Prior to the weekend before the start of college football’s signing period — which begins Wednesday with National Signing Day — coaches at Utah’s three major college football programs all said they were happy with the prospects they expect to sign this week.
No surprise there. Publicly acknowledging that a signing class isn’t up to snuff would be career suicide for a coach.
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BYU’s projected signings
Name Position Hometown School Ht/Wt Comment
Dylan Collie WR El Dorado Hills, Calif. Oak Ridge H.S. 5-10/2 Brother of Indianapolis Colts’ Austin Collie
Taysom Hill QB Pocatello, Idaho Highland H.S. 6-2/210 Signed with Stanford before LDS Church mission
Tanner Mangum QB Boise, Idaho Eagle H.S. 6-2/182 MVP among QBs at BYU’s camps in 2009, 2010
Josh Weeks WR Show Low, Ariz. Show Low H.S. Named to 25-member All-Arizona team after senior year
Rhett Sandlin S Sandy Alta H.S. 6-3/194 Big hitter committed to Cougars during junior year at Alta
Matt Hadley S Connell, Wash. Connell H.S. 5-11/190 Younger brother of BYU backup LB Spencer Hadley
Austin Hoyt OL Jackson, Calif. Argonaut H.S. 6-7/240 Picked BYU after getting offer from Utah, also plays TE
Phillip Amone LB Orlando, Fla. Dr. Phillips H.S. 6-0/218 Torn ACL cut short all-stater’s senior season
Stephen Richards TE Draper Alta H.S. 6-4/240 Ranked as 75th best TE in country by Scout.com
Jamaal Williams RB Fontana, Calif. Summit H.S. 6-2/190 Picked BYU over Boise State, could see early time
Jherremya Leuta-Douyere OLB Anaheim, Calif. Servite H.S. 6-0/230 Also played running back, offensive line in high school
Butch Pauu LB Anaheim, Calif. Servite H.S. 6-0/215 One of the biggest prep hitters in California
Troy Hinds DE Kaysville Davis H.S. 6-5/230 State’s most-recruited player had dozens of offers
Sawyer Powell LB Richland, Wash. Richland H.S. 6-1/205 Three-year starter had 100 tackles, interception as a junior
Marques Johnson DT Torrance, Calif. El Camino C.C. 6-2/305 Likely redshirt candidate will have three years to play two
Ammon Olsen QB Draper Alta H.S./SUU 6-4/205 Played for Southern Utah freshman year before a church mission
Micah Hanneman S Highland Lone Peak H.S. 6-1/185 Will probably greyshirt next fall before going on church mission
Utah’s projected signings
Name Position Hometown School Ht/Wt Comment
Brian Allen WR La Marque, Texas La Marque H.S. 6-3/200 Utah’s engineering program a selling point
J.J. Dielman OL Phoenix, Ariz. Desert Vista H.S. 6-4/240 Solid commit, Utes envision him at center
Hunter Dimick DL Syracuse, Utah Syracuse H.S. 6-4/250 Local talent helps out line
Moses Folauhola DL/LB West Valley City Hunter H.S. 6-0/240 Could play on line or linebacker
Chase Hansen QB Highland Lone Peak H.S. 6-3/197 Mission plans on hold
Reshawn Hooker LB Fontana, Calif. A.B. Miller H.S. 5-11/195 Solid player helps depth at LB
Jake Jackson LB Encinitas, Calif. La Costa Canyon H.S. 6-3/205 Chose the Utes over BYU
Lio Lafaele OL Corona, Calif. Centennial H.S. 6-4/315 Has the heft Utes like on line
Austin Lee S Sandy Alta H.S. 6-0/185 Also has played corner for two years
Koliniasi Leota DE Walnut, Calif. Mt. San Antonio J.C. 6-5/275 Granger grad already signed
Zach Lindsay OL Kaysville Davis H.S. 6-7/250 Switched commitment from BYU to Utah
Delshawn McClellon WR Cerritos, Calif. Gahr H.S. 5-9/165 Not a lot of height but speedy
Reggie Porter CB Amite City, La. Amite H.S. 6-1/195 Two-way starter, earned district honors at QB
Nua Poteki OL Cottonwood Heights Brighton H.S. 6-5/310 Had a good showing at All-Poly Camp
Cedrick Poutasi OL Las Vegas Desert Pines H.S. 6-5/325 Also visited Arizona State
Marc Pouvave OL Chula Vista, Calif. Southwestern C.C. 6-5/340 Also had an offer from San Diego State
Visesio Salt DL Walnut, Calif. Mt. San Antonio J.C. 6-3 340 Originally committed to Florida
Justin Thomas CB Orange, Texas West Orange-Stark H.S. 5-9/170 Had offers from Texas Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma St.
