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The Utes have cut some players loose recently to meet signing requirements, but one that got away they wanted to stay was Vili Leveni, a defensive end out of Hurst, Texas who signed with Oklahoma State. He switched to Oklahoma State reportedly more out of differences with some other Texans who signed with the Utes than being unhappy with Utah’s program.
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BYU is expected to sign nearly a dozen high school football players from the state of Utah today, when all is said and done.
Several of those Utah prep stars got their paperwork in early on Wednesday morning, including Fremont defensive back Jordan Preator, Skyline defensive back Garrett England, Lone Peak wide receiver Talon Shumway and Bountiful linebacker Rylee Gautavai.
Preator, 6-0, 180, flew under the recruiting radar a bit because he was injured his senior year. He played some quarterback for the Silver Wolves of Plain City, and also played a little basketball.
England also did it all at Skyline, playing receiver, running back and defensive back. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound athlete was a first-team all-state pick.
Shumway is also on the taller side, at 6-3. The 200-pounder from Highland is rated as the No. 9 overall prospect in the state by Rivals.com. He caught 72 passes for 1,049 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior. He also plays basketball for Lone Peak’s nationally ranked hoops team.
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Gautavai, 6-1, 200, led the Braves of Bountiful with 117 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 2012. He had 122 tackles as a junior. Bountiful won 25 games in Gautavai’s three-year tenure at the school.
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It isn’t even 10 a.m. and the Utes are almost done with their recruiting class with 18 players signed or enrolled.
The running back group already looks solid, with Troy McCormick, a 5-9, 159-pound back out of Houston, Texas and Devontae Booker, a 5-11, 199-pound back out of Sacramento, Calif. among the signees.
Also signing is De’Vian Young, a 5-9, 171-pound freshman out of Houston, Texas.
Speaking of Texas, the Utes have made the state a priority area in recent seasons. It seems to be paying off, at least in numbers, with seven players from Texas signing so far.
In a change from past signing rules, players who have committed to the Utes but won’t enroll during the 2013-14 aren’t allowed to sign national letters of intent and the maximum number of signees permitted through the signing period (Dec. 1-May 31) is 25 this year, down from 28 a year ago, so expect the announcements that several of Utah’s committed players will be heading out on missions or will walk on.
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Utah State may have found a future star in an in-state recruit who didn’t set a high profile despite having an spectacular season.
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