Lone Peak High's Josh Sharp probably has never heard of Jordan Cyphers, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Southeast High in Wichita, Kansas.

But a decision Cyphers makes in the next few weeks could very well determine where Sharp plays his college basketball. That, in turn, could determine where Sharp's teammate, Justin Hamilton, ends up. And so on and so forth.

Welcome to the wacky world of college basketball recruiting, where one player's decision can create a domino effect that reaches four or five others.

Here is how this one is unfolding, with information gleaned from sources close to several coaching staffs and pieced together bit by bit. As noted previously, college coaches cannot publicly comment on recruits until they have signed, so there is always some guesswork involved in these things.

But that's what blogs are for, aren't they?

Cyphers has been offered a scholarship by the University of Utah. He is scheduled to visit the campus on Sept. 15. Sharp, who has not yet been offered, is scheduled to visit Utah on Sept. 29.

If Cyphers commits to Utah, it is unlikely that Sharp will be offered (although he could be asked to walk on).

Then again, the Utes are not 100 percent sure Brighton's Jace Tavita, who committed to them two weeks ago, will qualify academically, so maybe they will ask Sharp to wait until the spring. Then, his future hinges on what Tavita does in the classroom.

It's a cruel game, isn't it?

First, there's the Cyphers decision.

He also has offers from Arkansas and Wichita State, schools comparable to Utah in the basketball universe.

He also likes high-majors Michigan and Illinois, although neither have offered. He has said those are his favorites, and he would jump at the chance to play for either. Supposedly, George Mason and TCU are also in the mix, according to Scouthoops.com.

Cyphers told the Web site he's willing to wait "until the end of September" for the Big Ten schools to offer before he takes another deal.

Funny, that's about the same time Sharp will be visiting Utah.

MORE UTAH OFFERS?

Although they've technically run out of scholarships, the Utes are still active in the recruiting game for players from the class of 2008, as noted above. Over-recruiting is common in college basketball, because players transfer, quit, enter the NBA Draft, etc.

One player the Utes are keeping a close eye on is Oscar Bellfield, a 6-1 point guard from Westchester High in Los Angeles whom some say has Andre Miller characteristics. Bellfield injured his groin and didn't get to show what he could do in the AAU summer basketball season.

Bellfield told Scouthoops.com he has received offers from San Diego State, UNLV, Oregon State and Utah, and heavy interest from Washington State and Nevada. He doesn't have any visits scheduled, however, which probably means the schools are waiting to see him play in November and December.

The Utes have also reportedly offered Jared Swopshire, a 6-7 small forward from the IMG Academy in Florida, and point guard Demetri Goodson of Klein, Texas (a player that Utah State is also supposedly interested in). However, the likes of Cincinnati, Louisville, Oklahoma and Gonzaga are also honing in on those two, so the Utes are probably a long shot for both.

The school's official name is Lone Peak. It should be called Loaded Peak, however, when it comes to the next few boys high school basketball seasons.

Coach Quincy Lewis, almost sheepishly, acknowledged earlier this week that the Knights, who swept to the 5-A state championship last season, will have five Division I recruits on their roster this season, and a sixth player already has an offer to play at a junior college.

Seriously, five Division I recruits?

"It's a pretty good bet," said Lewis, himself a former recruiter and assistant coach at the college level. "I don't go a day without several calls [from college recruiters]."

Three of those recruits are seniors, and two are juniors. Lone Peak's sophomore class is average, but several more highly talented players are in the junior high pipeline.

The seniors are 6-foot-11 Justin Hamilton, 6-foot-8 Bracken Funk and 6-7 Josh Sharp.

Sharp is on the University of Utah's radar, although the Utes haven't offered a scholarship yet. Weber State also likes the swing player whom one recruiter said reminds him of versatile player with Alex Jensen-type instincts, only more athletic.

Sharp will make an official visit to Utah the weekend of Sept. 28-29, a source close to Utah's recruiting efforts told The Recruiting Trail.

Hamilton has drawn interest from St. Mary's, Pepperdine, UC Davis and Weber State, Lewis said. The Utes liked him, too, but they landed the 6-11 Jason Washburn out of Michigan and are set at his position.

Hamilton went on an official visit to Weber State last weekend, according to his club coach, Dave Hammer, and is scheduled to go to St. Mary's this weekend.

Funk, son of former Utah State star Randy Funk, blew out his knee in June so he missed out on the summer all-star season. However, he is being pursued by former BYU coach Steve Cleveland at Fresno State, among others.

Lewis said Funk might not be cleared to play until December or January.

A fourth senior, point guard Kimball Payne, has received an offer from Western Wyoming Community College.

"All of our seniors will be done [with their commitments] by Oct. 1," Lewis said. "That's the goal. Keep it simple and get it done."

Lone Peak's juniors -- 6-9 Nate Austin and 6-4 Tyler Haws -- could be the two most-recruited players in the state next year.

Haws, one newspaper's 5-A MVP as a sophomore, already has offers from BYU and Utah. Stanford, Gonzaga, Pepperdine and UCLA have also talked to Lewis about the sensational shooting guard whose father, Marty, played for BYU.

However, only BYU and Utah were at every one of his summer league games in Las Vegas.

Austin, 6-9, will attract "mid-major attention or higher," Lewis said.

Some people who have watched the Knights for several years say another junior, Dillon Smith, has some college potential.

Still in junior high, but already garnering attention, are the younger brothers of Haws and Jackson Emery, the 2005 MVP who played a year for BYU and is currently on an LDS Church mission.

Cottonwood linebacker Lynn Katoa probably won't see much of a game on Saturday when he travels to Norman to watch Oklahoma play host to North Texas in the Sooners' opener. But it could be the most memorable trip of Katoa's life.

The senior who has been called the fourth-best prep middle linebacker in the country by several reputable recruiting services said he might make his college decision known immediately after the trip.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound phenom has also visited Texas. He has fielded nearly 100 offers. Not bad for a youngster who has played only two seasons of organized football. The Colts (2-0) play host to Provo on Friday night.

"I am going to Oklahoma on Saturday and then I plan to make my decision right after that," Katoa said, noting that he will return to Salt Lake City and talk to his father and Cottonwood coach Cecil Thomas.

Katoa told The Recruiting Trail and a local television station earlier this week that his top five are Oklahoma, Texas, Wisconsin, Miami and Texas A&M. However, he has acknowledged to several sources that it is really a two-horse race between Oklahoma and Texas for his services.

