Florida State transfer Mycah Pittman arrives at Utah healthy and full of confidence — and is already creating chemistry with Cam Rising
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New Utah receiver Mycah Pittman was not short on confidence in his first interview with media since arriving on the hill.
With four years at Oregon and Florida State, Pittman arrived in Salt Lake City with plenty of experience. Last season, with the Seminoles, he had 330 yards on 32 receptions, scoring three touchdowns, and also handled punt returns, ranking 15th in the nation in yards per return with 9.4.
He started all 13 games for Florida State last season and started 12 games over three seasons at Oregon (while playing in 22 games), catching 38 passes for 547 yards with two touchdowns in the Ducks career.
Following his one-year stint at FSU, Pittman transferred to Utah this offseason, along with Indiana’s Emery Simmons, helping to shore up Utah’s wide receiver room.
He said Utah’s back-to-back Pac-12 championships made the U. an attractive destination for him.
“I wasn’t going to leave a big-time program like FSU if I didn’t know I was going to be able to be able to have other opportunities at other schools,” Pittman said. “The other schools were really interested in me, big-time schools, and thankfully Utah was on that list.
Pittman has known Utah quarterback Cam Rising since eighth grade. Rising’s Newbury Park High School and Pittman’s Oaks Christian High School dueled in 2016, when the two California schools played in a record-setting game.
Rising threw for 485 yards and five touchdowns, while adding 141 yards and a score on the ground, setting a Ventura County record for total offense, while Pittman had 205 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Now, the two are teammates.
“Catching the ball underneath is world class. I think he’s one of the better ones in the nation and when he gets the ball he kind of turns into a running back,” Rising said of Pittman.
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The 6-foot, 214-pound Pittman could potentially fill a Britain Covey type role for the Utes. He played out of the slot at Florida State and returned punts.
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said that Pittman has been returning punts at practice.
“Mycah Pittman looked really good today,” Whittingham said at the outset of fall camp. “He’s got a good skill set, soft hands catching punts, excellent hands out of the slot on offense.”
Now learning another offense in his college career, Pittman said that his experience is helping him acclimate to a new system, Utah’s pro-style offense under offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig.
“It’s really not hard. I’ve been a part of multiple offenses now. Shoot, this is my fourth offense now. So picking up a pro-style offense is something I haven’t done, but something I can’t not do. So I’m learning quickly, pretty easily as an older guy now, being mature and being in the playbook and taking care of my body,” Pittman said.
Pittman, who has dealt with multiple injuries throughout his career, is happy to be healthy at the moment.
“Every single year of my college career, unfortunately, has humbled me and I’ve been injured most of the time. It’s finally nice to have a healed labrum and a healed arm and a healed collarbone and being able to be out here with the guys and compete,” Pittman said.
Pittman is looking forward to showing his connection with Rising. Him and Rising worked together during Pittman’s first day on campus, starting to develop chemistry.
“Cam’s my guy. When we get together, people will know we have a connection right away. ... I know he’s going to want to give me the ball and that’s what he’s told me since I’ve been here. He loves my skillset and loves the fact that I like to get open, and he likes throwing to open receivers,” Pittman said.
