Fifty-four of the area's top girls high school basketball players will compete in the third annual Intermountain Hoops Fall Evaluation Showcase today at Alta High School.
The event is sanctioned by the NCAA for attendance by Division I coaches and is considered the premier recruiting venue in the Intermountain West during this weekend's NCAA open evaluation period.
For more information, go to www.intermountainhoops.com.

Robert Arnold, a 6-6, 180-pounder from Antelope Valley College in California has given an oral commitment to Boise State.

That's bad news for Utah State fans, because Arnold was also being recruited by the Aggies. Coach Dieter Horton called him "one of the best [junior college] freshman in California."

Arnold averaged 15.1 points and 4.2 rebounds a game for the Marauders as a freshman.

He turned down visits to Utah State and Colorado State and scholarship offers from Pepperdine and UC Santa Barbara after committing to BSU.

A lot of Utah high school basketball fans know that the state's best junior is probably Lone Peak shooting guard Tyler Haws, a 6-foot-4 scoring machine who was the 5-A MVP as a sophomore.

Fewer fans have heard about a junior who might be just as good, Pleasant Grove's 6-5 shooting guard and wing C.J. Wilcox.

According to a well-placed source, the son of former BYU guard Craig Wilcox played in front of coaches from Utah, BYU, Utah State, UNLV and Arizona State at the school's gym on Thursday.

Weber State's recent success and the hard work that coach Randy Rahe has done selling the basketball program are starting to pay dividends in the recruiting wars.

The Wildcats just landed one of the top five point guards on the West Coast, according to the Web site scouthoops.com.

Damian Lillard, a 5-foot-11 senior from Oakland called off several official visits he had scheduled to bigger programs and orally committed to Weber State on Wednesday.

"It was the right fit for me and my family," Lillard told recruiting analyst Greg Hicks. "They were very sincere in what they were saying and they were the first school recruiting me."

Last week, the Wildcats got a pledge from one of the best big men in Utah, Clearfield senior Nick Thompson.

A source told The Recruiting Trail that Lillard's commitment likely means the Wildcats will stop pursuing Josh Sharp, a 6-7 wing player from Lone Peak.

Sharp is scheduled to visit the University of Utah this weekend, but it is not certain whether the Utes, who have four oral commitments to date are are seemingly over their limit, have offered a ride to the Knights star.

As for Lillard, Hicks predicts that he will be an all-conference performer for the Wildcats. He was scheduled to visit Boise State and San Diego, but has called off those trips.

Lillard visited Weber State and St. Mary's a few weeks ago, and said he liked Weber better at that time. He was also drawing interest from Colorado State.

It is amazing what the establishment of several elite-level club basketball teams the past few years has done for Utah girls hoping to earn college scholarships.

An eighth member of the club team Salt Lake Metro from the class of 2008 has orally committed to a Division I school.

Layton High's Sheila Adams joined the list earlier this week when she committed to Idaho State University. Adams will sign with the Bengals in November.

The 5-foot-5 point guard played the last two years with Metro and averaged 15.7 points, 4.6 assists and four steals a game for Layton last year. She led the state with 55 three-pointers last year, seventh-most in state history.

Earlier this week, another former Metro player, Lone Peak's Amanda Farish, confirmed to The Recruiting Trail that she has committed to Southern Utah University.

The club team Utah Sky has seen several of its players commit the last few months, including Jenna Johnson (Spanish Fork) and Erika Newbold (Bingham) to Utah Valley State College.

Cole Loftin almost got it right.

The Texas high school quarterback, running back and safety committed to play football for the University of Utah in early August, but since then rumors have swirled that the 6-foot, 185-pound Loftin was re-thinking his pledge and listening to offers from other schools.

"I am a Ute, yes sir," Loftin told The Recruiting Trail on Tuesday night.

Not exactly "I am a Utah man, sir," as spelled out in the school's fight song, but close enough.

Loftin said he talks to Utah assistant coach Aaron Alford once a week and is as committed to the Utes as he was back in August.

"I will be signing with Utah in February," he said. "Nothing has changed."

The senior said he is having an excellent season for the Aledo Bearcats, who are 3-0 heading into this weekend's game against No. 2-ranked Stevenville. Loftin, a versatile speedster who lines up all over the field, has rushed 29 times for 328 yards and five touchdowns and caught six passes for 131 yards.

Utah is recruiting him to play receiver, Loftin said, noting he has 4.5 speed in the 40.

He's also bright, with a reported 3.8 grade point average.

He is following the Utes' roller-coaster season closely, he said, and was as shocked as anyone when they lost 27-0 to UNLV last week after blowing out UCLA.

"They will be fine," he said. "A lot can change in a week, let alone a year."

Perhaps the reason that Loftin's Utah commitment has been questioned so much, he surmised, is that neither of the two major recruiting Web sites -- scout.com and rivals.com -- have him on their lists of Utah commits.

Another outstanding girls basketball player from the Class of 2008 has made her college decision known.

Lone Peak senior Amanda Farish, a versatile inside-outside player who helped her team to the state semifinals last year, has verbally committed to Southern Utah University.

She's the seventh player from the club team Salt Lake Metro to commit to a Division I program in the past six months.

"I visited last weekend, and I just loved the coaching staff and the team, so I committed," Farish said. "I think their style of play just fits me really well."

Utah State and Snow College had also offered the all-state forward, while Salt Lake Community College and several out-of-state schools had expressed interest.

"It just came down to the environment down there," she said. "And I love the style of coaching."

Farish will join two other Utah prep products -- Beaver's Morgan Wood and Canyon View's Cassie Platt -- who have committed to Thunderbirds coach Steve Hodson.

Box Elder's Mandy Munns has committed to Utah, while Skyline's Dani Peterson and Timpview's Alexis Kaufusi have committed to BYU. Spanish Fork's Jenna Johnson will play for Utah Valley State College.

