If Luke Matthews is as skilled on the football field as he is at describing why he made Utah his college football choice, the Utes will have another dandy on their hands.

Matthews, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound athlete from Desert Vista High in the Phoenix, Ariz., area, orally committed to Utah earlier this week.

"It's my kind of place," he told The Recruiting Trail. "I found my comfort zone there."

The Utes beat the Pac-10's Stanford for Matthews, who carries a 3.7 grade point average. He visited Stanford on Sept. 21, then visited Salt Lake City a few weeks ago when the Utes were playing San Diego State.

"I talked about it with my parents for a long, long time and just decided that Utah was the best choice," he said. "I couldn't go wrong, either way."

Also, Utah was the lone school that recruited him primarily as a receiver, Matthews said.

"I just like offense better. What can I say?" he said.

He has caught 13 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns this season for his 5-4 team, and has carried the ball 42 times for 279 yards and six TDs.

The senior also had scholarship offers from seven other Division I schools, he said.

   Perhaps because the BYU Cougars haven't played a football game against a Division I opponent in more than a month, there have been more opportunities than normal to talk to coach Bronco Mendenhall and others about the program's recruiting efforts.

    Seven Cougar coaches hit the recruiting trail last weekend after BYU's game against San Diego State was postponed, but Mendenhall said it was during a "no-contact" period as prescribed by the NCAA so not much came out of the trips.

    "Other than verifying evaluations and making sure that players that we have offered are performing well and finding new players that we might not have known about, very little came out of it," Mendenhall said.

    The coach said BYU has just three scholarships available, assuming all 19 of the commitments it currently has remain intact. Other BYU coaches have told The Recruiting Trail that defensive linemen are the priority right now, but Mendenhall said he is seeking "the best available players remaining," regardless of position.

    "We have already over-offered the number of slots we have left, which is kind of common practice for many programs," he said. "All the young men that we have offered are being recruited elsewhere" so BYU is fairly certain it won't get them all and be put in a scholarship crunch.

    BYU's 19 known commitments are listed below.

    Several recruiting Web sites list 12 additional players who have offers from BYU on the table. However, Mendenhall said Monday "we have six or seven offers out there still."

    A source familiar with all aspects of BYU's recruiting said he is certain of only four players who have offers right now.

    Those four are Hamani Stevens, a center from Hemet, Calif.; Sausan Shakerin, a running back from Alta High in Sandy, Utah; David Kruger, a defensive end from Timpanogos High in Orem, Utah, and O'Neill Chambers, a wide receiver from Harmony High in Florida.

    The Cougars think they have a 50-50 chance to get Kruger, whose brother, Paul, is starting as a freshman on Utah's defensive line. They like their chances less of getting Stevens, who is listed as a four-star recruit (of a possible five) by scout.com.

    Ranked as the No. 5 center in the country, Stevens has visited Colorado and Arizona State and is scheduled to visit Michigan State this weekend. He has trips scheduled to Oregon on Dec. 1 and BYU on Jan. 9.

    Chambers, who also has offers from Maryland, Florida, Purdue, South Carolina and others, continues to list BYU as one of his favorites because his high school coach, Tyler Anderson, played for the Cougars. However, he has said he wants to go to college as a package deal with his teammate, Kedron Paul, and BYU is not offering Paul a scholarship.

    The Cougars acknowledge that their hope of landing Shakerin is a long shot because he is not LDS and his cousin, Bo Nagahi, played for Utah. Their ace in the hole with Shakerin, they hope, is that they have promised him he can play running back. Several schools are recruiting him to play defense.

    "We have three remaining spots. Any of those that [commit], we would certainly take them. If none do, then we would continue to look," Mendenhall said. "So, the next little while is not only a reassessing and reaffirming our evaluations to this point, but if we happen to see others we will [make offers] to them, too."

    The source said BYU did offer Greg Castillo, a cornerback from Philadelphia whose father is on coach Andy Reid's staff with the Eagles, at one time. However, that offer came with a deadline to commit, which Castillo didn't do, so now it is off the table.

    Others who aren't on BYU's recruiting board, but who have told Web sites and the like that they have been offered, include Oxnard, Calif., fullback Ina Liaina; Crespi, Calif., quarterback Kevin Prince; Kahuku, Haw., slotback Paipai Falemalu; Union City, Calif., cornerback Rashad Evans' Moreno Valley, Calif., wide receiver William Jenkins and Snow Junior College defensive tackle David Tufuga.

    Mendenhall said it is still possible that a player could catch their eye between now and the end of the high school season. The source said some of the players "on the bubble" who may get scholarships offers late include Jordan receiver Cody Raymond, Bingham linebacker Iona Pritchard, Alta linebacker Jefferson Court and Alta lineman Derek Keller.

    "The spots we have [remaining] are available to those who are ready to commit to take them," Mendenhall said. "So if we happen to find another player out there, that we feel like we've missed, and if that player is ready, we would certainly honor his commitment if he chose to come. We think we have given the other players plenty of time."

    BYU Football Commitments -- Class of 2008

    Player High School/Hometown Position
Austin Holt Bingham/South Jordan Tight end
Justin Sorensen Bingham/South Jordan Kicker
Garrett Nicholson West/Salt Lake City Running back/Defensive back
Kevan Bills Timpview/Provo Defensive end
Michael Alisa Timpview/Provo Linebacker
Jake Murphy American Fork Wide Receiver
Cameron Comer Springville Defensive back
Daniel Sorensen Colton, Calif. Defensive back
Shiloah Te'o Kahuku/Laie, Haw. Defensive back
Brock Stringham Highlands Ranch, Colo. Offensive lineman
Seta Pohahau Aragon, Calif. Running back
Masi Tuitama Pacifica, Calif. Linebacker
Atem Bol Bell H.S., Texas Wide receiver
Michael Yeck Keller H.S., Texas Offensive lineman
Jerry Bruner Evergreen, Wash. Running back
Spencer Hadley Connell, Wash. Linebacker
Player Junior College Position
Jessie Taufi Long Beach CC Offensive line
Tolu Moala El Camino CC Linebacker
Tevita Hola Snow Junior College Defensive line

Another good example of why college coaches push for early commitments when they identify high school talent is Preson Davis, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound receiver/defensive back from Shadow Ridge High in Las Vegas.

The University of Utah had to like its chances of getting the playmaker a few weeks ago, because only it and Idaho had offered a scholarship to Davis. Seemingly, Utah should be able to beat WAC cellar-dweller Idaho (along with Utah State) for a recruit from Vegas, shouldn't it?

However, Davis told scout.com over the weekend that Oregon State is now in the picture, after OSU coaches scouted his game last weekend.

