The Utah Utes are finishing strong as the 2010 signing day continues, picking up a commitment from John Cullen, who some regard as the top junior college offensive lineman in the country.

Cullen, officially listed as 6-foot-5, 270 pounds, chose Utah over USC.

The coaching staff there pursued him mightily when they were at Tennessee and again when Lane Kiffin replaced Pete Carroll as the Trojans' coach.

"Living here my whole life, everyone knows SC and SC came in hard," Cullen said. "They wanted me at Tennessee just as bad as SC."

Cullen said his decision was a hard choice, but ultimately it came down to his "gut feeling."

"It was the place I want to play and where I got along with everyone," he said of Utah.

USC tried to persuade Cullen to back out of his plans to visit the Utes. He didn't and while here he said he forged a good friendship with his future teammate, Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn.

"Jordan is my boy," he said. "He has been texting me every day since I took my trip."

Cullen, who the Utes envision as Zane Beadles' replacement, said he allowed just one sack in the last two years. He doesn't plan to let anyone get to Wynn.

"I told [Jordan] he is fine with his weight because he's not going to be getting hit from the backside," Cullen said. "All he has to do is see in front of him and run."

If he had chosen the Trojans, Cullen would have been virtually guaranteed a BCS bowl game experience. But he is intent to get the Utes back to the BCS, too.

"Oh we're winning a BCS game that isn't a question," he said. "The Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, I don't care. We are going to a BCS game."

The Utes missed out on one of their biggest in-state targets, with Brighton's Ricky Heimuli announcing this morning he is headed to Oregon over Utah and UCLA, but remain in the running for another top recruit in California athlete Lucky Radley, who was scheduled to announce his decision Wednesday afternoon.

V.J. Fehoko, a highly regarded linebacker out of Hawaii, has signed with the Utes but still hasn't gotten his paperwork to the Utes.

One player who committed to the Utes but signed elsewhere was Avery Williams, a defensive back out of Washington, D.C. who has signed with West Virginia.

Several recruits the Utes were worried might be swayed to sign with other schools stayed loyal to them.

Among the signees are Kenneth Scott, a coveted receiver from California, Dres Anderson, the son of former NFL star "Flipper" Anderson and Tyler Shreve, a talented quarterback from California who de-committed from CSU and signed with the Utes.

One of the Utes' top signees is Terrell Reese, a receiver out of Texas who Texas A&M made a late push to sign.

Also showing on the Utes' signee list are James Aiono, the top-rated junior college player who is already enrolled, and Damian Payne, a defensive back from Houston who is enrolled.

Westlee Tonga and Mike Honeycutt, two players who were part of the 2007 class along with Aiono before they went on missions, are also listed among Utah's signees.

Here's the list of signings as of Wednesday afternoon.