Katoa likes Sooners, but no decision yet
Cottonwood linebacker Lynn Katoa returned from his official visit to Oklahoma over the weekend with a little more information about his college choice, but no clear answer.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound blue-chip recruit says Oklahoma is now his leader, but that he's in no hurry to decide. His other official visit was to Texas, and before the trip to Norman he told The Recruiting Trail that the Longhorns and Sooners were "dead-even in my mind."
Apparently, he was impressed by Oklahoma.
"I told the coaching staff that they are now my favorite, but I am definitely going to take some official visits and look at all my options," he told the Web site soonersillustrated.com. "The visit was a 10 out of 10 and much better than I expected and I have to say that coach [Bob] Stoops and the rest of the staff made a huge impression on me. I am planning to graduate early, so my decision will be coming
over the next few months."
Katoa said linebacker Curtis Lofton was his host in Oklahoma and that Stoops gave him a personal tour of the campus.
IS MURPHY A CAN'T MISS? MAYBE NOT
Covering the East-at-American Fork football game last Friday gave me a chance to see one of the 10 known Utah prep football players who has already given an oral commitment to a Division I program, American Fork's Jake Murphy.
The son of former major leaguer baseball star Dale Murphy commited to BYU in July at about the same time that Copper Hills lineman Sealver Siliga pledged to the Cougars. Of course, Siliga changed his mind a few weeks later and commited to Utah.
My take on Murphy: He's got great size (6-foot-5, 215 pounds) and mobility and looks like a Division I prospect, but there is something missing.
You would expect him to make more plays.
Murphy struggled to get open against East's defensive secondary, and on the biggest play of the game -- fourth-and-7 with three minutes remaining -- he slipped while making a cut. East's Chris Toronto intercepted the pass intended for Murphy and returned it for a touchdown.
Earlier in the game, I was standing next to a group that included a former high school head coach when a perfectly thrown pass skipped off Murphy's hands and out of bounds.
"A Division I recruit flat-out has to make that play," the coach said.
A couple of years ago, BYU was criticized for having too many receivers from Utah County on its roster. Orem's Chris Hale and American Fork's Toby Christensen and Ryan Slater were among the Cougars' top five pass-catchers..
They were good high school players, but never had much of an impact at the college level because they weren't playmakers. All three had trouble getting off the line of scrimmage against stronger, quicker defensive backs.
Will Murphy fall into that category? With his frame, he could end up at tight end. Certainly, he's strong, having reportedly bench-pressed 260 pounds. He also has a 33-inch vertical leap.
But does he have football sense? BYU coaches must think so, after Murphy caught 30 passes for 530 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior. I'm not sure.
Supposedly, he runs the 40 in 4.7 seconds -- not exactly blazing speed for a wideout, but decent for a tight end or safety.
Murphy also received scholarship offers from Stanford and Utah State (where his brother plays offensive line). He says he was close to receiving an offer from Arizona State and was getting attention from Cal and Oregon. A fine baseball player, he also plans to give that sport a try in college.
For those keeping score at home, BYU has also received commitments from Bingham's Austin Holt (TE) and Justin Sorensen (K), West's Garrett Nicholson (RB), Timpview's Kevin Bills (DE) and Michael Alisa (LB) and Springville's Cameron Comer (DB).
Utah's in-state commitments include Siliga, Copper Hills receiver Kendrick Moeai and Bingham lineman Derek Tuimauga.
The schools are going head-to-head for Timpanogos lineman David Kruger and Alta running back Sausan Shakerin, although Shakerin appears to be leaning toward taking an out-of-state offer.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound blue-chip recruit says Oklahoma is now his leader, but that he's in no hurry to decide. His other official visit was to Texas, and before the trip to Norman he told The Recruiting Trail that the Longhorns and Sooners were "dead-even in my mind."
Apparently, he was impressed by Oklahoma.
"I told the coaching staff that they are now my favorite, but I am definitely going to take some official visits and look at all my options," he told the Web site soonersillustrated.com. "The visit was a 10 out of 10 and much better than I expected and I have to say that coach [Bob] Stoops and the rest of the staff made a huge impression on me. I am planning to graduate early, so my decision will be coming
over the next few months."
Katoa said linebacker Curtis Lofton was his host in Oklahoma and that Stoops gave him a personal tour of the campus.
IS MURPHY A CAN'T MISS? MAYBE NOT
Covering the East-at-American Fork football game last Friday gave me a chance to see one of the 10 known Utah prep football players who has already given an oral commitment to a Division I program, American Fork's Jake Murphy.
The son of former major leaguer baseball star Dale Murphy commited to BYU in July at about the same time that Copper Hills lineman Sealver Siliga pledged to the Cougars. Of course, Siliga changed his mind a few weeks later and commited to Utah.
My take on Murphy: He's got great size (6-foot-5, 215 pounds) and mobility and looks like a Division I prospect, but there is something missing.
You would expect him to make more plays.
Murphy struggled to get open against East's defensive secondary, and on the biggest play of the game -- fourth-and-7 with three minutes remaining -- he slipped while making a cut. East's Chris Toronto intercepted the pass intended for Murphy and returned it for a touchdown.
Earlier in the game, I was standing next to a group that included a former high school head coach when a perfectly thrown pass skipped off Murphy's hands and out of bounds.
"A Division I recruit flat-out has to make that play," the coach said.
A couple of years ago, BYU was criticized for having too many receivers from Utah County on its roster. Orem's Chris Hale and American Fork's Toby Christensen and Ryan Slater were among the Cougars' top five pass-catchers..
They were good high school players, but never had much of an impact at the college level because they weren't playmakers. All three had trouble getting off the line of scrimmage against stronger, quicker defensive backs.
Will Murphy fall into that category? With his frame, he could end up at tight end. Certainly, he's strong, having reportedly bench-pressed 260 pounds. He also has a 33-inch vertical leap.
But does he have football sense? BYU coaches must think so, after Murphy caught 30 passes for 530 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior. I'm not sure.
Supposedly, he runs the 40 in 4.7 seconds -- not exactly blazing speed for a wideout, but decent for a tight end or safety.
Murphy also received scholarship offers from Stanford and Utah State (where his brother plays offensive line). He says he was close to receiving an offer from Arizona State and was getting attention from Cal and Oregon. A fine baseball player, he also plans to give that sport a try in college.
For those keeping score at home, BYU has also received commitments from Bingham's Austin Holt (TE) and Justin Sorensen (K), West's Garrett Nicholson (RB), Timpview's Kevin Bills (DE) and Michael Alisa (LB) and Springville's Cameron Comer (DB).
Utah's in-state commitments include Siliga, Copper Hills receiver Kendrick Moeai and Bingham lineman Derek Tuimauga.
The schools are going head-to-head for Timpanogos lineman David Kruger and Alta running back Sausan Shakerin, although Shakerin appears to be leaning toward taking an out-of-state offer.
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