"Those two are dead-even," he said.

Katoa grew up in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, then moved to Utah with him family prior to his sophomore year. He recorded 109 tackles and 13 sacks last season, his first full season of prep football.

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Y. Not Alone on Liaina

While BYU and Utah were never really in the Katoa Sweepstakes, the Cougars are still hoping to land a highly touted fullback/linebacker from Oxnard, Calif.

Ina Liaina of Rio Mesa High is ranked as the No. 9 fullback in the country by Scout.com, partially because the 6-foot-2, 215-pound bruiser has 4.6 speed in the 40. BYU was one of the first schools to offer Liaina, who is not LDS. But now BYU has some company.

Liaina has said he has offers from Oregon State, Hawaii and San Diego State, in addition to BYU.

He was the primary blocker for Malachi Lewis, who's now at Oregon, last fall, but still managed 452 rushing yards on 52 carries. He also had 18 catches for 337 yards. On defense, Liaina had 86 tackles and two sacks.

Because his father is a pastor and he has grown up "in a religious home," Liaina has said he could fit in OK at LDS Church-operated BYU.

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Utahns Back East

Former Dixie High and Copper Hills High head coach Mike Smith won his college coaching debut on Saturday when his Southern Virginia Knights downed fellow NCAA Division II foe Kentucky Wesleyan 42-35 in Kentucky.

SVU recruits Utah heavily, Smith told The Recruiting Trail at the state wrestling meet last winter, because the school in Buena Vista, Va., bills itself as the BYU of the East Coast.

Saturday, former Sky View lineman Ben Burningham and former Cottonwood lineman Tyler Card helped provide protection for a quarterback who threw for 554 yards and six touchdowns.

Utah natives Matt Hadfield (Lehi/Snow College) and Chaz Housley (Logan) were also instrumental in the win as Hadfield caught five passes for 79 yards and Housley caught three passes for 57 yards. Shea Owens (Lone Peak) and Tyler Bills (Springville) contributed to the defensive effort.

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Cougs After Coach's Son

BYU is still in the hunt for defensive back Greg Castillo, a senior at Philadelphia's St. Joseph Prep, although Castillo has picked up several offers since getting one from BYU in June.

Castillo was recommended to BYU by Eagles coach Andy Reid. His father, Juan Castillo, is the Eagles' offensive line coach. Greg Castillo, 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds, recently received an offer from Villanova. BYU, Delaware, Bowling Green and Ohio offered him earlier this summer. Castillo made 50 tackles and four interceptions as a junior.

This week is the calm before the storm as far as college football recruiting goes. Beginning Saturday, football coaches can contact recruits from the class of 2008 (seniors) by phone. They can also make official scholarship offers to 2009 recruits (juniors) via the mail.

Expect a lot of football recruiting news the first week of September, as recruits who basically went through August without talking to any coaches (or texting, due to a new NCAA rule that went into effect Aug. 1) get hit up once again to make a decision.

Meanwhile, college basketball recruiting is picking up steam, with the Nov. 10 beginning of the early signing period fast approaching.

The printed version of The Tribune sports section had some basketball recruiting news today, as a matter of fact, as Box Elder High's 6-foot-3 Mandy Munns officially announced she is joining the University of Utah's women's basketball program.

Here's some more tidbits of information on the local basketball recruiting scene:

* The University of Utah is looking to add a fourth recruit to its commitment list that includes Michigan's Jason Washburn, Texas' Chris Hines and Jace Tavita of Brighton. The Utes don't have a scholarship available, but the fact that they are still actively recruiting rising seniors means they probably expect that Luke Nevill will enter the NBA Draft or another player will quit the team.

As my colleague Michael C. Lewis noted in his blog last week, the Utes will have Jordan Cyphers, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Wichita, Kan., on campus Sept. 15 for the football game against UCLA and other activities.

A source close to the coaching staff told The Recruiting Trail that the Utes are also interested in Tim Williams, a shooting guard from California, and Lone Peak High's Josh Sharp, a 6-foot-7 athlete "with Alex Jensen-type instincts."

"They will probably take one of those three guys," the source said. Utah was interested in Lone Peak's 6-10 Justin Hamilton, who had a fabulous summer after playing junior varsity ball only his entire junior year, but took him off its list when it got the 6-11 Washburn out of Michigan.

The leaders for Hamilton's services now appear to be St. Mary's, UC Davis and Weber State, which is also after Clearfield's 6-9 Nick Thompson, as noted in a previous Recruiting Trail blog.

* Other top seniors in Utah not previously mentioned in these blogs are Woods Cross point guard Holton Hunsaker, Pine View forward Louis Garrett, Lone Peak power forward Bracken Funk and Alta bomber Taylor Brown.

Rumors are swirling that Louisiana Tech has offered Hunsaker, now that former East High and Utah interim coach Kerry Rupp is head coach there. However, The Recruiting Trail has had trouble reaching Hunsaker (son of UVSC coach Dick Hunsaker), and his high school coach, Todd Street, could not confirm that on Monday. Hunsaker, a 3.9 GPA student who is also being eyed by the Ivy League schools, will probably go on an LDS Church mission upon graduating high school, Street said.

Unless they want to head out of state, the others are probably bound for junior colleges. Garrett's brother, Brad, is at Oklahoma State, while Brown's brother, Jackson, is the former Jordan High great who ended up playing quarterback (briefly) for BYU.

* Assuming they wrap up their 2008 class by the end of September, the Utes will turn their attention to the class of 2009 that, locally at least, includes a bona fide blue-chipper: Lone Peak's Tyler Haws. The 6-4 Haws is the son of former BYU great Marty Haws. He led Lone Peak to the 5-A state championship last March as a sophomore, averaging 18.8 points a game and shooting 57 percent from the field. Haws has been offered by both BYU and Utah, according to sources at both schools. Although his dad went to BYU, the Utes believe they have a good shot at the phenom. "He's been up here [on unofficial visits] at least three times already," a Ute source said.

* Another junior, Pleasant Grove's 6-5 C.J. Wilcox, has also received an offer from the Utes. It is not clear whether Wilcox has received an offer from the Cougars, the team his father, Craig, played for 25 years ago.

* Other juniors that both Utah and BYU have their sights on are Provo's Brandon Davies and Sean Carey of Bountiful.

I will admit, I was kind of skeptical last February when BYU offered a scholarship -- that was accepted -- to a kicker from Bingham. The Cougars are throwing offers around like candy, I thought.

