Utah Utes DE Xavier Carlton reportedly enters transfer portal

Utah Utes quarterback Peter Costelli (8) is sacked by Utah Utes defensive end Xavier Carlton (44) during the Red and White game in Salt Lake City on Saturday, April 17, 2021.

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

It’s been said that the transfer portal giveth and the transfer portal taketh away, and the Utah Utes reportedly got on the wrong end of it on Monday.

247 Sports’ Brandon Huffman reported that freshman defensive end Xavier Carlton, a Juan Diego High graduate, has entered the portal after a solid first season for the Utes.

Utah defensive end Xavier Carlton has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. Recorded 18 tackles this season, four for loss https://t.co/l5TdyDWTZx@247SportsPortal@UteZone

— Brandon Huffman (@BrandonHuffman) January 3, 2022

The news comes as a surprise on the surface, as Carlton was a regular contributor at defensive end in 2021.

The 6-foot-6, 272-pound Carlton appeared in 11 games and tallied 18 tackles (nine solo) with 1.5 sacks.

That said, he did not play at all in Utah’s final three contests.

Van Fillinger and Miki Suguturaga are now primed to be the main returners at defensive end in 2022, as star Mika Tafua has declared for the NFL draft.