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It was a somewhat uncomfortable moment on his official visit that made Tyquez Hampton understand how serious Utah fans are about their football.

He was standing watchinghttp://bit.ly/2cKnjJs";> Utah's eventual win over USC in sold-out Rice-Eccles, when a fan sitting behind him told the three-star recruit to stop blocking the view.

"It showed that they actually paid attention to the game," he said. "It was so loud in there. Everybody was so into it."

That was one of the factors that went into his decision where to play football next year.

Hampton, a three-star receiver out of El Dorado High in El Paso, Texas, tweeted Tuesday that he flipped his commitment from Washington State to the Utes afterhttp://bit.ly/2cpuRQS";> visiting Salt Lake City for Utah's 31-27 win over USC, and confirmed the decision in an interview with the Tribune.

In his announcement, Hampton cited Utah's "vigorous and fervent gameday atmosphere," as well as the football team's high APR in academics and medical program.

Speaking with the Tribune, Hampton said he became interested in Utah when he started researching academics. He was impressed with how the Utes stacked up.

"I started thinking about my life after football: what I wanted to major in, job opportunities," he said. "Utah's name popped up a lot. Academics is what kind of brought me to it."

On his visit last month, Hampton said he blended in quickly to the fabric of the program, becoming close to Raelon Singleton, Tyler Huntley and Kenric Young. A native of Gainesville, he and Young especially got along over their mutual hometown.

Hampton was recruited by receivers coach Guy Holliday, but so were his parents. Hampton said he knew something was different about Utah when his mother, normally not a talkative person, was freely conversing with Holliday and his father for two hours during the visit.

"All three of us fell in love with Utah," he said. "The only problem was the wind and rain during the game."

Still, he said, that hasn't dissuaded his family from looking at moving to Salt Lake City in anticipation of him going to school there. Hampton said he plans to enroll early at Utah and play for spring ball. Holliday has told him that he thinks he could replace Tim Patrick.

At 6-foot-2 and roughly 205 pounds, http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3976624/tyquez-hampton";>Hampton has tools that made Wazzu believe he was a good fit for their prolific passing offense. He had 25 receptions for 562 yards as a junior, and El Dorado is looking to go to the Texas state playoffs this year.

Recruiting has been a slow process for Utah recently, in the hopes that pushing back offers would get bigger prospects who decide later in the cycle. As a consequence, Utah only has five commits, but Hampton is likely a taste of the kind of recruits the Utes are hoping to get this year.

Utah is the third school Hampton has committed to,http://www.cougcenter.com/2016/6/10/11907746/wsu-football-recruiting-tyquez-hampton-mississippi-state-utah-west-virginia";> originally opting for SMU before a brief commitment to the Cougars. He said he understands that some — likely Washington State fans — won't be kind.

"I already know it's going to happen," he said. "There was a lot of criticism. But it's not them going to that school. They don't know what the university is like. It's basically what I'm gonna do and what's best for my family."

These are the Utes commitments the Tribune has reported on:

2017
• Texas DB Tristin McCollum
• Texas DB Zyon McCollum
• Snow College DT John Penisini
• Texas QB Jason Shelley

2018
• Highland DT Hunter Lotulelei

kgoon@sltrib.com
Twitter: @kylegoon