But Bingham's Justin Sorensen, who committed to BYU a few days after prep teammate Austin Holt pledged to the Cougars, showed me Friday that he's worth any scholarship offer he gets.

Simply put, Sorensen was the best player on the field in Bingham's 23-20 win over Alta. That's saying something, because there were probably a half-dozen Division I recruits on display at Bingham's field, including Bingham's Austin Holt and Derek Tuimauga and Alta's Sausan Shakerin, Derek Keller and Jefferson Court.

Sorensen didn't have the best night with his kickoffs -- twice he slipped on approach and squibbed the ball down the middle of the field -- but when he did connect the football sailed was past the end zone.

With the NCAA moving the kickoff line from the 35 to the 30, Sorensen's booming kickoffs will really help the Cougars, not to mention his field goal ability. In case you missed it, he nailed field goals of 59, 51 and 30 yards on Friday night, the 59-yarder just a yard shy of Ross Caputo's state-record 60 yarder.

Caputo, who played for Judge Memorial, kicked the 60-yarder at Hillcrest. He's now the golf course superintendent at Rose Park Golf Course in Salt Lake City.

Clearfield High's football team has failed to score a point in two games this season, but the Falcons should be OK when it comes to basketball this winter, thanks to the talents of 6-foot-9 senior Nick Thompson.

The versatile Thompson, who can play both the three (wing) and four (power forward) positions, is not real well known in Utah basketball circles because he moved to Utah just prior to his freshman year. He belongs to a military family, and came to the Hill Air Force Base area after living at a base in Germany prior to that.

However, college recruiters know about Thompson.

While watching Weber State's basketball workouts Saturday morning, Thompson told The Recruiting Trail that he has scholarship offers from six schools and wants to make a decision by the end of October so he can sign a national letter of intent on Nov. 10.

Schools that have offered are Wagner, South Alabama, Weber State, Pacific, Pepperdine and Cal Poly. Thompson said he has official visits scheduled to Pacific (Sept. 8) and Pepperdine and, since Weber State is just 15 minutes from his home, could go there anytime.

"I've got a bunch of other offers, but it will probably come down to Pacific and Weber State," he said.

Thompson is known as an excellent ball-handler for a big man. As a junior he averaged around 15 points and seven rebounds a game, according to coach Curtis Hulse.

"He just continues to improve," Hulse said. "He handles the ball real well and he's got a lot of tools [that will] help him succeed at the next level."

Thompson got a lot of exposure playing for the Utah Pump-n-Run club team this past summer. A year ago, many felt he was headed for a junior college, but Division I scouts have noticed his improvement. He said Utah and Utah State have also shown some interest, but have targeted other players due to their specific needs.

"For instance, Utah State told me they need a two-guard to replace Jaycee Carroll," he said. "That's OK, because I really like some of the other schools that have offered me. I'm in a good spot."

When Bountiful High's Ben Aird was a freshman, he received a basketball scholarship offer from the University of Utah. Some local prep basketball observers predicted he would be the best big man the state has produced this century and that he would set off a massive recruiting battle between Utah and Brigham Young University for his services.

As the 6-foot-9 Aird begins his senior season at Bountiful, he has one solid scholarship offer, but it's not the one from the Utes.

It's from Tulane.

"I don't know what has happened," Aird said on Thursday. "I feel like I've improved a lot since I was a freshman, but the interest just isn't as heavy as it was before. I've talked to some Utah coaches, but I'm not sure the offer [former coach Ray Giacoletti] made is still good.

It's not.

A source close to the Utah coaching staff confirmed that Aird is no longer on Utah's wish list.

"He just hasn't gotten any better, man," the source said.

With the early signing period coming up in November, Aird is perplexed as to why other rising seniors are getting offers right and left by the likes of BYU and Utah, yet he just sits and waits.

"I am talking to all of them, all the instate schools, but no one has offered yet," he said. "I'm pretty sure Utah Valley University wants me, and I have talked to [Southern Utah] a lot, but neither have made a flat-out offer."

If nothing else, the decreased interest has made Aird eager for the 2007-08 season to begin so he can show he's still a Division-I caliber recruit. He said he still gets two or three calls a day from recruiters, but the offers just aren't coming like he thought they would two or three years ago.

"Tulane just saw me play [at a summer tournament with his club team, Utah Pump-and-Run] and they called and offered," he said. "They are recruiting me very hard. They want me to commit now and sign in November."

Aird said other out-of-state interest is coming from Northern Arizona and the Air Force Academy.

"If the right offer comes along, I will sign in November," he said. "But I'm also fine with waiting [until April when his senior year is over].

Aird said if the offer materialized, he would probably sign with BYU.

"Part of me really wants to go there, to tell you the truth," he said.

The young man turns 18 on Sept. 10, so he said he will probably go on an LDS Church mission before ever enrolling at a college. He had to explain all that to Tulane's coaches, "who had never heard of such a thing," but they are fine with it.

I remember it as if it were yesterday.

I was sitting at my desk in the newsroom of the old Salt Lake Tribune building on Main Street when the sports information director at the University of Connecticut called and asked if I had a minute to talk to coach Jim Calhoun.

"You mean, the coach Jim Calhoun?" I said, trying not to fall victim to an office prank.

Ten seconds later, the legendary coach of the UConn Huskies was asking how I was doing.

"Fine," I stammered.

Then Calhoun brought up the name Travis Knight, and it suddenly occurred to me why the well-known coach wanted to talk to a young high school writer thousands of miles away on an April morning in 1992.

"Travis has committed to us," Calhoun said sternly. "He has reaffirmed that commitment publicly dozens of times. But the University of Utah [coaching staff] won't leave him alone. I want you to write an article about how unethical that is. [Utah coach] Rick Majerus is trying to steal one of my recruits."

A few days before that, I had interviewed Knight, a 6-foot-11 forward from Alta High, after the high school all-star games and he told me he was still committed to UConn, but "there's a chance I might change my mind and end up at Utah."

Suffice to say, when that article got back to Connecticut, Calhoun wasn't happy.

"Utah won't leave the kid alone," he said. "This is one of the most unethical deals I have seen in all my years of coaching."

Calhoun needn't have worried. A few weeks later, Knight signed with the Huskies. He had a fine career at UConn and spent several seasons in the NBA with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.

The point of my story?

Times have changed.

Oral commitments, like that one Knight made more than 15 years ago, are no longer as firm as they once were. Nowadays, promises made by recruits are broken right and left. A few years ago, the term "soft commitment" made its way into the recruiting jargon. Now that's an oxymoron!