Life is good right now for Judge Memorial running back and defensive back Lewis Walker.

The Bulldogs are undefeated (5-0), ranked No. 1 in Class 3-A by The Salt Lake Tribune and coming off a big 23-9 win over their parochial school rival, Juan Diego.

And Walker knows he will be playing Division I college football somewhere next year.

A senior, Walker received a written scholarship offer from the University of Utah in the spring. He attended Colorado's Junior Day about the same time and received a verbal offer from the Buffaloes. Now, he's sitting back and being patient.

"I'm not in a hurry," he told The Recruiting Trail this week. "I'm just [eager] to show more schools what I can do on the field."

Last year, Walker broke his leg and missed all but the last two games of his junior season. He's making up for it this season, despite having to sit out one game with a concussion he suffered during Judge's big win over Logan.

In four games, Walker has rushed for 233 yards and two touchdowns and caught six passes for 179 yards and a TD. Defensively, he's made 32 tackles and blocked a field goal.

"I am having a pretty good year," he said."I'm not wrapped up in the recruiting thing at all. The focus right now is helping the team win a state championship."

Walker said he hears from Utah defensive coordinator Gary Andersen weekly and is sure the Utes still want him. Colorado hasn't called or written recently, he said, causing him to wonder if that verbal offer made months ago is still on the table.

Other schools that have expressed interest include Hawaii, Utah State, Boise State, Oregon, Oregon State and Washington.

He has a visit scheduled to Boise State on Oct. 14 when the Broncos play host to Nevada, and a Boise State assistant coach was at Judge last Friday paying him a visit.

"I probably won't decide until the season is over," he said.

Brigham Young University's football program has apparently lost a heated recruiting battle for Simoni Lawrence, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound safety who made an official campus visit to Provo when the Cougars played host to Arizona.

Lawrence, from Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania, committed to Minnesota after visiting the campus last weekend for the Gophers' game against Purdue.

The Web site goldensports.net reported that Lawrence committed to Minnesota coaches on Sunday morning.

"They just need a couple of top-notch defensive players," he said. "I feel that I can help out right away."

Lawrence made 107 tackles and 10 interceptions as a freshman at the junior college last year and was named the defensive player of the year for his league.

Along with BYU and Minnesota, Pitt, Temple, Utah and West Virginia have offered scholarships to the athletic star who also plays running back for his junior college team.

Lawrence told scout.com that he loved his visit to BYU and had put the Cougars in his top three after the Sept. 1 game.

"My top three are probably Minnesota, Miami and I'd probably put BYU right up there after my visit," he said. "BYU's the school I'm real high on right now since I really enjoyed my visit. I'll just have to visit the other schools and compare them with BYU."

   Recent injuries to both knees have apparently done nothing to dim the recruiting interest in Alta superstar Sausan Shakerin.

    The running back told The Recruiting Trail after Alta's easy 49-7 win over Skyline on Friday that the letters and phone calls have continued incessantly from college recruiters all around the country.

    "Nobody has backed off," he said.

    In his first game back since injuring his right knee in a 28-12 win over Clovis (Calif.) East in Las Vegas, Shakerin appeared a little tentative against the Eagles. He didn't rip off any long runs that fans saw him do countless times his junior season when he finished with 2,245 rushing yards in 14 games.

    He had just 92 yards on 20 carries against Skyline. He scored touchdowns on three short runs.

    "I'm still getting used to game situations again," he said, ice packs wrapped around both knees.

    Alta coach Les Hamilton called both injuries "sprains."

    The first one happened to his left knee during two-a-days in August and made Shak miss Alta's season-opener at Spanish Fork.

    The next one happened to his right knee when a Clovis East safety tackled Shakerin low in Las Vegas and made him miss wins over Hunter and Sacramento's Grant Union.

    Shak said "not much" has changed in his recruitment.

    He listed Stanford, LSU, Utah, BYU and Boise State -- in that order -- as the schools that have shown the most interest lately, although Boise has not tendered an official offer.

    Oregon and Colorado have also offered.

    Asked if any favorite has emerged, Shak gave a resounding "no."

    "I like all of them a lot," he said. "They are all great colleges."

    The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder said he has agreed to make official campus visits to LSU and Stanford, but doesn't have anything specific lined up. He's been to BYU and Utah on unofficial trips, paying his own way.

    "I am more focused on the season right now because I am starting to play more," he said. "I am really focusing on the season right now. I am going to take all [five] of my trips after the season, probably, and then decide."

Medium-sized Union High in Roosevelt hasn't been a destination for college football recruiters the past 20 years or so, mainly because the Cougars haven't been all that good at the sport, and also because it is seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

A quarterback with a poet's name and a cowboy's toughness -- Rhen Richard -- is changing that this year.

The senior is so skilled that he can go to any college he wants to -- provided it has a rodeo program.

After winning the national all-around cowboy title as a junior at last year's National High School Finals Rodeo, Richard (pronounced: riCHARD) is one of the most sought-after athletes in the country.

Trouble is, he wants to play football.

"It's what I love the most," he told The Recruiting Trail on Friday afternoon while making the long bus ride from Roosevelt to Park City for a game against the Miners Friday night.

Richard, who completed 15 of 25 passes for 340 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-8 win over Grantsville last week, said he has received offers from Southern Utah University and Snow College.

His father played college football with SUU coach Wes Meier.

However, Richard has talked to coaches from Utah, Colorado, Louisiana State, Boise State, Idaho State and BYU.

His father is friends with BYU strength coach Jay Omer and Rhen's good friend, Judge Memorial's Lewis Walker, has been offered by Utah and Colorado.

The big schools have all told him the same thing: We want to see how you do your senior year before we offer anything.

"I would like to go to Utah, but I kind of want a scholarship. I don't want to walk on anywhere," he said.

With the rodeo ride to fall back on, who can blame him?