"They've picked up a lot [of ground]," Davis said. "I feel like I can play there."

Davis told the Web site he still hears from Utah a lot, and that Ute assistant Jay Hill has been Utah's point man in his recruitment.

He has a visit to Utah scheduled on Dec. 1 and to Idaho on Dec. 7.

He said AIr Force, Nevada, Illinois and Colorado have shown interest, but no offers.

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Utah has also offered a scholarship to linebacker Marcus McGraw, a standout at Arlington (Texas) High. McGraw took an official visit to Washington State over the weekend and watched the Cougars demolish UCLA about the same way the Utes did back in September.

"It went great," he told dawgman.com. "I liked it a lot. It was a great atmosphere and the game was a lot of fun. It's like the whole town up there is built around the whole college."

Tulsa, Buffalo and UNLV have also offered, McGraw said, along with WSU and the Utes.

In case you missed the article that was in this morning's printed version of The Salt Lake Tribune, Skyline guard Jenteal Jackson announced Thursday that she has orally committed to play college basketball for coach Jeff Judkins' program at BYU.

It's a pretty significant recruiting coup for the Cougars, considering that the University of Utah also offered Jackson a scholarship. Jackson is a four-year starter for the Eagles and averaged 11 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals a game last year in leading Skyline to a 22-2 record.

While talking to Jackson Thursday, I was impressed at how much thought and research she put into the decision. She brought up issues, some fairly personal, that most recruits don't always consider. I could tell that she agonized over the choice for months.

Skyline coach Deb Bennett told me that Jackson is one of the most grounded, mature individuals she has ever coached and will succeed at any school in the country.

Jackson said it was a very difficult decision because her family has close ties to the University of Utah and because her cousin, Marc Jackson, enjoyed a very successful basketball career at the U.

Also, Jenteal Jackson is not a member of the LDS Church, BYU's sponsoring institution. It is not often that BYU wins a recruiting battle with Utah for a non-LDS recruit from Utah. Jackson said adhering to BYU's honor code and adjusting to Provo won't be a big deal "because I pretty much live that kind of lifestyle, anyway."

It probably didn't hurt BYU that Jackson's Skyline teammate, Dani Peterson, has already committed to the Cougars, and her teammate from 2006, Jaime Judkins, is also on the team. But there's no discounting the recruiting prowess of Jeff Judkins.

When he was an assistant men's coach at Utah, Judkins was able to lure several LDS athletes to Utah that were seemingly destined to go to BYU, guys such as Viewmont's Alex Jensen, South Summit's Craig Rydalch and Britton and Jeff Johnsen of Murray.

Looks like he's got the same magic going at BYU.

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On Friday the Salt Lake Community College's women's basketball program played host to many of the top juco teams around the West in its Basketball Jamboree.

Saturday, the men get their turn at the Lifetime Activities Center

Games begin at 9 a.m. and conclude around 4 p.m.

The Bruins are ranked No. 15 in the first NJCAA poll of the season, and sophomore shooting guard Brian Green, from Davis High, has been named a preseason All-American by the NJCAA.

A lot of Division I college recruiters are expected to attend. Here's a list of the other schools that will compete in Saturday's scrimmages:

Western Nebraska, Snow College, College of Eastern Utah, Colorado Northwestern, Northwest College, Laramie County Community College, Treasure Valley Community College, Western Wyoming.

Quick question: Which high school sport in Utah will produce the most Division I recruits this year?

Quick answer: Girls soccer.

It is not even close.

Dozens of Utahns from the class of 2008 who recently wrapped up their senior seasons will sign with top college programs -- both in-state and out-of-state -- in February. Most have already made oral commitments to their chosen schools, much like football players have done.

And unlike sports such as girls basketball and volleyball, girls soccer has just one signing period -- in February.

With the help of local soccer afficionado Michael Roth of Springville and several high school coaches, we've assembled a list here of where some of the state's top seniors are heading. If you know of any others, shoot us an e-mail (drew@sltrib.com) and we will get them listed in a subsequent post.

* Bountiful's Chelsea Forbes, Orem's Anne Shallenberger, Davis' Roxy Tebbs, Timpview's Kelly Woodfield and East's Lauren Porter have committed to Utah.

* Brighton's McKinzie Olson, Timpanogos' Dana Oldroyd and Mountain View's Auna Janis have committed to BYU.

* Lone Peak's Shantel Flanary, Bountiful's Molli Merrill and Provo's Chandra Salmon have committed to Utah State.

* Davis' Kacey Williams, Alta's Natalie Cude and Highland's Britt Edman have committed to BYU-Hawaii.

* Jordan's Kristen Anderson, Bountiful's Ari Wood and Orem's Aly Tucker have committed to Weber State.

* Timpanogos' Noelle Sanders, Timpview's Kelsey Kimball, Pleasant Grove's Camille Broderick, Orem's Kaitlyn Thomas, Jaime Lyons and Brianne Larsen and Davis' Christy Brian and Collette Simmons have commited to Utah Valley State College.

* Brighton's Mariah Stockman has committed to Pepperdine.

* Murray's Ellen Larsen has committed to Idaho State.

* Jordan's Hailey Hansen and Bountiful's Kortney Murdock have committed to Dixie State College.

The hot topic in college football recruiting these days is early commitments, as prep prospects seemingly make their college choices earlier and earlier each passing year.

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel even suggested in a Big 12 conference call earlier this week that the early commitment trend is creating more parity in college football, along with the 85-scholarship limit and spread offenses.

Here's what the coach said.

"Early recruiting commitments, might, in some respects, help some programs. And I think it can hurt some programs.

"If you don't evaluate [players] right and you get early commitments, then you're in trouble -- I don't care if you're the No. 1 team in the nation or the 50th team in the nation. I don't know if evaluation is as good as it used to be.

"In the old days, we didn't start official visits until January. You could do really great evaluations on kids -- not only on a physical standpoint and an academic standpoint, but as far as the character of the player, the work ethic and all those things you want."

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Salt Lake Community College's womens basketball program will host a basketball jamboree on Friday at the Lifetime Activities Center. A lot of Division I coaches will be on hand to watch the junior college players.

Here's the schedule, with the court I game listed first:

9 a.m. -- SLCC vs. Snow, College of Eastern Utah vs. Colorado Northwest Community College

10 a.m. -- College of Southern Idaho vs. Casper, CNCC vs. Snow

11 a.m. -- SLCC vs. Casper, Western Wyoming College vs. CEU

12 p.m. -- CSI vs. Snow, WWC vs. CNCC

1 p.m. -- SLCC vs. CSI, CEU vs. Casper

2 p.m. -- SLCC vs. WWC, Snow vs. Casper

3 p.m. -- CNCC vs. CSI

Just got back from a spirited assembly at Bingham High in South Jordan, where kicker Justin Sorensen and tight end Austin Holt received jerseys and were honored for being selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio next January.