Also, it is no longer considered all that unethical for colleges coaching staffs to continue to recruit an athlete after he or she has made a commitment.

Case in point: Bingham tight end Austin Holt committed to BYU last February, but has been recruited hard by schools such as Florida, UCLA and Stanford. Just last month, Holt was a guest of honor at Florida's famed "Friday Night Lights" workouts at The Swamp. Nobody batted an eye.

I talked to the University of Utah's football recruiting coordinator, Dave Schramm, the other day and he confirmed that recruiting has changed immensely the past few years, mostly due to the effects of the Internet.

"Nowadays, with recruiting being what it is, nothing is over until the signing date," Shramm said. "Nothing is binding until national letter of intent day, so guys can really do whatever they want. It's a different world now. I mean, 10 years ago you didn't have the Internet. It is amazing, all the information on recruits that is out there now. Some of it you can actually believe."

It is looking more and more likely that highly touted prep quarterback Kevin Prince of California's Crespi Carmelite High will not end up at Brigham Young University.

Prince told scout.com on Wednesday that Washington and UCLA have pulled ahead of BYU in the race to get the recruit that many recruiting services are calling one of the top 25 prep quarterbacks in the country.

Prince has said BYU has offered him a scholarship, but a coach at BYU told a former colleague of mine that the Cougars are not recruiting a quarterback this year.

Whom to believe?

My guess is that the Cougars were originally recruiting Prince, who is LDS, but backed off somewhat when they figured out he was going to either UCLA or Washington. That's just a guess.

Cougar coaches have been quoted by The Recruiting Trail and elsewhere as saying they would like to sign one quarterback per year.

Prince said it is close between Washington and UCLA, but that he gives Washington a slight edge because of coach Tyrone Willingham.

"I want to see how the teams look this season," he said. "Mainly, what I want to see is how well Washington does. I plan to go on my mission and when I get back, I want to make sure that [Willingham] will still be there. I know that they are pretty impatient up there and are expecting a lot from the team, so I want to see how well they do and how secure his job is."

Prince plans on being in attendance when the UCLA plays host to BYU on Sept. 8.

UTAH QB DROUGHT? MAYBE NOT

Reader Dave Stott of St. George took issue with a recent blog that suggested the state of Utah has no high-caliber prep quarterbacks this year.

Stott likes Pine View quarterback Nick Marinko, a senior who moved in from California just before his junior year.

Marinko led Pine View to a championship over the summer at a 7-on-7 tournament in Las Vegas. The Panthers also placed second at Weber State's 7-on-7 tournament.

Stott compares the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Marinko favorably to James Lark, the quarterback from Pine View that BYU signed two years ago.

In Pine View's opener last week against woeful Mountain View, Marinko threw for 236 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-14 win.

A SECOND CHANCE

Corbin Beck is getting another chance to play football. Beck was a quarterback at Alta his sophomore and junior seasons before being moved to running back his senior year. There, he found himself playing behind the sensational Sausan Shakerin.

Beck thought his playing days were over when he graduated, but Chabot College in Hayward, Calif., has continued to recruit him, and earlier this week Beck agreed to play for the Gladiators.

He left Wednesday for Northern California, and could see some time at quarterback for the Gladiators this season in the California junior college ranks.

Basketball programs at BYU and Utah grabbed some headlines recently with news that Logan High's Charles Abouo has commited to the Cougars and Brighton High's Jace Tavita has pledged to the Utes.

Utah State also has an in-state commitment for the Class of 2008, but the Aggies didn't get as much mileage out of theirs because it happened way back in March.

Sky View' s Jordan Stone, a 6-foot-11 center, commited to coach Stew Morrill a few days after his junior season ended. Stone, who is not a beanpole at 245 pounds, said he made the promise the night before his season-ending team banquet.

"BYU and Utah were talking to me, but they just never offered," he told The Recruiting Trail on Monday. "So when Utah State offered, I jumped on it."

Sky View coach Terrill Baldwin said Stone is a hard worker, but very raw.

"He's got a big upside, and he's got a great body on him, but in basketball terms he's still a young one," Baldwin said.

Stone averaged almost 16 points a game for the Bobcats last year, and also led the team in rebounding at nearly seven a game, Baldwin said.

"He has kind of been under the radar," Baldwin said.

Stone said he didn't start playing organized basketball until he was in the ninth grade, He thinks USU is a good fit for him because he still has a lot to learn about basketball, and "USU coaches are excellent teachers."

The recruit said he turns 19 in October of 2008 and will go on an LDS Church mission before enrolling at USU.

This summer, Stone played on the same Utah Pump & Run club team that included Abouo and Tavita. The team also featured a half-dozen or so other college prospects, including Bountiful's Ben Aird, Clearfield's Nick Thompson, Alta's Taylor Brown, Woods Cross' Holton Hunsaker and Dalton Groskreutz of Snow Canyon, although the 6-foot-5 Groskreutz's future may be as a college football receiver.

BYU fans were ecstatic last February when Bingham's Austin Holt, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound tight end with 4.8 speed, orally commited to coach Bronco Mendenhall's program.

Since then, however, the All-America candidate who is listed as the No. 2 tight end in the country by most recruiting services has made Cougar boosters antsy. That's because Holt has continued to talk to and visit other programs.

Most recently, he participated in Florida's "Friday Night Lights" and received an offer from none other than coach Urban Meyer. He's also continued to have discussions with coaches from UCLA, Stanford and Washington, among others.

But BYU fans shouldn't fret.

I ran into Holt's father, Ryan, at halftime of the Bingham-Skyline football game on Friday, just moments after Austin hauled in a beautiful 38-yard pass from Bingham quarterback Logan Cantwell.

Ryan and I went to elementary school, junior high and high school together. We were also on the same Little League baseball team, the Pirates. We were batterymates, if I remember correctly, and I had to wear a pad inside my catcher's mitt because Ryan threw so hard.

Anyway, we go way back.

Ryan told me that Austin still plans on going to BYU.

Dad said that his son loves college football and the recruiting process so much that he wants to soak it in as much as possible.

"But in the end," Ryan Holt said. "I'd be shocked if he doesn't end up at BYU."

The fact that Austin's good friend, Jordan Pendleton, is already at BYU will make it hard to go anywhere else. The Cougars also have a commitment from Bingham kicker Justin Sorensen, who actually looks more like a linebacker at 6-2, 215 with bulging biceps.