Richard really turned heads last spring when he attended a skills camp at Judge Memorial. He had a fractured thumb from rodeo and couldn't throw a tight spiral, but showed recruiters his speed and athleticism when he switched over to receiver.

A lot of schools are recruiting him as a safety.

"I've told them I will play anywhere they want me to play," he said.

Richard hasn't played much defense this high school season because he hurt his shoulder in Union's first game. The injury caused him to miss most of the second game, but he said he is almost completely recovered.

"I am at full strength now," he said. "I have to be."

After all, a lot of coaches are making some long drives to watch him play.

Weber State jumped into the local basketball recruiting fray in a big way on Wednesday, landing Clearfield High senior Nick Thompson.

The 6-foot-9 Thompson verbally committed to Wildcats coach Randy Rahe, he confirmed to The Recruiting Trail earlier today.

Thompson, a second-team all-stater in 2006-07, had narrowed his choices to Pacific and Weber State before calling WSU head coach Randy Rahe with his decision.

"He was really, really excited," Thompson said. "He was yelling and all that. He was ectstatic."

Thompson also received offers from South Alabama, Wagner, Southern Utah, Pepperdine, Cal Poly, Northern Arizona, Pacific and Portland State.

He visited Pacific a few weeks ago, and took in-home visits from Weber State and Pacific coaches earlier this week.

"I've been leaning toward Weber State, so [after the visit] I did not see any reason to wait any longer," he said. "I wanted to commit before my senior season started so I could put a lot of focus into my last season of high school basketball."

Thompson, part of a military family who moved to Utah prior to his freshman year, averaged 15 points and seven rebounds a game last year.

He said he will sign his letter of intent with Weber State on Nov. 14.

Clearfield coach Curtis Hulse said Thompson is an excellent ball-handler for a big man.

"He just continues to improve," Hulse said. "He's got a lot of tools that will help him succeed at the next level."

Thompson is the fourth Utah prep product to commit in the last week. Lone Peak's Bracken Funk started the flurry by pledging to Fresno State. Teammate Justin Hamilton gave Iowa State his word on Monday, and Holton Hunsaker of Woods Cross committed to Louisiana Tech on Tuesday.

Brighton's Jace Tavita (Utah) and Sky View's Jordan Stone (Utah State) are also bound for Division I programs.

Who's next?

Look for Lone Peak's Josh Sharp to make a decision shortly.

Bountiful's Ben Aird has also drawn Division I attention.

Among the seniors who still have a shot at a Division I scholarship are Pine VIew's Louis Garrett and Alta's Taylor Brown.

Bingham's Austin Holt, the four-star recruit who verbally committed to Brigham Young last February, has another decision to make in the next month or so.

No, Holt hasn't jumped back into the recruiting pool.

The senior tight end is starting to get invitations to some of those exclusive nationall all-star games in January, and will probably only be able to attend one.

The first invitation arrived Wednesday and was from the second annual Offense-Defense All-American Bowl in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The game will be televised nationally by ESPNU.

The other premier all-star game, the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, is the same weekend in January. Holt has not been invited to play in that game, yet, but will probably be invited because he is listed as top tight end in the West by several recruiting services, and the No. 2 tight end in the country.

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl is at the Alamodome and will be televised nationally by NBC.

Holt attended the festivities surrounding the bowl last year as an invited junior and worked out with many of the seniors prior to the game.

Holt's father, Ryan, confirmed recently that his son is still strongly committed to BYU, although he continues to be recruited by schools such as Stanford and Florida.

******************

Murray Star Bound for Idaho State

Murray senior Ellen Larsen, an all-stater last year as a junior, has verbally committed to play soccer for Idaho State.

An honor student, Larsen has scored 10 goals in 12 games this season for the Spartans.

With 19 known verbal commitments, BYU's football recruiting for the February, 2008, signing period is more than 80 percent complete.

Still, the Cougars are actively pursuing 12-15 other players who are either high school seniors or junior college standouts with hopes of landing five or six more prospects, according to a source close to the coaching staff.

In Utah, BYU has offers out to two players (who have not yet committed), but is closely watching at least two others.

The Cougs have offered Alta running back Sausan Shakerin and Timpanogos defensive end David Kruger. Shakerin is a long shot for BYU, considering he is not LDS and his cousin is former University of Utah standout Bo Nagahi.

BYU is in a heated battle with Utah for Kruger, whose brother, Paul, made his first start at defensive end for the Utes in last week's big win over UCLA. Colorado, Nebraska and California are also interested in David Kruger.

BYU also has strong interest in Jordan receiver Cody Raymond and Union (Roosevelt) quarterback Rhen Richard, who will probably end up playing safety in college. Richard is an incredible athlete: he won the National All-Around Cowboy title at July's National High School Rodeo Finals.

BYU coaches have not offered either player, which, when it comes to Raymond, might be a big mistake.

The three-year starter might not have the size and speed that Division I coaches like, but he is making more plays than any player in the state this year. Anyone who saw Jordan upset Bingham two weeks ago knows that. And when Jordan went to Valdosta, Ga., earlier this month for a game, Valdosta players couldn't cover him, either.

Of the out-of-state players that BYU has offered, it will be interesting to see if it can land a pair of studs who are currently listing the Cougars among their favorites, but are being chased by other big-time programs.

O'Neill Chambers, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound receiver with 4.5 speed from Harmony, Fla., continues to list BYU as one of his favorites, even after an unofficial trip to Florida last week.

Chambers told scout.com that Florida invited him to its game against Tennessee, but did not offer a scholarship.

"I still have not proved my point to the staff that I am a good wide receiver," he said.

Chambers said he will visit Purdue on Sept. 28 and will probably decide around the end of the season.

"Right now, it is BYU, Maryland, Florida," he said. Chambers is interested in BYU because his high school coach is a former Cougar.

Meanwhile, the fifth-highest rated center in the country, Hamani Stevens of Hemet, Calif., continues to consider BYU, although the Cougars seem to be slipping on his favorites list.