"I got a kick out of it," Sorensen said.

Me too.

Aside from the parking ticket I received (which Bingham administrators quickly agreed to take care of), it was a fun deal, as the teammates received a standing ovation from the student body and other Miners teams -- golf, cross country, football -- were honored for winning region titles.

They presented their trophies to Bingham's student body president, a Polynesian female. That's pretty cool.

Cottonwood linebacker Lynn Katoa was honored Tuesday, meaning three of the 84 invitees to this years game are from Utah. It's just the second time that two players from the same school have been selected for the game, now in its eighth year.

Katoa has yet to commit to a college program, but on Wednesday, Holt and Sorensen both re-affirmed their commitments to BYU.

"Still going to BYU, yes sir," said Sorensen, who kicked a state-record 62-yard field goal earlier this season. "That's my favorite school. That's where I have always wanted to go. I plan on sticking with that."

Holt, the No. 2 tight end in the country according to several recruiting Web sites, said although he has made it clear that he still plans on signing with BYU in February, three other schools continue to call him on a weekly basis.

"UCLA, Florida and Stanford are the three schools that are [still calling]," he said. "They just talk to me. It's more, ‘How are you doing in school? How did you do in your game?' type of thing. Just personal basis stuff. They keep track of me. I'm OK with it."

The thing that stuck in my mind as I talked to both athletes was their humility at receiving an honor that only a few other Utahns -- Highland's Haloti Ngata, Cottonwood's Simi Fili and Katoa and Hunter's Ray Feinga -- have attained.

"It was a miracle for this to happen," Sorensen said. "I didn't think it was possible."

"I'm blessed," said Holt. "My parents and my football coaches have helped me out a lot so I could achieve this."

How does Utah high school football stack up nationally? That's a question I am often asked, after spending 12 years as the Tribune's prep football writer.

Although we are not Texas or Florida, we are a little underrated, I often say.

A few years ago, a study found that Utah produced more Division I football players, per capita, than any state in the country. Of course, having three Division I schools and two Division I-AA schools in our boundaries contributes to that.

More evidence is that smaller St. George schools routinely pound Las Vegas schools in football matchups, and programs such as Jordan, Bingham, Alta, Skyline, Fremont, Cottonwood and Northridge have posted big wins over out-of-state programs in recent years.

I bring up the topic because Utah prep football reached another milestone today.

A record three Utah preps have been selected to play in the 8th Annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, on Jan. 5, 2008.

Cottonwood linebacker Lynn Katoa, Bingham tight end Austin Holt and Bingham kicker Justin Sorensen will play for the West squad in the annual game in the Alamodome that draws 75 of the top prep players in the country.

Kickoff is at 11 a.m. MST and the game will be televised nationally by NBC.

Katoa received his game jersey and was honored at an assembly at Cottonwood on Tuesday morning.

Holt and Sorensen will receive the same treatment at an assembly at Bingham on Wednesday at 9 a.m.

The list of Utahns who have played in the game include Highland High's Haloti Ngata (now starting for the Baltimore Ravens), Hunter's Ray Feinga (BYU), Timpview's Matt Reynolds and Cottonwood's Simi Fili.

As regular readers of these posts know, Katoa recently returned from a recruiting visit to Colorado, and has also been to Texas and Oklahoma. He wants to get in a trip to LSU during the Thanksgiving break before making his final decision.

Holt and Sorensen have committed to BYU.

National letter of intent day for college football programs is still four months away, but go to any recruiting Web site around and you will see that a lot of top teams already have 15-20 commitments.

Brigham Young University, for instance, already has 19 oral commitments -- 16 from high school seniors and three from junior college prospects. The Cougars only have four or five spots left.

With just nine known commitments, then, the University of Utah is seemingly behind the pack when it comes to gathering oral pledges, right?

Not really, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham told The Recruiting Trail recently.

First of all, Utah doesn't have the typical 25 scholarships available this year, Whittingham said, because the Utes have a bunch of missionaries returning that will take some of those spots.

"We only have about seven or eight more spots to give," Whittingham said when asked why Utah has a lower number of commitments than most programs. "Plus, we like to be able to have some spots to give as things get closer to signing day. You know, certain players may become available just prior to signing day."

Whittingham said when a program gets its commitments is irrelevant. Signing day is the only day when timing matters.

"My philosophy is, 'We don't want to rush things,' " he said. "We want to get the best players possible, and sometimes that means hanging on to a few scholarships later in the process so you have some room in case you find or come across a kid you really want."

For instance, Whittingham said former All-American defensive back Eric Weddle was a player the Utes discovered later in the process.

The term "soft commitment" has entered into the recruiting lexicon the past few years, and it seems that commitments don't mean as much as they used to. Last year, for example, Florida coach Urban Meyer was able to get several recruits who had committed to other schools to change their minds just before signing day.

"It is the exception, rather than the rule," Whittingham said. "I would say that most commitments stick, but not all of them."

Within Utah, the Utes have commitments from just three players: Bingham lineman Derek Tuimauga, Copper Hills lineman Sealver Siliga and Copper Hills receiver Kendrick Moeai. They have made scholarship offers to four others who remain uncommitted: Alta running back Sausan Shakerin, Timpanogos defensive end David Kruger, Cottonwood linebacker Lynn Katoa and Judge Memorial defensive back Lewis Walker.

But that doesn't mean Utah coaches have put their recruiting emphasis elsewhere, the coach said.

"The state of Utah is getting better each year," he said. "The state is putting out more D-I players each and every year. I can't put a number on what is left, but I know that we make the state of Utah a priority. We try to make sure we don't miss anybody."

The state's most sought after prep football player, Cottonwood linebacker Lynn Katoa, left earlier today for Colorado, where he will take his official campus visit and watch the Buffaloes play host to undefeated Kansas. Katoa has said his favorite four schools are Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and LSU, the program he will visit during the Thanksgiving break.
Meanwhile, BYU and Utah coaches have some interest in a different trip this weekend. Kevin Prince, the highly touted quarterback from Encino (Calif.) Crespi High, is visiting Washington. The Utes and Cougars have both offered scholarships to Prince.
The quarterback tore his ACL in his team's season-opener and is out for the season. Along with Washington, UCLA is one of his top schools.

   Most college football programs take at least one quarterback in each recruiting class, but there's a strong possibility that the University of Utah won't do that this year.