TAUFI IS REAL DEAL, COACH SAYS

BYU is getting the real deal in offensive tackle Jessie Taufi, according to his coach at Long Beach City College, Jerry Jaso. Taufi, set to begin his sophomore season with the Vikings, committed to BYU in June

"He's one of the top [Juco] linemen in the state this year," Jaso said. "He's 6-foot-5, 305 and he will play tackle for us and he's got the feet and the smarts to play almost anywhere along the line."

Jaso told scout.com that Taufi was slowed by an ankle injury a bit in the spring, but has come back to fall camp 100 percent healthy. "He came back from his Mormon mission and he's just mature and really focused on what he has to do," Jaso said.

MORE JUCOS COMING

Other junior college stars who have orally commited to BYU are Tolu Moala, a linebacker from El Camino Community College in California and Tevita Hola, a defensive tackle at Snow College who is from Oregon.

Hola, whom Snow College coach Steve Coburn told us is one of the top linemen he's ever coached, is still being recruited by Oregon State, Utah and others, but recently said he's still headed to BYU.

Former Tribune sports writer Patrick Kinahan and Ch. 2 sportscaster David James had me on their radio show this morning to talk about tonight's prep football openers.

After making a prediction that Skyline's state-record consecutive-games scoring streak was in jeopardy tonight (I borrowed that suggestion from Tribune prep football guru Andrew Aragon, by the way) when it plays host to defending 5-A champion Bingham, I was asked a question that threw me for a bit of a loop.

DJ and PK wanted to know if there are any Division-I caliber prep quarterbacks in Utah this year.

I couldn't think of one. In fact, I had trouble coming up with the names of more than a couple quarterbacks who have any shot at all of moving to the next level.

I weakly tossed out the name of Timpview's quarterback, Quin Mecham, although it is doubtful that Mecham will receive much recruiting attention. I saw the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Mecham play three of four times last year, and I was impressed with his athleticism and running ability.

But he was perhaps the most impatient QB I have ever seen, continually tucking the ball under his arm and running before his receivers had a chance to get open. Maybe he worked on that in the offseason and will stay in the pocket a little more this year.

The name I forgot to tell the radio guys was Rhen Richard. If you have heard of him, you are probably a high school rodeo fan.

Richard, a senior at medium-size Union High in Roosevelt, was the all-around cowboy national champion at the National High School Rodeo Finals in Springfield, Ill., in July. College recruiters tell me he's a pretty good quarterback, too, although I have never seen him play.

Richard, 6-1, 185 pounds, has already received an offer from Snow College. He might be the best prep quarterback in the state this year.

However, at a football talent combine at Judge Memorial High last May, Richard reportedly started with the quarterbacks, but was asked by some scouts to work out at wide receiver. He was just as impressive at that position.

Suffice it to say, BYU's Bronco Mendenhall and Utah's Kyle Whittingham will keep an eye on Union's games this fall, perhaps for the first time ever.

Some of the other prep quarterbacks in Utah that could make some noise on the recruiting front are Snow Canyon's Kurt Henderson, Mountain Crest's Riley Crosbie and Jordan's Chaun Cook -- because the Beetdiggers will throw the ball a lot with all-state receiver Cody Raymond back.

Speaking of Jordan, I thought its 2006 quarterback, Sean Taylor, was one of the better prep QBs in the country last year. I was surprised he didn't get more big-school offers. He signed with Southern Utah, and don't be surprised if he doesn't make a big impact there.

Among the state's junior class, scouts say Logan's Jeff Manning, 6-foot-5, has the size and skills to do something special.

LOOKING TO CALIFORNIA

While BYU and Utah have yet to make any scholarship offers to a Utah prep quarterback -- if they do, it will probably be to Union's Richard -- both schools are still waiting on Kevin Prince, an LDS quarterback from Crespi Carmelite High in southern California.

Prince told the Web site dawgman.com on Thursday that he originally wanted to commit before the start of his senior season. But that's on Aug. 31, and now he thinks he wants to wait a few games into the season before he decides.

Most recruiting experts say his choice will either be Washington or UCLA. The Bruins finally offered him last week, and some were surprised when he didn't commit on the spot. He has said he would like to go on an LDS Church mission before enrolling.

BYU QB SITUATION

I played in a charity golf event with BYU quarterbacks coach Brandon Doman in June, and he told me the Cougars would like to sign one quarterback a year.

They have 19 commitments already for 2008, but none of those players are quarterbacks.

Among the QBs they are looking at, along with Prince and Richard, are Gerald Hill of Curtis High in Tacoma, Jonathan Mader of Cibola High in Albuquerque and Richard Ragland of Venice High in Los Angeles. They've extended no offers, however.

One of the best defensive tackles in Colorado, a 6-foot-2, 260-pound sack specialist who was being recruited fairly heavily by the University of Utah, commited to the Colorado Buffaloes on Wednesday.

Curtis Cunningham of Columbine High in Littleton chose Colorado over Utah, Kansas, Stanford, Wyoming, Arizona State and Air Force.

Still, sources familiar with Utah's recruiting efforts say Utah coaches are still pleased with the pledges they have so far, and are excited about some other prospects.

Most notably, the Utes are still in the running for Benji Kemoeatu of Kahuku, Haw. The 6-foot-3 lineman is considered the No. 2 center in the country by some recruiting services. His older brothers Chris and Ma'ake are both in the NFl.

UNLV and Oregon State have also offered.

Also, David Kruger, a 6-5, 270-pounder from Timpanogos High in Orem is seemingly within Utah's grasp. BYU has also offered Kruger, whose brother plays for the Utes.

Some of the other preps the Utes have offered are lineman Alec Johnson of Colorado's Mullen High and Shelby Lyons, a 6-1, 205-pound linebacker from Centennial High in Corona, Calif.

Johnson seems to be leaning toward Arizona State, however. Lyons has received offers from San Diego State, Idaho and UNLV.

The Utes currently have nine commitments, some more firm than others.

Within Utah, the Utes have pledges from Copper Hills receiver Kendrick Moeai, Copper Hills lineman Sealver Siliga and Bingham lineman Derek Tuimauga.

The six out-of-staters to commit so far:

1, Lamar Chapman, a 5-10, 175-pound defensive back at El Camino Community College in Torrance, Calif.

2, Siaki Cravens, a 6-2, 200-pound tight end from Temecula Valley High School in California

3, Zach Davila, a 6-5, 295-pound offensive lineman from Cienega High in Vail, Ariz.