Hemet, 6-2, 290, committed to UCLA in June, but a few days later asked Bruins coaches to forget that pledge, which he says he made in haste.

Stevens is being used at tackle on his high school team, but almost every school projects him to be a center in college.

The four-star prospect (scout.com) says UCLA, Oregon, BYU and Washington are still in the running for his services. He's visiting Oregon on Dec. 1 and BYU on Jan. 11 and hopes to set something up with Washington shortly.

A lot of people assumed that Woods Cross point guard Holton Hunsaker would stay in state to play college basketball, perhaps because his father, Dick, is head coach at Utah Valley State College.

But the younger Hunsaker is venturing away from home.

A long way away from home.

Holton gave a verbal commitment to Louisiana Tech on Tuesday morning and will sign a letter of intent with the school in Rustin, La., in November.

Louisiana Tech is the alma mater of former Jazz great Karl Malone. It's head coach is Kerry Rupp, who served as interim head coach at the University of Utah several years ago when coach Rick Majerus quit midway through the season.

"The people are great down there," Holton Hunsaker said. "It will probably be good for me to branch out and get out of the Utah bubble."

Hunsaker turns 19 in June and will go on an LDS Church mission before ever enrolling at La Tech. His first year in a Tech jersey will be 2010, he said.

As a junior, Hunsaker averaged 17 points and 4.5 assists per game. He said he received no other offers -- not even from his father, who has said he does not want to coach his son, despite the temptation.

Coincidentally, Hunsaker was recruited to La Tech by assistant coach Curtis Condie, a former UVSC assistant under Dick Hunsaker.

Woods Cross coach Todd Street said Hunsaker will do well in the Western Athletic Conference because he is so smart on the floor.

"He gets the ball in the right spot and gets the offense going,' Street said. "He's a true point guard, a tough, hard-nosed kid who will battle on every possession."

Justin Hamilton's father "forced" him to try out for the sophomore basketball team at Lone Peak High, even though the youngster had never played any organized form of the sport before then.

Two years later, Hamilton has earned a basketball scholarship to a Big 12 school.

Hamilton committed to play for Iowa State on Monday afternoon, less than a day after returning from his official campus visit to Ames.

"A lot of it was from the overall level of support I received when I was there," the 6-foot-11 senior told The Salt Lake Tribune on Monday. "Everyone there was just great, and I felt like I really clicked with the players on the team."

Last week, Hamilton had narrowed his choices to Pepperdine, Weber State and Iowa State, provided the Cyclones offered him a scholarship during his weekend visit. They did, and less than 24 hours later, he called coach Greg McDermott with the news.

Hamilton said he was interested in Utah, and them in him, but the Utes backed off when they got a pledge from another big man from Michigan. His father played football for BYU and his mother played volleyball for the Cougars, but Hamilton said he was never interersted in BYU because he is not LDS.

The term "late-bloomer" only begins to describe the rising star. Hamilton never got into games his sophomore year, and played only on the junior varsity squad last year, getting fewer than two minutes of varsity time.

But over the spring and summer he improved immensely, so much so that college scouts who saw him play in all-star type tournaments in North Carolina and Las Vegas quickly got to know the way to his home and school in Alpine, in north Utah County. UC Davis and St. Mary's also had offered scholarships.

"I just worked really hard, and I've started to catch up to my [rapid growth] as far as coordination and stuff," he said. "And I think I've been really well-coached."

Two of Hamilton's fellow seniors at Lone Peak have also gone through the recruiting process.

Bracken Funk recently committed to Fresno State, while Josh Sharp has drawn interest from Utah and Weber State.

Sharp got a home visit from Utah coach Jim Boylen on Monday night, but the Utes are out of scholarships after receiving a commitment from Jordan Cyphers of Wichita, Kan., on Sunday. It is uncertain what the Utes have to offer Sharp, but they could ask him to "grey shirt" (enroll and pay his own way the first year) before he goes on an LDS Church mission.

He doesn't turn 18 until next June.

The first of what could be one of Lone Peak High's five Division I recruits over the next two years pledged to Fresno State last week as 6-8 forward Bracken Funk gave an oral commitment to former BYU coach Steve Cleveland.

Up next: center Justin Hamilton.

The 6-foot-11 senior returned Sunday from an official visit to Iowa State and it is just a matter of time -- perhaps Tuesday or Wednesday -- before he decides, Lone Peak coach Quincy Lewis acknowledged.

Hamilton received an offer from the Cyclones while he was in Ames and has narrowed his choices to three: Iowa State, Weber State and Pepperdine.

He called off a previously scheduled visit to UC Davis that was to take place this coming weekend.

Iowa State coaches visited Alpine last week and watched Hamilton play in some pickup games on Thursday. Hamilton went to Ames on Friday and played in a pickup game there on Saturday before the Iowa-Iowa State football game, but Cyclone coaches could not watch that game, per NCAA rules.

Hamilton told cyclonereport.com that he did not play well, partly because he was still tired after catching a flight at 4:30 a.m. the day before and partly because he went up against freshman Craig Brackins, a five-start recruit from the year before.

Hamilton is considered a late-bloomer because he played only for Lone Peak's junior varsity last year. He had a phenomenal summer playing on the club and AAU circuit and is now considered a three-star recruit (out of five) by several services.

----------

CYPHERS IMPRESSED

My colleague Michael C. Lewis, our University of Utah basketball beat writer, wrote about Sunday's commitment of Kansas shooting guard Jordan Cyphers to the Utes' coaching staff in an article in today's printed version of The Salt Lake Tribune.

But because Cyphers returned a phone call I had left earlier in the day, I thought I would throw in some tidbits here.

Cyphers said the trip solidified in his mind that Utah and Salt Lake City wasn't some backwater development without caring people and things to do, even for a teenager from Wichita, Kan.

