from the (neighbor) and you can hear very loudly the dog screaming and crying with a lot of loud banging noises. In one of the videos, you can hear the dog sounding like it is being choked by a collar and is grasping for air,” a police booking affidavit states.
Davis’ next court hearing in the April case is scheduled for July 28.
In their latest booking report, sheriff’s deputies note that they “believe further harm will be inflicted on this dog if it is released back to the male a second time,” and have recommended the dog not be returned to Davis.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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