4, Sam Brenner, a 6-2, 270-pound offensive lineman from Oceanside, Calif.

5, Cole Loftin, a 6-0, 175-pound athlete from Aledo, Texas

6, Ryan Lacy, a 5-9, 175-pound running back from Oakmont High in Roseville, Calif.

It is not often that the BYU Cougars find themselves battling with Purdue, Maryland, South Carolina and perhaps even Florida for a football recruit. But that's what is happening this summer and fall as the program hones in on O'Neill Chambers, a senior at Florida's Harmony High.

Reached on his cell phone Tuesday, Chambers told The Recruiting Trail that he is "dead serious" about possibly attending BYU, although he is not Mormon and the school is thousands of miles from his home.

"They are my No. 1 team right now," he said.

BYU offered Chambers in the spring, and he attended the Cougars' football camp in June with several of his Harmony teammates. BYU is also looking at Kedron Paul, a running back and Chambers' best friend.

"We are going to base our decision together. We're probably a package deal," Chambers said. "Most of the same schools that have offered me have offered him.

Harmony's head coach is Tyler Anderson, a former Cougar receiver who prepped at Orem and helped lead Tooele High to a state title a few years ago. Chambers said Anderson annually takes several of his players to Provo for BYU's camp.

Chambers caught 17 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns as a junior, and also had three defensive touchdowns while playing safety and three on special teams.

He said he doesn't plan to commit to a school until his senior season is over. He will take an official campus visit to BYU in November or December and plans on bringing his parents.

Last week, Chambers said he received a scholarship offer from Purdue, bringing his total to 11.

"My top four are BYU, Maryland, Purdue and South Carolina," he said. "Florida will be in there if [it] offers."

Chambers said he likes BYU for its wide-open offense, commitment to the passing game and "campus atmosphere."

He said defensive backs coach Jaime Hill has been his primary recruiter, along with receivers coach Patrick Higgins.

He participated in Florida's "Friday Night Lights" camp a few weeks ago, but has not heard from coach Urban Meyer because it is currently a "dead" period in recruiting.

"I feel like I held my own against the best of the best," he said.

He said he also has offers from Mississippi State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Houston, Troy and Georgia Southern.

When he was at BYU's camp, Chambers struck a friendship with West High's Garrett Nicholson, who committed to BYU last month.

"He's a good player and good kid," Chambers said. "I can see myself playing with him on the college level."



Praying for a Prince

Speaking of three-star recruits, BYU is still in the running for Kevin Prince, a quarterback at Crespi Carmelite High in Encino, Calif. However, a source close to BYU's staff said it appears the LDS quarterback will commit to UCLA in the near future.

That's contingent on Prince agreeing to go on his LDS Church mission before enrolling at the school, the source said.

Prince, 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, threw for 1,422 yards and 12 touchdowns his junior year and has been compared to Steve Young because of his excellent mobility. An injury cut short his season.

He visited UCLA's campus twice last week, according to superprep.com, and received an offer from the Bruins coach Carl Dorrell.

He has said that Washington is also among his favorites.

Another Shooter Bypasses Utes

The University of Utah was one of the schools which offered a scholarship to James Rahon, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Torrey Pines High in California, but Rahon on Tuesday commited to Santa Clara.

The senior also had an offer from San Diego State, according to recruiting analyst Greg Hicks.

"I liked all the schools recruiting me," he said. "But I love the coaches at Santa Clara."

News at the end of last week that Logan High's Charles Abouo is bound for Brigham Young University's basketball program -- after a stint at prep school in New Hampshire -- prompted several readers to wonder about some of the better players in Utah's Class of 2008 -- and where they could be headed.

After a couple calls to some trusted experts on the local hoops scene, I learned that it is not going to be a fabulous crop, but that there could be some hidden gems out there.

For instance, Lone Peak's 6-foot-9 center, Justin Hamilton, is said to have had a phenomenal summer. His stock is rising, and it doesn't hurt that some recruiters believe he could grow another inch or two.

Hamilton played sparingly for Lone Peak's varsity as a junior, scoring only a few points at that level. He mostly played for the junior varsity. He has played for the club team Salt Lake Metro this summer.

The recruiting Web site scouthoops.com has Hamilton as the No. 3 center in the West, up from No. 6 at the start of the summer. He's the fourth Metro player to receive top-10 center recognition by scouthoops.com in the last five years.

He's also smart and studious, with a reported grade point average in the 3.8 range.

Hamilton told the site he has received interest from Utah, Weber State, Portland, Oregon, San Diego UC-Davis and Washington State, but only UC-Davis has offered a scholarship at this point. He's been on unofficial visits to Weber State and Utah State.

Hamilton could benefit from the attention that will be paid to the state's top junior, Tyler Haws, who happens to be his teammate at Lone Peak. Haws, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, will see heavy recruitment unless he commits early.

Another center to watch is Bountiful's Ben Aird, although interest in the Braves' three-year starter has slowed a tad, sources say.

Perhaps the best center prospect in the state is Sky View 7-footer Jordan Stone, who verbally committed to Utah State in the spring, according to a reliable source.

Judge's 6-9 Noel Hollingsworth and Olympus' 6-10 Elliott Bullock also get high marks, along with Hamilton and Aird, according to the Web site intermountainhoops.com.

Heat Check at Snow

Steve Wilkerson of Sandy wants to know what happened to Ryan "Heat Check" Brimley, the Hillcrest High star who was in shooting range the minute he stepped through the gym doors.

Brimley, who helped bring the Huskies back to basketball prominence with Donnie Lao the past two or three years, will play for Snow College this winter.

About two months ago, West High running back Garrett Nicholson gave an oral commitment to Brigham Young's football program, saying he loved the coaching staff and the atmosphere and wanted the chance to play for coach Bronco Mendenhall.

But that hasn't kept other schools from contacting him on a regular basis (until the dead period began a few weeks ago), Nicholson said Saturday.

"Mostly, Utah and UCLA are still talking to me," he said.

Neither of those schools have made an official offer, although Nicholson says they amped up their interest after he gave his word to BYU.

Asked how firm that word is on a scale of 1-10, Nicholson said eight or nine. He said one of the reasons he chose BYU was that he believes he has a good chance to get on the field early for the Cougars, "and that hasn't changed a bit."

BYU recruited Nicholson, who reportedly has 4.5 speed in the 40, to play cornerback. He is 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds.

"Actually, I think I can play both ways," he said.

