The good was Dudley LaPorte, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound tight end out of Santa Barbara Community College, who signed with the Utes instead of honoring his oral commitment to Ole Miss.
LaPorte was the nation's leading junior college tight end in receptions (30), yards (500) and touchdowns (4) in 2007.
The bad was it looks like Utah will miss out on three Kahuku, Hawaii players it recruited hard. One, Alema Tachibana, signed with Hawaii, while another, Benji Kemoeatu, the younger brother of former Ute stars Chris and Ma'ake Kemoeatu appears headed for West Virginia.
Kemoeatu signed a letter of intent Wednesday, but his coach, Reggie Torres said it wasn't signed by one of his parents who were away at a church conference. The letter of intent is nonbinding until a parent or legal guardian signs it.
"He seems happy about the decision, but you never know," Torres said.
Teammate Anthony Siilata, a 6-foot-2, 285-pound tight end, signed a letter of intent to Oregon State but hasn't sent it in, Torres said, because he hasn't written off the Utes just yet.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham can't comment on recruits until they sign, but indicated Wednesday he is hopeful to add a few more to the list of 15 signees they have.
Of those the Utes did sign, he singled out LaPorte, who may have changed his mind when Ole Miss picked up a commitment from another tight end.
"We found out earlier this week we might have a chance to get him signed," he said. "But that goes both ways; right to the end there is good and bad - that is the nature of the beast."
Utah had a mix of 11 high school players and four junior college players and was heavy on offense.
"We have five linemen, five receivers, DBs, a quarterback, a good blend all across the board," Whittingham said. "This year is a very balanced class."
Among the receivers are California standout Ryan Lacy, who placed eighth at the California state championships in the 100 meters, and David Reed, a receiver out of Pasadena City College, who set a national junior college reception record with 111 catches in 10 games and averaged 166.1 yards receiving a game.
Another receiver, Luke Matthews out of Phoenix, committed to the Utes early and said his excitement grew as Utah built its recruiting class.
"I'm hoping to come in and play my freshman year," he said. "There is a lot of talent. Before going up there on my visit I knew they use the spread offense and any receiver likes that offense because they throw it so much. I'm excited."
The signees included five Utahns, including Copper Hills' Sealver Siliga, who originally committed to BYU, highly touted running back Sausan Shakerin out of Alta H.S. and Dave Kruger out of Timpanogos H.S.
lwodraska@sltrib.com
Sam Brenner Oceanside H.S. (Calif.) OL Two-time first-team all-league
Lamar Chapman El Camino CC (Calif.) DB Mid-year transfer will participate in spring practice
DeVonte Christopher, Canyon Springs H.S. (Nev.) QB State's player of the year, passed for 3,265 yds
Siaki Cravens Temecula Valley H.S. (Calif.) TE/LB 4-year letterman in football and basketball
Zach Davila Cienega H.S. (Ariz.) OL Team captain was an all-state selection
Aiona Key Mt. San Antonio CC (Calif.) WR Set Mt. SAC TD record with 17 receptions
Dave Kruger Timpanogos H.S. DL Had 13 sacks as a senior
Ryan Lacy Oakmont H.S. (Calif.) WR Rushed for 1,239 yds, 367 receiving yds
Dudley LaPorte Santa Barbara CC (Calif.) TE Averaged 16.7 yards per catch
Luke Matthews Desert Vista H.S. (Ariz.) WR Set school mark in triple jump
Kendrick Moeai Copper Hills H.S. WR Three-year starter also lettered in basketball
David Reed Pasadena City CC (Calif.) WR Owns every game and career reception record
Sausan Shakerin Alta H.S. RB Rated as nation's top 20 running back
Sealver Siliga Copper Hills H.S. OL/DL State power lifting champ
Derek Tuimauga Bingham H.S. OL Turned down a hard sell by Stanford to join Utes
UTAH
