Recruiting

[MDUte]

Kingsley Suamataia OT Orem, UT is listed as a high 4* and the #1 prospect from the state for the class of ‘21. 247 has him going to Oregon and it looks like the only other school he is considering is Georgia. Were we ever in the mix for this kid? I realize the top in-state kids want the experience of leaving home and playing for a blue blood program, but we have to start landing some of these…

Any other 4* dudes (in-state or out-of-state) we are planning on for this class? Byron Cardwell RB? Mason Tafuga ILB? Junior Alexander WR? Sounds like we had Will Latu but then we passed on him or he passed on us and committed to Washington?

Hope we have some good news coming on the recruiting trail to bolster this year’s class…

[mfaulk80]

We’re still in the mix with Kingsley, but he’s a heavy Oregon lean.  He’s good friends with Penei Sewell and someone else on Oregon’s team. 

There are a bunch of 4* that we are in the mix for, some of which we are favored to land.  Weird recruiting season, and there is still plenty of time for things to change in either direction. 

[UteBacker]

MD- we didn’t do too bad in 2020’s recruiting class.  We landed 5 of the top 10 Utah prospects (6 if you count Mason Faslev), including the #2 (Fillinger), #3(Carlton), #4(Ritchie), and #5 (Harrison).  After the top 10 Utah players, I think we’re better off landing middle-of-the-pack Texas, Florida & California players.  Also, for comparison’s sake, check out the State of Arizona this year… their TOP 19 players went out of state.  Sometimes these kids just want to fly the coop.

[MDUte]

Totally agree. Sorry if I sounded negative with my OP. I’ve never been more excited with the trajectory of our program coming off of the 2020 class. In taking that “next step” to get us down closer to a Top 20 class, I’d like to see us nail down 1 of the top 3 guys in the state along while continuing to increase our number of 4* dudes we pull in from our top spots in CA, TX, AZ, FL etc. What a difference it would make to keep a Jay Tufele, Penei Sewell, Puca Nacua home. OnlyU posted a little while back that he is optimistic about Utah in 5 years having 30 4* dudes on our roster at any given time. IMO, if we can get there…with the way our coaching staff develops kids, we’d be a consistent powerhouse program out West. Feel free to tell me to take the red goggles off if you like. But I want to believe that is what’s possible for our program. Go Utes!!

[MDUte]

Btw, I realize we’ll never get all the top in-state dudes to stay home…nobody does. Just would like to see us start to land 1 of those top 3 guys on a given year. We did great with the in-state guys for ‘20 class. In the spirit of always trying to do better, I’m just thinking about continuing to take that “next step” with recruiting.

[MDUte]

In other words, I’m hoping the class of 2020 isn’t an exception but starts to become the rule for us.

[UteBacker]

Agree 100%.  To be honest, I just want that team of 30 four-stars… I don’t care where they come from.

[Central Coast Ute]

Yep. Kids want to leave mommy and daddy and start their life as a man. Zack Moss said the same thing. He had an offer to Miami, right down the street but decided to go to Utah to get out away from family and be on his own for a while. Nothing wrong with that. Utah will just have to find more kids that want to do the same and that’s ok. Het the ones to stay hame that will, but if not all of the too players want to, oh well, find some kids from out of state and move on.

[PhiladelphiaUte]

Moss was more “following his friends” than he was “leaving mommy and daddy”.  Had Huntley and/or Simpkins been offered by Miami, they’d have stayed home.  Utah was the ONLY P5 program that extended offers to all three.  There weren’t even any P5 programs that had offered only just two of them.

Given a choice, some folks prefer to remain in the company of their friends over those of their parents.

[Central Coast Ute]

That’s what he said when asked why he chose Utah. Sure Huntley and Simpkins helped recruit him, but do you honestly believe he moved out to Utah for them? Come on.

[MDUte]

I’m with you guys. At the end of the day, I don’t care where the 4* dudes come from, just want to get to that level. Just seems like it takes a lot of pressure off if we can consistently pull in a good number of the ones in our own backyard like we did with last year’s class. But I’ll take them anywhere we can get them.

[Italy88]

Hard to take your posts seriously after your, “Change the Mascot” thread.

[MDUte]

Seriously? What about my change our name post did you find offensive? I wasn’t advocating for us to change our name. Just starting to wonder if it’s inevitable.

[MDUte]

By your lack of response, maybe you’re the one that shouldn’t be taken seriously.

[UteBacker]

I didn’t think you were advocating for change.  It was an honest question that is probably being asked by all fanbases of teams with similar mascots.  From what I gathered with all of the responses to your post I think 95% of Utah fans are in the “leave it the hell alone until the Ute tribe tells us differently” camp.

[MDUte]

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. I think you’re right about how the majority of fans feel and it makes sense.

[UteBacker]

You are a good addition, MD. Thanks for posting.

[MDUte]

Thanks Backer!

[MDUte]

Looks like Logan Fano DE from Timpview was recently upgraded from 3* to 4*. And 247 has him deciding between us and Washington. Anyone know about this local kid’s recruitment?

[Dresden_Stormblessed]

All I know is the following:
He was a commit to the TDS. He then took a visit up to the U. A week later he decommitted. Right now, he has a top 8:
Utah, Michigan, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Virginia, Washington, and BYU.
He’s a really talented player that I would love to add to the program. Apparently he’s been a standout player at the 7v7 tournaments locally as well.

[MDUte]

Thanks, I hope we can get him as well! If it really is between us and Washington (per 247 even though he has his top 8 listed) I always worry that in-state kids get all starry-eyed by the big name out-of-state program.