Nicholson is not Mormon, but said he is familiar with the LDS Church-operated school and its strict honor code because his mother is Mormon, as are "hundreds of my friends. I've pretty much grown around it."

His father, Trey Nicholson, played for Oregon State.

That Garrett Nicholson stays committed to BYU is important to the Cougars for more reasons than his playing ability.

The Cougars are in the hunt for one of the top receivers/defensive backs in Florida, O'Neill Chambers of Harmony High. Chambers lists Maryland and BYU as his two top choices and he attended a summer football camp at BYU in June.

While there, the 6-3, 215-pound Chambers struck up a friendship with Nicholson, and the two have stayed in contact since then.

"It would be awesome if he comes to BYU, too," Nicholson said.



Remember This Name

Few followers of high school sports in Utah are familiar with Kelsey Vines, a junior-to-be at St. George's Dixie High. But by this time next year, Vines could be one of the most-recruited female athletes in state history.

Surely, she will be one of the most-recruited female golfers ever.

Vines, who moved from Texas to St. George with her family a year ago, has a sister, Daphne, on BYU's women's golf team. Daphne Vines recently won the Women's State Amateur at Park City Golf Club.

However, that doesn't mean Kelsey Vines is set to become a Cougar, too.

"Oh, no way," she said Sunday. "Right now, I am not even close to having a favorite."

Coaches haven't been able to have personal contact with Kelsey Vines yet, but she knows there is already substantial interest because of who has scouted her and who has returned her e-mail inquiries.

Asked which schools she has been in contact with, Vines lists BYU, Texas, Texas A&M, Arizona State, Arizona, Cal-Berkeley, USC, Vanderbilt and Tennessee.



Guard Picks Pepperdine

Brad Tinsley, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Oregon City, Ore., has apparently decided Pepperdine is a better place for him to play college basketball than the University of Utah.

Tinsley gave the Malibu, Calif., school an oral commitment on Saturday, according to the Web site scouthoops.com. Tinsley said the deciding factor was his familiarity with Pepperdine assistant Mark Campbell, who is also his summer AAU coach.

Utah and California also offered Tinsley, according to the site. The rising senior is considered to be one of the best shooters on the West Coast.

He didn't grow up in Utah, and he has essentially played only one year of high school football, so a lot of locals don't know much about Cottonwood linebacker Lynn Katoa.

But most of the top college football programs in the country are familiar with the senior who moved to Salt Lake City from the Dallas area before his sophomore year.

Incredibly, Katoa has scholarship offers from 91 schools, at last count.

The prospect whom most recruiting services rate as one of the top 100 in the country told the Recruiting Trail on Thursday that he originally wanted to make a decision before the Colts' season-opener at Brighton on Aug. 17. But that's looking more and more unlikely because Katoa would still like to get in all five of his NCAA-allotted official visits.

He visited Texas last week, where he received an offer from Longhorns coach Mack Brown. He said he is trying to set up a trip to Oklahoma the week of Aug. 19-26, if possible.

He would also like to visit Miami, Florida and LSU, he said, and perhaps get a side trip to Oklahoma State in when he visits Norman.

"I like Oklahoma and Texas a lot," he said. "They are probably my top two right now, but more and more I am thinking I want to take a lot of trips before I decide."

Katoa, who turned 18 two weeks ago, is a decent student, too, with a 3.2 grade point average in core courses. He scored a 17 the first time he took the ACT, a score that makes him eligible at most schools. He wants to graduate this winter and says he is on track to do so.

Utah and BYU are among the schools that have offered the second-team all-stater, but Katoa said he has his sights set on higher-profile programs from major conferences.

"I like Utah's coaches a lot, but...I'm probably headed out of state," he said.

Asked if there are any other schools out there that might work their way into the picture, Katoa mentioned Wisconsin and Texas Tech.

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Utes in Hunt for Texas Recruit

University of Utah coaches made an early offer to Chris Givens, a 6-foot, 205-pound running back from Wylie, Texas. They are not alone, it appears.

Givens, who was injured the first play of his junior season and missed the entire year, has seen his stock rise this summer as recruiters have become convinced that he has completely overcome the knee injury.

The latest school to make Givens an offer is Wake Forest. He also has offers from Wisconsin, North Texas and UNLV.

"I am just looking at everybody right now," Givens told the Web site Badgernation.com. "I'm going to leave it like that for my season to see what options I have got. I will see who offers down the line."

Sausan Shakerin says he is a patient man.

The Alta High superstar running back, a senior, acknowledges that watching several of the state's other top players make oral commitments to college football programs this summer has made him "kind of envious, in a way," but he says he will wait until December or January to make his choice official.

"Right now, I am focusing on my senior season and making it the best it can be," he said. "I'm doing my homework, checking out depth charts on the Internet and stuff like that, but I am in no hurry to decide."

Shakerin, who rushed for 2,250 yards and 25 touchdowns his junior season and made The Salt Lake Tribune's 5-A all-state team, said he has received offers from five schools: LSU, Stanford, BYU, Utah and Colorado.

However, a 15-minute conversation with him on Alta's practice field Thursday morning gave this reporter the sense that he might be leaning toward Boise State. The Broncos have not made him an official offer because, outside of a few local kids, they don't do things that way in the land of the blue turf.

"I'm pretty sure they want me," Shakerin said, a notion seconded by Alta head coach Les Hamilton.

Also, Shakerin's brother, Mehran, lives and works in Boise.

The phenom's cousin, Bo Nagahi, played for Utah.

Although he is not Mormon, Shakerin said he has been on an unofficial visit to BYU and believes he could abide by the LDS Church-operated school's strict honor code.

"I grew up a Utah fan, but BYU is a really great place," he said. "I like the campus and the coaches a lot."

The recruiting Web site scout.com lists Shakerin as a four-star recruit, out of a possible five stars.

Shakerin has also been in contact with Florida and Notre Dame coaches, but has not lined up visits to those schools. He does have a visit planned to LSU, where former BYU coach Gary Crowton is the offensive coordinator, in a couple of months.

Hamilton said the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Shakerin is the most-recruited athlete he has ever coached.

The Hawks have two or three other potential college players, most notably linebacker Jefferson Court and defensive lineman Derek Keller.

Court said Thursday that he has had significant contact with BYU, Utah, Stanford and UNLV but has not received an offer from any Division I program. He carries a 3.992 grade point average and could also be looking at an academic scholarship.

"I really want to go to BYU, but they only have a few [scholarships] left," he said.