    None of Utah's nine commitments from the class of 2008 are expected to play quarterback (Cole Loftin of Aledo, Texas, plays it now a bit, but will be a receiver for the Utes).

    A source familiar with Utah's recruiting efforts said the Utes are not really targeting a quarterback, thanks somewhat to the emergence of freshman Corbin Louks, who they signed last year out of San Ramon Valley High in Danville, Calif.

    They also signed Griff Robles out of Spanish Fork High, but he plans to serve an LDS Church mission before enrolling at Utah.

    Louks was inserted into the game in Utah's win over UCLA and has been used effectively on various plays since then in backing up senior Tommy Grady and junior Brian Johnson.

    According to rivals.com, one junior college quarterback that Utah has had contact with is Reid Herchenbach, a sophomore at Merced (Calif.) Community College. Herchenbach (6-3, 200) lists Washington State, Oregon State, Arizona State and Boise State as schools he has talked to, along with Utah.

    However, with Johnson, Louks and sophomore Chad Manis all scheduled to return next year, Herchenbach's chances to play for the Utes seem really slim.

    One of the top prep quarterbacks in the West, Kevin Prince of Crespi Carmelite High in Southern California, has also been offered by Utah, but that's a long shot considering he has said his favorites are UCLA and Washington. Utah also has its eye on Union (Roosevelt) quarterback Rhen Richard, but has not offered the national all-around cowboy champion and would likely use Richard as a defensive back if it does decide to take him.

    -----------------------------------

    Luke Matthews, a receiver from Arizona, visited Utah last weekend and was apparently impressed with what he saw, according to rivals.com. The Utes are battling Stanford for the all-around athlete with a strong GPA (3.7).

    Unfortunately for the Utes, a running back from Chino Hills, Calif., Mike Harris, was scheduled to visit for the San Diego State game, but did not end up making the trip. Harris has visited Minnesota and has said he is leaning in that direction..

   QB Talk: Is Pine View's Marinko a D-I Kid?

    The best pure passing quarterback in the state is not listed on either of the two major recruiting Web sites in the country, scout.com or rivals.com.

    He doesn't have a scholarship offer yet, but those may be coming.

    Meet Pine View High's Nick Marinko, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior who enters postseason play next week with perhaps as much to gain, or lose, as any prep player in Utah when it comes to college recruiting.

    Scouts know about the St. George gunslinger. They just want to see what he can do against quality competition in pressure situations.

    "I don't have any [scholarship] offers yet, but I'm not really worried about it too much," Marinko said. "I've received enough letters and e-mails and stuff to know that [schools] know about me."

    Hawaii recently asked for some game film, which is great for Marinko because that school would probably be his first choice. Iowa and Penn have also expressed interest lately. Utah and Utah State have offered tickets to their upcoming games.

    But Marinko waits, knowing it is almost time to deliver.

    His team is 9-0 entering Friday night's regular-season finale against Canyon View, and Marinko has thrown for 2,093 yards, third-highest in the state, and 26 touchdowns. He has completed 124 of 197 passes.

    "My dad pretty much reads the letters and takes the phone calls and stuff," he said. "I don't want to get distracted."

    Marinko's family moved to St. George from Vacaville, Calif., just two weeks before his junior season. In Pine View's first game last year, Marinko was inserted in the fourth quarter, and threw the game-winning touchdown pass.

    He's been the Panthers' starting quarterback ever since. Asked about his strengths, he declined to answer. "You'll have to ask my coaches," he said. "I don't like talking about my self when it comes to [strengths]. It sounds like bragging."

   

    --------------------------------

    No Utah prep quarterbacks have committed to Division I programs yet this season, and none that we know of have received a Division I offer.

    Union High's Rhen Richard (113-236, 2,280 yards, 22 TDs) is generally considered to be the state's top all-around quarterback, but several schools are recruiting him as an athlete who might end up playing receiver or defense.

    Other top quarterbacks are Timpanogos' Christian Stewart (182-321, 2,725 yards, 35 TDs), Timpview's Quinn Mecham (112-162, 1,691 yards, 16 TDs) and Fremont's Chase Moore (140-255, 1,870 yards, 15 TDs).

    Several local college recruiters have told The Recruiting Trail that this is a subpar year for quarterbacks in Utah.

    -----------------------------------

    Utah and BYU may not sign a quarterback prospect at all when the signing period begins in February. Utah has a commitment from Cole Loftin of Aledo, Texas, who plays quarterback for his high school team at times, but will likely have him play receiver.

    Both schools have offered Kevin Prince, a quarterback from Crespi Carmelite High in California, who was injured early in the season and is pretty much sitting out his senior year. Prince has repeatedly said, however, that his top two choices are Washington and UCLA. He plans on going on an LDS Church mission before enrolling in college.

   Regular readers of these posts -- and Michael C. Lewis' Utah basketball blog -- have probably noticed that we've detailed the University of Utah's basketball recruiting successes and failures quite extensively the past few months.

    Naturally, some readers have wondered about BYU's efforts, with November's early signing period set to begin in less than a month.

    Why hasn't more been written or said about the Cougars? Because they really don't have any scholarships available to give. Here's the deal:

    BYU figures it will have only three scholarships available for players who will enroll prior to the 2008-09 season. Also, the coaching staff does not like to "over-recruit" -- which is a mild way of saying they don't sign more players than they should with the thinking that some won't make it academically or that others will quit the team, turn professional, etc.

    The Cougars have an oral commitment from Charles Abouo, the 6-foot-4 jumping jack from Logan High who is attending a prep school (Brewster Academy) in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. He averaged 21.7 points per game for the Grizzlies last year, and will sign his letter of intent with the Cougars in November just days before playing the 2007-08 season for Brewster.

    The other two scholarships will go to guys who are returning from LDS Church missions: Jackson Emery and Noah Hartsock.

    Emery, of course, is the former Tribune MVP from Lone Peak High who started the last 11 games of the 2005-06 season for the Cougars before leaving on his mission.

    Hartsock signed with BYU in November of 2005, but went on his mission (to the Salt Lake City South mission, ironically) before enrolling at BYU and will return before the 2008-09 season. He was the Oklahoma Player of the Year in 2006 after helping Bartlesville, Okla., to a successful season and is a 6-foot-8 power forward. He averaged 19.9 points and 9.9 rebounds a game.

    If everything goes according to plan, Abouo, Emery and Hartsock will take the scholarships vacated by the three players on BYU's roster who will be seniors this season: Vuk Ivanovic, Sam Burgess and Ben Murdock.

