Football: Utah Recruiting Update
Two out of four isn't bad, right?
I set about this morning with the idea to talk to four of the five recruits that the University of Utah's football program hosted on campus last weekend. The fifth recruit was Zach Davila, a lineman from Arizona who committed to Utah in June, so I figured I would talk to him later.
Cottonwood linebacker Lynn Katoa, who told us last Wednesday he was going to visit Utah, apparently didn't make it.
I was able to reach Dudley LaPorte, a tight end from Santa Barbara (Calif.) City College and Gerald Harris, a tight end from Navarro College in Texas. I was not able to connect with Aiona Key, a receiver from Mt. San Antonio College in California, or Devonte Christopher, a senior at Canyon Springs High in Las Vegas.
Well, my conversation with Harris was a short one. He committed tonight to Ole Miss and new coach Houston Nutt, after receiving offers from the Rebels, the Utes, UConn, Florida International and UTEP in the past few weeks.
The early signing period for junior college recruits who will enroll at their chosen schools in January begins tomorrow (Dec. 19), but the other two juco players the Utes had on campus last week were academic non-qualifiers out of high school and won't be able to sign until February.
Harris' commitment is probably welcome news to LaPorte, because he becomes an even higher priority for the Utes, who, judging by their recruiting the past few months, appear to be more serious about incorporating a tight end into their offense.
"I was impressed by what I saw at Utah," said LaPorte, who was preparing to make the cross-country drive from California to his home in Stamford, Conn. "You never know. I might be a Ute some day."
Coincidentally, LaPorte said that his top two choices at this point are Ole Miss and Utah. With Harris siding with Ole Miss (LaPorte didn't know it at the time of our call), LaPorte could be committing to the Utes any day now.
"The percentages [of that] are pretty high," he said.
The 6-foot-4, 258-pounder said UConn, Syracuse and San Diego State have also shown interest, but haven"t offered. His third offer is from Nevada. He plans on making an unofficial visit to nearby Syracuse while he's home for the holiday break.
"Utah didn't press me to commit, but they did say they want to know my plans as soon as possible," he said.
LaPorte caught 30 passes for 500 yards and four touchdowns last season at SBCC. He clicked off the names of the other recruits that were in Salt Lake City with him, but said none of them committed (except for Davila, who re-affirmed his previous commitment).
As for those other two guys, we will keep trying.
Key, the five-star recruit (according to scout.com) enjoyed his visit to Utah and went snowmobiling while he was here, a Mt. SAC assistant coach said. Because he can't sign until February, Key is not in a huge hurry to commit.
As for Christopher, he told Steve Ryan of the Nebraska-based Web site RedReport.com that his two leaders right now are Stanford and Utah, partly because those schools have told him he can play quarterback for them.
The 6-foot quarterback threw for nearly 300 yards a game last season and completed 64 percent of his passes.
Other schools such as Nebraska, Arizona and Colorado are recruiting him as an athlete and haven't made that promise.
I set about this morning with the idea to talk to four of the five recruits that the University of Utah's football program hosted on campus last weekend. The fifth recruit was Zach Davila, a lineman from Arizona who committed to Utah in June, so I figured I would talk to him later.
Cottonwood linebacker Lynn Katoa, who told us last Wednesday he was going to visit Utah, apparently didn't make it.
I was able to reach Dudley LaPorte, a tight end from Santa Barbara (Calif.) City College and Gerald Harris, a tight end from Navarro College in Texas. I was not able to connect with Aiona Key, a receiver from Mt. San Antonio College in California, or Devonte Christopher, a senior at Canyon Springs High in Las Vegas.
Well, my conversation with Harris was a short one. He committed tonight to Ole Miss and new coach Houston Nutt, after receiving offers from the Rebels, the Utes, UConn, Florida International and UTEP in the past few weeks.
The early signing period for junior college recruits who will enroll at their chosen schools in January begins tomorrow (Dec. 19), but the other two juco players the Utes had on campus last week were academic non-qualifiers out of high school and won't be able to sign until February.
Harris' commitment is probably welcome news to LaPorte, because he becomes an even higher priority for the Utes, who, judging by their recruiting the past few months, appear to be more serious about incorporating a tight end into their offense.
"I was impressed by what I saw at Utah," said LaPorte, who was preparing to make the cross-country drive from California to his home in Stamford, Conn. "You never know. I might be a Ute some day."
Coincidentally, LaPorte said that his top two choices at this point are Ole Miss and Utah. With Harris siding with Ole Miss (LaPorte didn't know it at the time of our call), LaPorte could be committing to the Utes any day now.
"The percentages [of that] are pretty high," he said.
The 6-foot-4, 258-pounder said UConn, Syracuse and San Diego State have also shown interest, but haven"t offered. His third offer is from Nevada. He plans on making an unofficial visit to nearby Syracuse while he's home for the holiday break.
"Utah didn't press me to commit, but they did say they want to know my plans as soon as possible," he said.
LaPorte caught 30 passes for 500 yards and four touchdowns last season at SBCC. He clicked off the names of the other recruits that were in Salt Lake City with him, but said none of them committed (except for Davila, who re-affirmed his previous commitment).
As for those other two guys, we will keep trying.
Key, the five-star recruit (according to scout.com) enjoyed his visit to Utah and went snowmobiling while he was here, a Mt. SAC assistant coach said. Because he can't sign until February, Key is not in a huge hurry to commit.
As for Christopher, he told Steve Ryan of the Nebraska-based Web site RedReport.com that his two leaders right now are Stanford and Utah, partly because those schools have told him he can play quarterback for them.
The 6-foot quarterback threw for nearly 300 yards a game last season and completed 64 percent of his passes.
Other schools such as Nebraska, Arizona and Colorado are recruiting him as an athlete and haven't made that promise.
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