Sione Tupouata DL Oakland, Calif. Snow College 6-4/255 Signed with Utes out of H.S. before going JC
Vaha Vainuku DL Salt Lake City East H.S. 6-3/295 Plans to go on mission before playing for Utes
Jeremiah Valoaga TE Oxnard, Calif. Channel Islands H.S. 6-6/220 Will grayshirt next season
Travis Wilson QB San Clemente, Calif. San Clemente H.S. 6-6/205 Picked the Utes over Washington
Kelvin York RB Fullerton, Calif. Fullerton College 6-0/220 Former USC commit already signed
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For BYU and Utah, this is the first recruiting cycle in which the bulk of their recruiting targets knew that the Cougars were a football independent and the Utes were in the Pac-12. At this time last year, many of the players who signed the first Wednesday in February had already committed before the Utes joined the Pac-12 in June of 2010 and BYU announced its independence two months or so after that.
Not surprisingly, Utah is saying Pac-12 membership has bolstered recruiting and BYU is saying that independence and the eight-year television broadcasting agreement with ESPN are already paying dividends. And Utah State is saying that its first winning season in more than a decade is opening doors as well.
Utah already has commitments from enough highly regarded players to rank it in the middle of the Pac-12, according to most recruiting services. But the potential is there for a move up, considering that as of Friday, Utah was still in the running for several top recruits who have said they won’t make their decisions until signing day.
For instance, junior college tackle Carlos Lozano (East Los Angeles) and Dominguez (Calif.) High cornerbacks Alphonso March and Brandon Beaver still have Utah on their lists. Utah and Utah State coaches are holding out hope that Pleasant Grove offensive lineman Brandon Fanaika changes his mind at the last minute and stays close to home instead of signing with the school he committed to last month, Stanford.
Scout.com has Utah’s class ranked 43rd nationally, while Rivals.com puts it at No. 28 in the country.
Randy Taylor, Director of Recruiting for the National College Scouting Association, says Utah’s class is in the middle of the Pac-12, ahead of Colorado, Washington, Arizona and Arizona State.
Because the bulk of its scholarships will go to returned missionaries, BYU will sign only 12 or so high school seniors, but recruiting coordinator Joe DuPaix says it is a quality group and a bit more diverse than usual, thanks to the added television exposure.
"When you go into a home and a young man knows that he is going to be able to have his family watch him play, no matter where he is playing, that makes a big difference," DuPaix said.
Scout.com says the class BYU will sign Wednesday is the 54th best in the country, a ranking hurt by its lack of available scholarships to new recruits and one not likely to improve because the only player coaches are waiting on is Theodore King, a defensive lineman from San Jose, Calif.
Utah State’s expected haul is ranked at the top of the WAC, but the Aggies are still in the running for some big-time prospects that could make this coach Gary Andersen’s best group ever, including Snow College defensive tackle Tenny Palepoi and the aforementioned Fanaika, whose brother, Jason, is an Aggie.
USU’s biggest prize is Tavarreon Dixon, a running back from Texas who has already enrolled. Locally, the Aggies have mined Logan quarterback D.J. Nelson and Fremont running back Nick Vigil.
Tribune sportswriters Lya Wodraska and Tony Jones contributed to this report.
Utah State’s projected signings
Player Pos. Hometown School Ht./Wt. Comment
Andrew Chen OT West Hills CA Chaminade 6-4 275 Will provide depth to growing offensive line
Tavarreon Dickerson RB Arlington TX Arlington 5-9 163 speedster is already on campus and working out
Marquan Ellison WR/DB Milwaukee WI Bradley Tech 6-1 170 Coaching staff loves his versatile potential. Could contribute soon
Devonta Glover-Wright DB Thatcher AZ Eastern Arizona JC 6-0 175 Will be counted on to step into defensive backfield
Delroy Hamilton LB Hallandale Beach FL Hallandale 6-1 195 Another speedster from Florida for the defensive to use
Jordon Jenkins WR Coffeyville KS Coffeyville CC 6-1 195 Good hands, good route runner. A big need
Bruce Natson WR Lauderdale Lakes FL Boyd Andersen 5-8 165 May need to add strength, but explosive athlete
D.J. Nelson QB Logan Logan High 5-10 175 Possesses same intangibles as his famous BYU brother Riley
Jake Simonich OL Danville CA San Ramon Valley 6-6 270 Could come in and challenge for playing time right away
Bill Vavau OL Salt Lake City Snow College 6-3 320 Prized prospect. Brings size and toughness
Nick Vigil RB Plain City Fremont High 6-3 200 Terrorized Class 5A football for last two seasons
Alex Wheat WR San Marcos CA Palomar C.C. 6-5 210 Counted on to be a downfield threat with great size
Patrick Ward OL Phoenix AZ Glendale Community College 6-3 285 Beat out Washington State for Ward
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