    More scholarships could open up if any of the scholarship freshmen on this year's squad decide to go on church missions after the season. The most likely candidate to do that is Provo's Chris Collinsworth, although the 6-foot-9 forward has not publicly announced his decision.

When it comes to pursuing the most highly recruited prep football player in Utah this season, Colorado coach Dan Hawkins apparently isn't going to take a backseat to the big dogs of the Big 12, Oklahoma and Texas.

Hawkins recently made a trip to Utah to visit with Cottonwood linebacker Lynn Katoa and watch him play against East, several sources have told The Recruiting Trail.

A month ago, Katoa said he had narrowed his choices to Oklahoma and Texas, after having visited both campuses. But last week he said Colorado is in the picture as well now, along with LSU and, possibly, USC, Miami, Wisconsin and Texas A&M.

Katoa is scheduled to visit Boulder on Saturday to watch the Buffaloes play host to Kansas. From the way he has talked about Hawkins the past few weeks, I wouldn't be surprised if he makes a commitment while he's there.

The recruit mentions the desire to play right away in college every time he talks about recruiting, and Colorado supposedly is using at least one walk-on at linebacker, sometimes two.

"Coach Hawkins is a great coach and I believe he is a coach that will win a championship," Katoa told the Salt Lake Tribune earlier this week for a story that will be published Friday.

Cottonwood plays Olympus on Thursday, and Katoa will leave for Colorado on Friday.

He has a trip scheduled to LSU on Thanksgiving morning, and has also talked recently about wanting to visit Miami.

Apparently, Cottonwood High products love playing for national champions.

Stanley Havili signed up with Southern Cal's football program a few years ago -- and is having quite an impact for the Trojans this year.

Now, a second Colt will play for two-time national college baseball champion Oregon State.

Cottonwood's Kyle Beverly, a senior who helped lead the Colts to the past two 4-A baseball championships, has verbally committed to the Beavers, he told The Recruiting Trail today.

"The way they run their program is phenomenal," he said.

Last year, Cottonwood's Tanner Robles and Jordan's Garrett Nash signed with Oregon State, so Beverly will have some company in Corvallis.

"It will be good to have people I already know up there," he said.

Beverly had a .390 batting average for Cottonwood last spring and hit 11 home runs.

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A West Jordan reader last week asked for more posts about baseball recruiting. We do our best to oblige here at The Recruiting Trail.

More baseball news:

* The University of Utah has received commitments from Skyline's Tyler Yagi, Layton's Gavin Green and Judge Memorial's Joe Pond.

* Brett Lopez of Timpanogos has committed to BYU.

* Spanish Fork's Tyler Hanks and Devin Nelson, Timpanogos' Gentry Crofts, Weber's Taylor Shaw and Bingham's Brock Whitney are also receiving some Division I offers and getting close to committing, according to various coaches and sources.

* A pair of Utahns now playing at the Community College of Southern Nevada (CCSN) have also committed to Division I programs. Former Cottonwood standout Easton Gust will play for San Diego State and Viewmont's Braeden Schlehuber will play for Arkansas.

The University of Utah was one of the first schools to offer a scholarship to Manoah Wesson, a cornerback from Dominguez High in Compton, Calif.

Now it looks like the Utes have some company.

Wesson said Sunday night that Washington recently made as offer and that the Huskies are now his favorite, according to the Web site Dawgman.com.

Also, Oregon and Arizona want him to visit and are close to offering, he believes.

"[Washington] is a good school and my friend is up there [Brandon Johnson] and they need corners so that's a big selling point for me," he said.

Wesson has 28 tackles, two interceptions and 17 pass break-ups.

The Utes are still hovering at nine commitments, but they had some recruits on campus for Saturday's 23-7 win over San Diego State and are hoping for some pledges this week, a source said.

Bountiful's Ben Aird is nothing if not patient.

The 6-foot-10, 245-pound Aird has watched most of Utah's best high school basketball players in the Class of 2008 commit to college basketball programs -- nine, at last count -- but has refused to join the party.

"It's a big decision," he said. "I've got to get it right."

Also, Aird is still waiting for the "right" offer to come along, something he is confident will happen once college recruiters see him play basketball in November and January. As of Wednesday, Tulane, Utah Valley State College and Dixie State College had offered scholarships.

Then there's this: the big guy has suddenly drawn the attention of college football recruiters, with Weber State, UNLV and BYU among the schools starting to think that a 6-10 tight end with good feet, great hands and a sturdy frame just might be able to help them.

Aird played Little League football, but didn't play his freshman and sophomore years at Bountiful High because he wanted to focus on basketball. He played last year, and this year he has become a mainstay on the Braves' offense.

"I am going to have some options," he said. "This might surprise some people, but there's [growing] interest in my football [ability]."

As busy as football and schoolwork keeps him -- he's an honor roll student -- Aird still tries to get in the gym and shoot every day. The notion that he just hasn't improved much since he started for Bountiful as a ninth-grader is unfounded, he said.

"I'm happy with how things are going and how I've progressed."

Along with the aforementioned schools that have offered, Aird said he has talked to several others that might be close to extending an invitation. Namely, Lafayette, Lehigh, UC Riverside and Northern Arizona have expressed interest.

"Everything is good," he said. "If everything is right, I will sign [for a basketball scholarship] in November. If not, there's no reason to panic."

----------------------

The University of Utah will probably roll over San Diego State on the football field Saturday, but at least the Aztecs can say they beat the Utes at something this weekend.

Alec Johnson, an all-state center from Mullen High in the Denver, Colo., area, orally committed to San Diego State coach Chuck Long on Friday. Johnson, 6-foot-4, 315 pounds, chose the Aztecs over Arizona State, Washington, Kansas, Utah and Colorado State, according to scout.com.

A source close to Utah's staff confirned that the Utes had indeed offered Johnson a scholarship over the summer.

--------------------------

Skyline baseball coach Brodie Reid, busy preparing for Friday night's Skyline-Jordan football game (he's also an assistant football coach) just confirmed to The Recruiting Trail that Eagles shortstop Tyler Yagi has verbally committed to play baseball for the Utes.

Yagi was an honorable mention all-stater as a junior and a first-team all-region selection. He had a .390 batting average last spring and is currently in Arizona playing in an all-star type event with a dozen other Utahns.

Reid said Yagi drew interest from pretty much every college baseball program in Utah.

We hope to have a post early next week detailing a half-dozen or so other college baseball commitments from the state's prep ranks, including a major commitment to the hottest collegiate baseball program in the country.

Greg Castillo, a receiver/defensive back from Phlladelphia and Juron Criner, a receiver from Las Vegas, have never met each other and probably don't have much in common besides football.