"I just loved everything about it," he said. "It's a big sports town. I really didn't know that. That was impressive."

Cyphers watched Utah whip UCLA in football, but he said prior to that he talked to former Ute Keith Van Horn for an extended period of time. Van Horn recruited Cyphers "pretty hard," the three-star recruit (rivals.com) said.

The prospect said he also got to meet fellow midwestern Jerry Sloan, the Utah Jazz coach.

Asked why he chose Utah after getting scholarship offers from Illinois and Michigan of the Big Ten, Cyphers said it came down to feeling comfortable and fitting in.

"Usually, those big schools, they bring in great players every year," he said. "I might not play at Michigan or Illinois until I am a junior or so. I want to go somewhere where I can play right away."

We will have the news of a fairly major Utah prep commitment in the printed edition of The Salt Lake Tribune tomorrow (Saturday), but before then some interesting news out of Lone Peak High has caught our attention.

Justin Hamilton, the 6-foot-10 center from Lone Peak who counts Weber State among the schools that have submitted written scholarship offers to the late-blooming star, will take an official recruiting visit to Iowa State this weekend.

Hamilton has yet to receive an offer from the Cyclones, but the fact that they are dropping some serious cash to have him visit Ames (they are hosting archrival Iowa in a football game) this week must mean they like Hamilton.

The senior played on Lone Peak's junior varsity last year, and hardly got a meaningful minute of varsity time. However, he had a sensational spring and summer on the club and super-league circuit.

Hamilton has also visited Weber State, Pepperdine and St. Mary's and has offers from those schools, along with UC Davis. Iowa State is the biggest program yet to show interest; Utah liked him until it signed a center out of Michigan and BYU likes him but doesn't believe it will have enough scholarships for big men and has more pressing needs at other positions.

Hamilton is an excellent student and a decent rebounder and defender, scouts say, but lacks offensive skills.

-----

Timo is Real Deal

I was a guest on Patrick Kinahan and David James' radio show this morning on KFAN and James asked about Adam Timo, a junior at Snow Canyon High who has verbally committed to play football for BYU. I haven't seen Timo play since last year's state 3-A semifinals at Rice-Eccles Stadium, when he was just a sophomore, so I did some checking today about the running back.

Folks in the know say the kid is the real deal.

Timo, 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds, rushed for 156 yards on just 14 carries in Snow Canyon's 59-3 win over one of the bigger schools in Nevada last week, El Dorado. Timo scored six touchdowns and probably could have rushed for more than 200 yards and scored more, but sat the bench for most of the second half.

He has scored 13 touchdowns in the first four games and has rushed for 449 yards on just 62 carries, a 7.2 average, against some pretty good competition.

Snow Canyon is idle tonight because its game against Carbon was canceled.

Two other running back-types who will join the Cougars next year, Timpview's Michael Alisa and West's Garrett Nicholson, are also having fine seasons, although both are projected to play defense for BYU.

Alisa ran for touchdowns of 17 and 50 yards in Timpview's 49-0 win over Payson, and Nicholson had a 16-yard TD run in West's 28-0 win over Granger last week.

   Remember Jacob Bower?

    He's the quarterback who transferred away from Brigham Young last winter and landed at Bakersfield Community College in California when it became apparent he would be buried on the depth chart behind Max Hall and, perhaps, incoming JUCO transfer Cade Cooper of Snow College.

    Well, after only two games, Bower is suddenly one of the hottest quarterback prospects in the junior college ranks. The former Meridian, Idaho, standout has schools such as Wisconsin, Oregon, California, LSU and Kansas State beating a path to the California desert to watch him play.

    Bower, who was recruited to BYU by then-head coach Gary Crowton, redshirted last year in Provo after a two-year LDS Church mission to Wisconsin, so he is considered a freshman at Bakersfield.

    That means he will have three years to play three seasons when he goes back to Division I football next year.

    Bakersfield is ranked No. 1 in the country among JUCO programs by J.C. Gridwire (the service that includes California schools in its rankings), and Bower is considered by many the top JUCO quarterback prospect in the country.

    Last week, Bower completed 21 of 37 passes for 335 yards and four touchdowns in a 33-31 win over then-No. 1 El Camino Community College. He threw the game-winning touchdown pass with no time remaining, and now has 775 passing yards and seven touchdowns in two games.

    Bower didn't rule out returning to BYU in a talk with the Web site jcfootball.com, but that scenario appears highly unlikely. Also, BYU has six quarterbacks on its roster now, and it is unlikely coaches would welcome Bower back although he would be a year behind Hall, a sophomore, in eligibility and would have more collegiate playing experience than any of the other five QBs.

    "I chose [BYU] because of my relationship with coach Crowton and I really liked how he used his quarterbacks as athletes," Bower told the site. "I went on my LDS mission, though, and when I came back he had been let go and they had a whole new staff in there.

    "Things just didn't work out there because they had brought in their own quarterback recruits so when I was there it just didn't fit. My dad played there so I gave it a chance, but it just wasn't a good fit for me so I left."

    Bower said he took a trip to Wisconsin in June and puts the Badgers at the top of his favorites list, along with LSU and Boise State, which is close to his hometown.

    Cal could be an option because Bower's roommate when he was in Provo is the brother of current Cal quarterback Nate Longshore. Also, one of Cal's backups, Kyle Reed, recently announced he is transferring to San Jose State, which could leave the Bears thin at the position, especially if Longshore leaves early for the NFL. That move is considered unlikely, however.

    Cougar Prospect Sets Visit

    Heavily recruited offensive lineman Hamani Stevens of Hemet, Calif., will take his official visit to BYU on Jan. 11, several California newspapers reported. Hamani, whom scout.com lists as a three-star recruit, said he will go to Oregon on Dec. 1 and is also trying to set up a trip to Washington. He said he would like to take all five of his NCAA allotted visits before deciding on a school.