UTES, COUGARS NOT FINISHED

Much was made of the switcheroo pulled off by Copper Hills lineman Sealver Siliga when he backed out of a commitment to BYU last month and gave his word to attend the University of Utah.

Siliga and Shakerin aren't the only Utah preps being courted by both schools.

Both the Utes and Cougars have apparently offered Timpanogos (Orem) High defensive lineman David Kruger, a 6-foot-5, 270-pound senior. Kruger's brother, Paul, plays for the Utes.

A source close to Utah's recruiting practices confirmed that the only other in-state player Utah has offered is Lewis Walker, a 6-foot running back from Salt Lake City's Judge Memorial Catholic High School. Colorado is also reportedly pursuing Walker, who could be used at cornerback in college.

Along with Siliga, Utah also has commitments from Bingham lineman Derek Tuimauga and Copper Hills receiver Kendrick Moeai.

BYU's in-state commitments include Bingham's Austin Holt and Justin Sorensen, Timpview's Michael Alisa and Kevin Bills, and West's Garrett Nicholson.

Utah Girls Getting Noticed

A few years ago, only a handful of female basketball players from Utah landed college scholarships. Lately, however, they are getting free rides in droves, as college recruiters discover some talent here.

Scouts are also honing in on volleyball players, as last year a near-record number of spikers and setters from Utah earned college scholarships.

On the basketball front, a club team known as Salt Lake Metro and directed by Salt Lake City's Dave Hammer has expanded its progam to include girls the past few years, and the results have been astounding.

Hammer reports that 19 female members of the 2007 graduating class who worked with Salt Lake Metro will move on to play college basketball this fall and winter. Another will attend Utah State on a track scholarship. Also, two former players are making the jump from the junior college level to Division I.

Metro's girls program has now produced 31 college players in its two years of existence.  Here's a list of the 19 girls and their college choices:

Heather Anderson, Woods Cross -- Otero (Colo.) Junior College
Brandi Barrett, Hurricane -- Dixie State College
Raimee Beck, Blackfoot, Idaho -- Air Force
Nicole Brady, Uintah -- Salt Lake Community College
Sami Cornelison, Rich -- Western Wyoming Community College
Camille Fehlberg, Emery -- Utah State University (track)
Lauren Hally, Woods Cross -- Westminster
Jenica Johnson, Davis -- Western Wyoming Community College
Liz Johnson, Skyline -- Lewis & Clark College (Oregon)
McKenzie Jones, Viewmont -- Salt Lake Community College
Allie Lunt, Payson -- Salt Lake Community College
Torle Nenbee, Cyprus -- Snow College
Amy Parkinson, Uintah -- Snow College
Lexi Phillips, Juan Diego -- Westminster College
Rachel Rasmussen, Emery -- College of Eastern Utah
Jamie Sagers, Orem -- Southern Utah University
Caitlin Sears, Lone Peak -- Southern Utah University
Candace Smith, North Summit -- Westminster College
Karlee Weight, Timpview -- Weber State University
Celeste Wouden, Box Elder -- Snow College
Shordy Mulford, Kearns/SLCC -- Louisiana Tech
Tamara Evans, Taylorsville/SLCC -- Texas State

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Cougars get 'em early


The way BYU's football program is gathering oral committments, the Cougars just might have their scholarship quota filled before they play their first game Sept. 1 against the Arizona Wildcats.
The latest prep football star to say he will join BYU is Spencer Hadley, a linebacker from Connell High in Washington. The riising senior should give hope to hundreds of small-school stars around the state, because in Washington he plays at the lowest (1-A) level.
Hadley is 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds and was first team all-state at both receiver and safety last year. He caught 60 passes for 1,166 yards and 20 touchdowns his junior year, and was also the state discus champion.
Hadley's cousin is BYU freshman linebacker Austen Jorgensen. Sources familiar to Hadley's recruitment said he plans on serving an LDS Church mission before joining the program in 2010.
The Cougars now have 20 commitments for the February, 2008, signing day.

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Reaching the summit

One of those small-school stars the college scouts have reportedly found is Drew Robinson, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound tight end and defensive end from North Summit High in Coalville. The Braves play at the 2-A level in Utah.
A reader took advantage of our opening-blog invitation and informed us that Robinson has been offered a scholarship from Snow College and has drawn the interest of the University of Utah.


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Blue meshing with purple

BYU women's golf coach Sue Nyhus had to recruit Juli Wightman-Erekson once. She's glad she doesn't have to do it again.
Wightman-Erekson, the Women's State Amateur runner-up, will be a senior on the Cougar women's golf team this fall. Her husband, former Springville star Zac Erekson, is transferring from BYU's football team to Weber State's, causing Nyhus to briefly worry that she might lose her star player from Chicopee, Mass. to the Wildcats, too.
"Nope, I am staying at BYU," Wightman-Erekson said in Park City last week when asked if Nyhus needed to worry. "We will be a two-school household."
The couple has found an apartment in Draper, which the golfer said was "sort of in between" the two schools.
She emphasized "sort of."

Welcome to The Recruiting Trail, the newest blog to grace The Salt Lake Tribune's Web site.

Dispatches here will be related to college recruiting -- from both ends of the spectrum. We will write about the Utah schools doing the recruiting -- Utah, BYU, Utah State, Weber State, Southern Utah and Utah Valley State College, primarily -- and the Utah student-athletes they are seeking.

Of course, we will keep tabs on the student-athletes who choose to leave the state, especially those headed to big-time schools.

A little about your trail guide: I've been at The Salt Lake Tribune for 18 years and have covered every sport imaginable for the newspaper the past 16 years. I was the paper's lead high school sports writer for 12 years, and hardly a day went by when I didn't talk or write about recruiting in the state.

Lately, I've been primarily covering the Utah Blaze, motorsports, golf, the UHSAA and rodeo, in addition to keeping a hand in the high school and college sports scenes.

The first order of business is a plea for some help. Obviously, I have just one set of eyes and ears, so I need your input.
If you have any information on the local recruiting scene, let me know. That applies to both recruiters, recruits and anybody inbetween.

Taking a campus visit this weekend? Give me a heads up. Just returnedfrom one? Tell me how it went.

Coaching or parenting an athlete who is drawing attention from thecolleges? Clue me in and let me tell the world about it.

Got an insider tip on who the Utes, Cougars, Wildcats, Aggies,

Thunderbirds or Wolverines are looking at? I will find out just how interested they really are.

My e-mail address is simple: drew@sltrib.com. Hope to hear from you soon -- and often.