But both represent the reasons why schools such as BYU and Utah push hard to get early commitments when they indentify talented high school players.

For instance, BYU recognized Castillo's ability when he attended a camp in Provo last summer, and quickly offered a scholarship to the 5-foot-11 St. Joseph's prep star whose father is on Andy Reid's Philadelphia Eagels coaching staff.

Castillo has also received offers from Bowling Green, Delaware, Villanova and Ohio, programs that are not comparable to BYU. A BYU official told The Recruiting Trail last week that the Cougars are still extremely interested in landing Castillo, although the focus of their last few avaiilable scholarships is on defensive linemen.

However, Castillo is having a strong senior season, averaging 31 yards a reception, and now schools such as Boston College, Rutgers, Iowa, Syracuse and Illinois have contacted him. If one of those offer, the Cougars will have a difficult time persuading Castillo to travel this far west to play big-time college football.

Similarly, Utah was one of the first schools to offer a scholarship to Criner, from Canyon Springs High in Vegas. The speedy receiver also got early offers from UNLV, Wyoming and Arizona -- programs equal to, or a tad below, the one at Utah.

However, Criner has caught 31 passes for 768 yards and 15 touchdowns in six games, and suddenly his teammate, Raevon Samuel, isn't the only one drawing big-time attention.

Washington, Nebraska and Kansas State have recently contacted Criner, he told the Washington recruiting Web site dawgman.com.

"They were on me before, but it was mainly letters and stuff," he said. "Now they are calling and talking to my coaches about me."

Unfortunately for the Utes, they're no longer the biggest dog in the chase for Criner.

The Cougars can relate.

---------------

Speaking of BYU's recruiting efforts, one of the big linemen that they are currently courting is visiting Arizona State this weekend.

Hamani Stevens of Hemet, Calif., is ranked as the No. 5 center in the country by scout.com and is a four-star recruit, on a five-star scale.

The trip to Tempe will be his first official visit. He is scheduled to go to Oregon on Dec. 1 for its matchup with Oregon State and to BYU on Jan. 11.

In the 12 years that I covered high school sports on a daily basis for the Salt Lake Tribune and in the past few months that I have authored this blog, I have talked to hundreds, maybe thousands, of prep athletes who had recently made commitments to college programs.

In other words, I've heard the term "I really like the coaches and the players on the team" a million times.

Other popular replies are "I like the direction the program is heading" and "the school has a strong academic program."

Last week, however, a Davis High basketball player who committed to Southern Utah University's women's program brought up something I can't remember ever hearing before.

Dani Hosking, a 5-foot-8 guard, said she chose SUU because of the respect she felt among the players for coach Steve Hodson and his staff and the respect that the coach had for his players on and off the court.

"He treats his players like human beings," Hosking said. "That was evident from the moment I got there, and I could tell there was a lot of genuine respect from both sides."

Hosking, who averaged 16 points a game for the Darts last season, didn't have a lot of other comparable offers -- only Snow College, Salt Lake Community College, Western Wyoming and Dixie State had expressed interest.

However, her primary reason for picking SUU was one of the best I have heard.

The University of Utah will host more than just San Diego State this weekend at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

One of the best prep athletes in Arizona, Luke Matthews of Phoenix's Desert Vista High, will make his official visit to Utah on Saturday, according to scout.com.

A running back/linebacker, Matthews has already taken an official visit to Stanford and has said that the Cardinal and Utah are his two favorites.

Matthews is 6-foot-2 and about 200 pounds. He told the Web site that Stanford is recruiting him to play defense, while Utah is recruiting him to play offense.

He also has offers from Colorado State, San Diego State and Nevada and Boise State is also interested.

Utah and Brigham Young don't meet on the football field for 44 more days.

Behind the scenes, however, the Utes and Cougars have a nice little battle going on for one of the state's top high school football players: Timpanogos defensive end David Kruger.

Wednesday, the 6-foot-5, 260-pound Kruger said the schools "are equal right now" in their quests to get him to sign on the dotted line next February.

"Everyone wants to know, 'BYU or Utah?' " Kruger said. "But I am trying not to think about it until after our season. Also, I can still see another school coming in and pulling me away from [BYU or Utah]. It's a long time until signing day."

Kruger said the Utes and Cougars are the only ones that have provided written offers so far, but California, Oklahoma, Colorado and Nebraska have stayed in contact with him and may be on the verge of offering.

He said he will probably play for one year and then go on an LDS Church mission.

That's the route taken by his older brother, Paul Kruger, who spent a year at the University of Utah before serving in Missouri. Paul, who was recruited by Urban Meyer to play quarterback for the Utes, switched to defensive end and is now starting at that position for the Utes.

David Kruger said the brothers don't talk much about which school the senior should attend.

"It will come down to how I see myself fitting in and how I can contribute," he said. "Which team can I help the most?"

With nine commitments, Utah presumably has a few more scholarships available right now than BYU, although coach Kyle Whittingham told us a few days ago that he has fewer scholarships to dole out this year than in most years.

As for BYU, the Cougars have 19 commitments (including three juco commitments) and only have a handful of scholarships left. A source told a former colleague of mine that the one area BYU is focusing on the most with its last few scholarships is defensive line.

The two D-linemen they have commitments from to date are Timpview's Kevan Bills and Tevita Hola from Snow College.

After Kruger, the only uncommitted Utah prep star that both Utah and BYU have offered a scholarship to is Alta running back Sausan Shakerin. However, Shakerin seems to be leaning toward taking an out-of-state offer at a school such as Boise State, Colorado or LSU.

Getting either Kruger or Shakerin would be considered huge for the Utes, because BYU probably has the edge locally right now, having received in-state commitments from Bingham tight end Austin Holt, West running back Garrett Nicholson, Bingham kicker Justin Sorensen and American Fork wideout Jake Murphy, among others.

Utah's top in-state recruits are Bingham offensive lineman Derek Tuimauga and Copper Hills defensive lineman Sealver Siliga.

About a month ago, Cottonwood linebacker Lynn Katoa -- one of the most sought after prep football players in state history -- told The Recruiting Trail that he had narrowed his college choices to Texas and Oklahoma after making an official campus visit to Norman and an unofficial trip to Austin.

Well, things have changed.

Katoa said Wednesday that he will make a few more trips before deciding. Some recruiting services list him as the sixth-best prep linebacker in the country.

"Oklahoma is still my leader. I like Oklahoma a lot," he said. "But I want to check out some other [schools] just to be sure."

The surprise entrant into the Katoa Sweepstakes is Colorado.

"I really like [Colorado coach] Dan Hawkins," Katoa said. "I think he's got something big going on there, something that is just starting."