    Stevens, 6-foot-3, 290, had 48 tackles and five sacks his junior year. His older brother Tevita, committed to UTEP and is now on an LDS Church mission in New York.

    Hamani Stevens said he also has offers from Arizona State, Oregon State, UCLA, Colorado State and Arizona.

High school basketball star Josh Sharp is as puzzled by it as anyone else.

The University of Utah has a lot of interest in the 6-foot-7 forward from Lone Peak High, although the Utes have not officially offered Sharp a scholarship.

The Utes have invited Sharp to make an official campus visit on Sept. 29th, the same day the Utah football team will play host to Utah State.

The puzzling thing for Sharp is that no other college program, outside of Weber State, has shown any interest in him at all.

"It is like nobody else has ever heard of me," he said. "Weber has been recruiting me, but hasn't offered, either. Maybe everyone is waiting to see how I do this season."

What does Utah see in Sharp, who could be one of five players on Lone Peak's roster this season (three seniors, two juniors) who eventually earns a Division I scholarship?

A source close to the Ute staff told The Recruiting Trail that Sharp has excellent basketball instincts and reminds them of former Utah star Alex Jensen, now an assistant coach on Rick Majerus' staff at St. Louis.

One of the reasons Utah hasn't offered a scholarship yet is because it is waiting on the recruit it really, really wants, shooting guard Jordan Cyphers of Wichita, Kan.

Cyphers makes his official visit on Saturday, along with the three recruits who have already committed to Utah: Brighton's Jace Tavita, Jason Washburn of Michigan and Chris Hines of Texas.

The source said even if the Utes do land Cyphers, they might continue to go after Sharp with the thought that more scholarships will free up if some players don't qualify academically, quit the team or declare early for the NBA Draft.

Sharp said that if Utah does offer, he would "most likely" accept, yeah."

One theory out there, not confirmed by anyone from Utah, is that the Utes might see Sharp as a way of getting the best player in the state next year, Lone Peak junior Tyler Haws.

The 6-foot-4 shooting guard, the thinking goes, might be more likely to attend Utah if one of his former teammates is already there.

Like I said, it's just a theory. But from what I've heard (and seen), Haws is that good.

   High school basketball star Josh Sharp is as puzzled by it as anyone else.

    The University of Utah has a lot of interest in the 6-foot-7 forward from Lone Peak High, although the Utes have not officially offered Sharp a scholarship.

    The Utes have invited Sharp to make an official campus visit on Sept. 29th, the same day the Utah football team will play host to Utah State.

    The puzzling thing for Sharp is that no other college program, outside of Weber State, has shown any interest in him at all.

    "It is like nobody else has ever heard of me," he said. "Weber has been recruiting me, but hasn't offered, either. Maybe everyone is waiting to see how I do this season."

    What does Utah see in Sharp, who could be one of five players on Lone Peak's roster this season (three seniors, two juniors) who eventually earns a Division I scholarship?

    A source close to the Ute staff told The Recruiting Trail that Sharp has excellent basketball instincts and reminds them of former Utah star Alex Jensen, now an assistant coach on Rick Majerus' staff at St. Louis.

    One of the reasons Utah hasn't offered a scholarship yet is because it is waiting on the recruit it really, really wants, shooting guard Jordan Cyphers of Wichita, Kan.

    Cyphers makes his official visit on Saturday, along with the three recruits who have already committed to Utah: Brighton's Jace Tavita, Jason Washburn of Michigan and Chris Hines of Texas.

    The source said even if the Utes do land Cyphers, they might continue to go after Sharp with the thought that more scholarships will free up if some players don't qualify academically, quit the team or declare early for the NBA Draft.

    Sharp said that if Utah does offer, he would "most likely" accept, yeah."

    One theory out there, not confirmed by anyone from Utah, is that the Utes might see Sharp as a way of getting the best player in the state next year, Lone Peak junior Tyler Haws.

    The 6-foot-4 shooting guard, the thinking goes, might be more likely to attend Utah if one of his former teammates is already there.

    Like I said, it's just a theory. But from what I've heard (and seen), Haws is that good.

   Help could be on the way for the University of Utah's rushing attack -- next year. One of the more heavily recruited running backs in Texas, Shane Turner of Cypress Falls High in Houston, said earlier this week that he favors Utah. Turner, who rushed for more than 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns his junior season, told Texas Prep Insider that he won't commit until his senior season has concluded, but that if he had to choose right now, it would be the Utes.
"I have offers from Utah, Arizona and New Mexico State," he said. "If I had to name a favorite, it would be Utah. I like their team, especially their offense, because it is similar to ours."
Turner said he is also receiving interest from Missouri, Auburn, Boston College, Fresno State and Northwestern. In Cypress Falls' first game, Turner rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns and caught four passes for 67 yards and a touchdown against one of the top defenses in Texas, Spring Westfield. The 5-foot-10, 165-pound prospect said he plans to make some official visits when the season ends. He said one of the issues that will affect his decision is where teams plan on using him.
"A lot of schools want me to play defensive back, but I'd like to play running back," he said.


    Another Metro Player Commits

    Girls from the club basketball team known as Salt Lake Metro continue to make their college decisions known. Most recently, Taylor Altenburg, a 6-foot wing player from Elko High in Nevada, orally committed to sign with New Mexico State. Altenburg played the past two years on a Salt Lake Metro team that now has six Division I recruits on its roster. Box Elder's Mandy Munns chose Utah, Skyline's Dani Peterson and Timpview's Alexis Kaufusi chose BYU, Beaver's Morgan Wood and Canyon View's Cassie Platt chose Southern Utah. Altenburg is ranked as one of the top wings in the Intermountain West by the Intermountain Hoops Scouting Service, which notes that "Altenburg is an extremely good shooter, She can knock down the three or put it on the floor." She averaged 17.2 points and 8.7 rebounds last year for Elko High and is a three-year starter.