Katoa said he will visit Colorado on Oct. 20. Having studied the Buffaloes' depth chart, he feels like he could play right away for the Big 12 school.

Which brings us to ... LSU.

The No. 1-ranked team in the country is also "pretty low on linebackers, after this year," Katoa said.

He plans on flying to Baton Rouge on Thanksgiving morning, he said, at the invitation of former BYU coach Gary Crowton, now LSU's offensive coordinator.

"Right now, Colorado and LSU are the only two trips I have scheduled," he said. "There may be more."

Because he paid his own way on his first trip to Texas, he may still go there again, at the Longhorns' expense. He is also thinking about trips to Miami, USC and, possibly, Wisconsin.

"Texas and Oklahoma have been pretty aggressive [in pushing for a commitment]," he said. "But I want to take my time. It's a big decision."

A heavily recruited linebacker from Los Gatos, Calif., whom the University of Utah was very interested in has committed to Oregon, the Web site educk.com reported today after receiving an e-mail from the player.

Kiko Alonso, whom the Utes have compared to recently injured linebacker Kyle Brady, is considered one of the top players in Northern California. Along with Utah and Oregon, he had offers from Washington, UCLA and Nebraska.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder reportedly runs the 40 in 4.88 seconds. He had 143 tackles, five sacks, two fumble recoveries and an interception last season.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham told The Recruiting Trail on Tuesday that the Utes are being very selective in their recruiting efforts because they have only a half-dozen scholarships still available. They have nine known commitments.

Not a football fan? Can't wait for the start of the boys high school basketball season in November?

You can get your fix on Saturday at the Intermountain Hoops Fall Showcase at East High.

Eighty of the top players in the state will be on display at the Showcase, which will consist of four all-star games.

Here's the event schedule:

4:30 p.m. -- Top 20 Sophomore Game

5:45 p.m. -- Top 20 Junior Game

7 p.m. -- Top 20 Senior Game

8:15 p.m. -- Top 20 Game

Additional information concerning the event, including rosters and player information, is available at www.intermountainhoops.com .

An article in the recent edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education caught our eye.

Theweekly newspaper lists the "10 most powerful people in college sports," and one of those 10 is recruiting analyst Tom Lemming.

I've never met or talked to Lemming, but I respect his work immensely. After all, he's been at it for more than 30 years, and his opinions and expertise has been featured in many national publications, including USA Today.

In the piece written by Brad Wolverton, Eric Hoover and Libby Sander, Lemming is credited for "spawning an entire industry."

"His conclusions helps shape athletes' destinies, influence coaches' recruiting strategies and raise fans' interest, for better or worse, in their favorite programs."

Some of the other choices in the article are weak (Maryland's athletic director? C'mon), but picking Lemming was spot on.

An alert reader of the previous blog pointed out a fact that I should have included in the little writeup about Shawn Stockton, nephew of former Jazz great John Stockton.

Turns out, John Stockton's son, Houston, is a redshirt freshman defensive back on Montana's football team. Obviously, that was probably a factor in Shawn Stockton's decision to commit to play basketball for the Grizzlies.

Houston Stockton, by the way, hasn't seen much playing time. The 5-foot-9, 161-pound safety has played in one game this season, against Fort Lewis, but did not make a tackle or defend against a pass.

According to his biography on Montana's Web site, Stockton earned nine letters at Gonzaga Prep in four sports: football, baseball, basketball and track.

Shawn Stockton proved last week that he is like a lot of other kids. He wants to play college basketball close to home. Stockton, a 6-foot-1 point guard and the nephew of former NBA and Utah Jazz great John Stockton, has orally committed to Montana.
The senior from Ferris High in Spokane, Wash., had drawn some interest from Utah colleges, but did not receive any known offers. His other finalist was Montana State.
''I took a visit [to Montana] and decided that I wanted my family to be able to see me play,'' he said.

   When he graduated from St. George's Pine View High with a 22.2 PPG scoring average in 2003, basketball star Brad Garrett was bypassed by the state's four-year college programs.

    He redshirted for one season at nearby Dixie State College (then a junior college), went on a two-year LDS Church mission and then transferred to the College of Southern Idaho, another juco.

    By then, the locals were after the athletic swingman with the deadly three-point shot, but Garrett shunned them all, and headed to Oklahoma State.

    Are they making the same mistake with his younger brother, Louis?

    The Pine View senior, about the same size as his Big 12-bound brother, 6-foot-6, has just one in-state offer, from Utah Valley State College, he told The Recruiting Trail last week.

    Every in-state program has expressed interest, he said, but only coach Dick Hunsaker at UVSC has made an offer. CSI has also offered, while UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara are among the out-of-state programs that have expressed interest.

    With a 3.9 grade point average, Garrett is also looking hard at some Ivy League programs, although he says he would have to retake the ACT college entrance test and score a little higher to gain admission to any of those.

    "I'm not leaning in any direction right now," Louis Garrett said. "I am just trying to figure out what's best for me. I might wait and play my senior season and then see if there's more interest."

    With Judge Memorial star Noel Hollingsworth's commitment to Brown last week, eight Utah prep boys from the class of 2008 have pledged to Division I programs.

    Brighton's Jace Tavita and Lone Peak's Josh Sharp are headed to Utah, while Sky View's Jordan Stone is bound for Utah State and Clearfield's Nick Thompson has committed to Weber State.

    Holton Hunsaker of Woods Cross is going to Louisiana Tech, Lone Peak's Bracken Funk is bound for Fresno State and Lone Peak's Justin Hamilton is headed to Iowa State.

    Along with Garrett, other top seniors who have yet to commit are Brighton's Ali Langford, Snow Canyon's Dalton Groskreutz and Alta's Taylor Brown.

Once Judge Memorial basketball star Noel Hollingsworth saw the campus of Brown University in Providence, R.I., he knew it was the place for him.

The 6-foot-9 Bulldogs center orally committed to Brown coach Craig Robinson on Thursday, and will sign a national letter of intent with the Ivy League program in November.

Ivy League schools do not reward athletic scholarships, but Hollingsworth will have some of the costs lessened by academic and need-based grants. He carries a 3.95 grade point average, and scored a near-perfect 34 on the ACT college admission test.

"I visited there last weekend, and I really like the atmosphere and the coaches and just the feeling about the place," he said. "So I committed."

Brown coaches saw Hollingsworth play in California in July with the Salt Lake Metro club basketball team. He is the third Metro player from the class of 2008 to commit to a Division-I program.

Judge Memorial has produced Division I players each of the last three years.