A Recruiting Trail reader who apparently follows college football recruiting quite closely took issue with a blog item last week in which University of Utah recruiting coordinator Dave Schramm said Utah is ultra-cautious about recruiting.
Utah is “probably one of the most cautious programs in the country when it comes to making early offers, and doing that whole thing,” Schramm said, noting that Utah had made far fewer early offers than, say, programs such as BYU.
Why then, the reader wondered, is the recruiting Web site scout.com reporting that Utah has made at least 41 offers? That does not include the offers to the nine players that have reportedly given oral commitments to the Utes.
Either the site has its facts wrong, or Schramm is way off target. BYU, according to the site, has made only 14 offers to players who have not yet committed. The Cougars have 19 committments, at last count.
The guess here is that the truth about the Utes is somewhere inbetween. Utah has probably issued offers to more players than Schramm is letting on. But 41 by mid-September? That number might be a little high.
In scout.com's defense, it is extremely difficult, almost impossible, to know if a young man is telling the truth when he says
he received an offer from a particular school. Why? Because coaches are not allowed, by NCAA rules, to discuss recruits until they have signed.
Hence, Schramm (or any other coach), is not supposed to refute or confirm a claim made by a prep prospect -- at least not on the record, anyway.
Interestingly, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall was asked on his coach’s show Sunday night on KSL TV about BYU’s emphasis on giving out so many early offers. Thank goodness for TiVo. Here’s his reply:
“The reasons are pretty simple. We have a very clear idea of what we are after. I think the type of student-athlete we are looking for is different than any other in the country regarding a foundation of faith and strong academics as well as being a Division I football player.
And when we do find them, we act, and we don’t intend to wait around for others to choose first, or to offer first, which I think shows a different level of competency, professionalism and efficiency. So, our stance, quite frankly, is to do it best and first, and I think that’s what we are doing.”

Utes Lose Battle for Battle
One of the recruits who has said he received an offer from Utah, wide receiver Allante Battle of Desert Vista High in Phoenix, orally committed to Arizona State over the weekend. Battle said he was also offered by Washington State, Washington, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Nevada, San Diego State, Arizona, Colorado State and Oregon State.
Sounds like a recruit the Utes really could have used.
However, Battle, who scored two second-half touchdowns on Friday to help his team beat Mesa 29-15, said his favorite for months now has been Arizona State. He said the desire to be able to play close to home was a big factor in his decision, and his father is a former ASU linebacker, Greg Battle.
Allante Battle caught 18 passes for 496 yards and four touchdowns last year as a junior and rushed for 313 yards and five TDs.

Cougars Still Like Castillo
After his first two games, interest is picking up for Greg Castillo, a defensive back and receiver at St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia. Castillo, whose father is on the Philadelphia Eagles coaching staff under head coach Andy Reid, a former BYU assistant, was offered early by BYU on the recommendation of Reid. Castillo has also been offered by Ohio, Delaware, Villanova and Bowling Green. The 5-foot-10 athlete with explosive speed told scout.com that he has received interest of late from Purdue, Iowa, Boston College, Rutgers and Northwestern.

After a recent University of Utah football scrimmage, just before the Utes left for Oregon State, running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Dave Schramm talked about how recruiting techniques vary from program to program, and sort of laid out Utah's plans -- without getting into specifics -- to The Recruiting Trail.

Chiefly, Schramm said Utah is one of the most conservative programs in the country when it comes to football recruiting.

"We are very cautious," he said. "Probably one of the most cautious programs in the country when it comes to making early offers, and doing that whole thing, because you have to be sure you know what you are getting."

Schramm said that with the NCAA's APR rules, scholarships now are more valuable than ever before.

"Because if you give a guy a scholarship, and he's not with your program in two years, for whatever reason, you're in trouble with your APR number," he said. "So you better be dang sure that the guy you are bringing in is going to stick around and is going to be that guy you think he is."

Apparently, then, the Utes really like Dominique Austin, a defensive end from Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, Calif.

The Utes offered Austin, a 6-foot-3, 250-pound senior, a scholarship in June and are apparently still after the all-league performer.

Austin recently told scout.com that he received an offer from San Jose State, and now has invitations from the Spartans, Utah, Colorado State, Arizona, Nevada, San Diego State and North Carolina A&T. Arizona was the first to offer, he said, followed by Utah and CSU. Austin made 26 tackles last year and was first-team all-Serra League.

Utah has nine known commitments from the class of 2008, a number that Schramm said "sounds about right."

------

Michigan On the Mind

This blog is primarily about Utah recruits and the recruiting efforts of the in-state schools, but pardon me a second as I work in this little recruiting tidbit.

My best friend from my high school days, Craig Frantz, who now lives in Spokane, Wash., is a proud uncle this week. Craig's nephew, Kevin Vangheluwe, a pitcher at St. Clair Shores Lake Shore High School in Michigan, just committed to play baseball for Michigan.

Vangheluwe was first-team all-Michigan as a junior and reportedly hits 91 mph with his fastball on the radar gun. Michigan won the Big Ten last year and took its regional before falling to eventual champion Oregon State in a super regional. I'm sure his uncle will keep us posted on his progress with the Wolverines.

Readers of The Recruiting Trail and The Salt Lake Tribune's sports section the past month have probably noticed an increased effort to keep tabs on women's college basketball recruiting.

Girls basketball talent in Utah is getting better each year, as evidenced by the amount of girls earning college scholarships.

The club team Salt Lake Metro Girls has been getting a lot of love for its five Division I recruits from the Class of 2008 -- Skyline's Dani Peterson (BYU), Box Elder's Mandy Munds (Utah), Timpview's Alexis Kaufusi (BYU), Beaver's Morgan Wood (SUU) and Canyon View's Cassie Platt (SUU).

Today, we throw a little attention to another club program, Utah Sky. Coach Kara Harrison's club is quite a bit smaller than Metro and perhaps a bit more selective (she says), but still has some highly recruited players who are just starting their season years.

Like Metro, the Utah Sky draws players from up and down the Wasatch Front and occasionally from as far away as southern Utah and eastern Nevada.

The club has four seniors, and at least three could land Division I scholarships.

Chiefly, Spanish Fork's Jenna Johnson, a 5-foot-9 shooting guard, has committed to Utah Valley State College. Johnson, the leading scorer in 5-A girls basketball last year, tore her ACL in a tournament at Oregon City, Ore., last spring and missed a lot of the summer basketball season.

Whether she will play for the Dons this year remains to be seen, Harrison said, because an injury like the one she suffered sometimes takes more than a year of recovery time.

Bingham's Erika Newbold, a 6-1 post player, is also seeing some recruiting attention. Newbold has several offers from out-of-state schools, but is trying to decide between Utah State and UVSC, Harrison said.

"She's got a great basketball body, but she's also kind of a homebody," Harrison said.

Park City's Lauren Deane, a 6-footer, has a different philosophy. She's got some in-state offers, but would prefer to go out of state.

But while Newbold and Johnson will likely sign when the early signing period begins in November, Harrison said Deane will probably wait until next spring to put her name on the dotted line.

Locally, Weber State has shown the most interest in Deane. She's the sister of former Ute Daniel Deane, who is transferring to Oregon State.

Utah Sky's fourth senior is Avi Burgess, from Riverton. She started playing basketball later than most college prospects and will probably have to go the junior college route if she wants to play after high school, Harrison said.

Evan Still Soaring

Occasionally, The Trail will provide updates on former Utah high school stars who are flourishing at the college level -- sort of a "Where are they Now" segment. The emphasis will be on athletes at out-of-state colleges who don't get covered in the newspaper's reports on the in-state schools.

If you know of any, send an e-mail to drew@sltrib.com and we will give them a mention or two in this space.

Lone Peak's Christina Evans, for instance, is off to a fabulous start at Hartwick College in New York, where she plays volleyball and water polo.

Evans was recently named the Empire 8 Conference's Rookie of the Week for volleyball after she compiled 46 kills, 76 digs and 15 service aces in her first four college matches.

Evans was twice named Lone Peak's Female Athlete of the Year.

Kevin Prince, a standout prep quarterback from California who counts scholarship offers from Utah and BYU among his eight invitations from Division I schools, will miss the rest of his senior season after an MRI revealed a torn ACL on his knee Tuesday.
How the injury affects the chances of BYU and Utah to land the blue-chip recruit remains to be seen. Prince, who plays for Crespi High in Encino, was injured Friday in 20-6 win over Birmingham. He is scheduled to have surgery in three weeks.
As readers of this blog know, Prince recently received a scholarship offer from UCLA and has said his two favorites are UCLA and Washington. He plans on going on an LDS Church mission a few months after graduating from high school next spring. Along with UCLA, Washington, Utah and BYU, schools such as Boise State, Nevada and San Diego State have offered Prince scholarships. He threw for 1,422 yards and 12 touchdowns his junior season, which was also cut short by injury. He suffered a fractured collarbone in the season finale.

Cottonwood Lineman Gets Offers
Sept. 1 marked the first day that college programs could begin extending official written offers to high school juniors, and
Cottonwood lineman John Martinez’s mailbox is already filling up. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound player already had oral offers from BYU and Utah. Tuesday, he received written offers via letters from Oklahoma and Kansas State, according to his father, Steve Martinez. More invitations are expected in the coming days.

Former Penn State Recruit Eyes Cougs
Simoni Lawrence, a defensive back from Pennsylvania who originally committed to Penn State but did not qualify academically and is now at a junior college, was part of the crowd of 64,000-plus at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday that watched BYU throttle Arizona 20-7. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder who now plays for Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania, told the Web site scout.com that he loved his trip to BYU.
“I thought it would be strict and not really fun and all that, but I had a great time,” he said.
Lawrence told the site that his top three schools now are Minnesota, Miama and BYU. He visits Minnesota on Sept. 22 and is still trying to schedule a trip to Miami. As a senior at Upper Darby High School, Lawrence ran for 2,216 yards and 21 touchdowns.
He also has offers from Temple, Utah, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. Last season he was the defensive player of the year in his junior college conference.

Bracken Funk's birthday is next week, and a couple of the guests at one of his parties on Sept. 13 could be just a little bit older than he is.

Funk, who turns 18, is a 6-foot-8 senior basketball player at Lone Peak High who sort of fell off the charts of college basketball recruiters this summer. He blew out the ACL in his right knee in June, and missed a lot of the summer all-star season.

Still, the son of former Utah State standout Randy Funk will receive an in-house visit on his birthday next week from a couple of familiar faces: Steve Cleveland and Jeff Reinert.

Cleveland, the former head coach at BYU, is now the head coach at Fresno State, and Reinert, former head coach at Utah Valley State College, is one of his assistants.

"It's possible Fresno State will offer [a scholarship] when they visit," Bracken Funk said. "Then again, maybe they won't."

Funk said he has no other offers, although Weber State has shown some interest.

"My grandpa [who lives in Logan] says Utah State is looking at me," Funk said. "And my dad has talked to a few schools, but [interest] has been kind of slow."

Obviously, the fact that Funk injured his knee has recruiters a bit gun shy.

Lone Peak coach Quincy Lewis said interest was high before the injury, but now schools may be waiting to see how Funk recovers. Funk said he can only lift weights and shoot jump shots now, but expects to return to action by the middle of November.

He injured the knee on June 9 while demonstrating a jumping drill at Lone Peak’s basketball camp.

He played in one Las Vegas tournament, but missed a tournament at USU and another at North Carolina in which Lone Peak surprised everyone by taking second place.

Funk, who plays the power forward position, said he is looking forward to the visit from the Fresno State coaches.

"I will know a lot more about [his future] after that," he said.

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.