Hollingsworth also looked at Lafayette, Princeton, Columbia, Penn and M.I.T., among other schools.

"One of the things they were telling me [at Brown] was they needed to sign two big guys, and they need one of those guys to start right away," he said. "I think I can be that guy."

Hollingsworth averaged 20.6 points, 13 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game for Judge as a junior, and had 22 double-doubles.

When longtime high school coaching standout Steve Hodson took the women's basketball coaching job at Southern Utah University last year, he said he would build his program with Utah high school players.

Looks like he's being true to his word.

Hodson picked up his fourth oral commitment from a Utah high school girls basketball player recently, getting the word from Davis High senior Dani Hosking.

Hosking said she will join Lone Peak's Amanda Farish, Beaver's Morgan Wood and Canyon View's Cassie Platt in signing with the Thunderbirds next month.

Hosking averaged 16 points, five rebounds, four steals and four assists a game for the Darts as a junior, while shooting 77 percent from the free-throw line and 42 percent from three-point range.

She played for the club team Utah Flight during the summer, and was the Region 1 MVP and a first-team Salt Lake Tribune all-state selection last spring.

Intermountain Hoops Battle for the Rankings will have an open gym on Saturday (Oct. 6) at the Salt Lake Community College South Campus (1700 S. State) in Salt Lake City.

Boys open gym will be 10 a.m. to noon.

Girls open gym will be 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The open gym is the first in a series of events held this fall by Intermountain Hoops to evaluate players for the Intermountain Hoops Scouting Service Player Rankings.

Players in the classes of 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 should attend.

Cost is $5 and enrollment is limited.

Send an e-mail to intermountainhoops@comcast.net or call (801) 486-3931 for details and event registration.

When it comes to Utah prep basketball recruiting, it is probably time to look ahead a little bit because the best players in the crop of 2008 have already committed and will sign with their respective schools in November, as we noted in a previous post.

Who are the gems of 2009?

The three most-recruited Utah players who are currently juniors will be Lone Peak's Tyler Haws, Lone Peak's Nate Austin and Pleasant Grove's C.J. Wilcox.

Utah and BYU have both already offered Haws, and Utah has offered Wilcox.

However, another player is making some great progress and could be lumped with those three.

Provo High's 6-foot-6 Brandon Davies could also be Division I-bound.

Davies is an unknown talent because he barely played for the Bulldogs as a sophomore last year. That's not unusual; veteran Provo coach Craig Drury rarely plays sophomores.

But the prospect has a 7-foot wingspan and a 24-inch vertical jump and has unlimited potential, according to a source close to the University of Utah's coaching staff.

"Guys never really stand out in Drury's system, but this kid will be hard to hide," the source said, comparing Davies favorably to Charles Abuou, the Logan High graduate who committed to BYU and is now at a prep school on the East coast.

Other top players -- though probably not Division-I caliber recruits -- in the class of 2009 are Bountiful's Sean Carey and Travis Parrish, Hillcrest's Kyle Maughn, West Jordan's Reyes Gallegos and Corbin Green of Olympus, to name a few.

"Davies could be really special," the Utah source said.

Lone Peak forward Josh Sharp's verbal commitment to the University of Utah's basketball program earlier this week probably signals the end of Division I commitments for the class of 2008, unless Bountiful's Ben Aird, Pine View's Louis Garrett, Snow Canyon's Dalton Groskreutz or Alta's Taylor Brown manage to attract some late attention or offers before the early signing date in November.

Those four are the best Utah senior basketball players still uncommitted, most insiders say.

Of those, Groskreutz presents an interesting case because he's being recruited in both football and basketball. He's a 6-foot-6 wide receiver on the school's football team, 190 pounds, and reportedly has a 40 time in the 4.55-second range.

At 6-6, he's obviously got the size for basketball. His grades and college entrance test scores could get him into almost any school in the country.

A family member reports that Groskreutz has received interest from Oregon, Colorado, Washington, Utah and several Ivy League schools for football. Asked specifically about him recently, a source close to BYU's football staff said the Cougars are very familiar with Groskreutz but have decided not to offer because he is "almost too tall" and they don't have many scholarships available right now for receivers, so they have to be picky.

Also, he doesn't appear to have the body type that could be turned into a tight end.

On the basketball side, UC Davis, Southern Utah, Dixie State and the Ivy schools are said to be interested.

Groskreutz has said he might want to play both sports in college and has talked to a couple of places with that in mind.

The Recruiting Trail will give updates on Aird, Garrett and Brown in future blogs.

The November early signing period for high school seniors is fast approaching for almost every sport but football.

While basketball players have dominated the recruiting news on this blog lately, a reader reminded us recently that volleyball players are also making commitments this fall and will be signing on Nov. 14 as well.

Here's some information in that regard, with a nod to national volleyball recruiting expert John Tawa and his prepvolleyball.com Web site for his help:

* The University of Utah has received commitments from at least two Utah standouts, Payson's Miranda Bradshaw and Alta's Corinne Crump. Bradshaw is a 6-foot-3 middle blocker who also shines in basketball and has helped Payson put together its best season in the last five years.

Crump is a 5-foot-8 libero known for her defensive skills. She was an all-Region 2 selection last year and the team's varsity MVP.

* Waterford's Missy White, a 6-foot-1 setter, has committed to St. Mary's College in Moraga, Calif. White transferred from 5-A powerhouse Brighton to 3-A's Waterford last year to concentrate more on academics.

* Brigham Young University has received at least two commitments from out-of-state players.

Markie Malone, a 5-11 setter from Durango High in Las Vegas, is set to sign with the Cougars next month.

Also, BYU coaches have received a commitment from Malia Marquardt, a 6-foot-1 middle blocker from Vista High in California.

While working on a feature last week about University of Utah defensive end Paul Kruger, from Orem's Timpanogos High, I asked Utes coach Kyle Whittingham about his philosophy regarding Utah County recruits.

Seemingly, BYU should have a big advantage in its home county. But Whittingham, the former Cougar, doesn't see it that way. After all, the Utes lured Kruger away from Utah County, and are probably in the lead for the services of his brother, David Kruger, who is a senior at Timpanogos this year.

"We've made some hay down there the past few years," Whittingham said. "We would like to think we can get some guys out of there once in a while.

"The guys we have had from down there in the past have been very productive for us, for the most part."

Last year, Utah lured one of the nation's more highly touted quarterbacks, Griff Robles of Spanish Fork, away from UC.

Key contributors on Utah's roster this year from Utah County include American Fork receiver Derrek Richards, Provo lineman Corey Seiuli and Pleasant Grove tight end Colt Sampson (injured).

Other Utah County Utes include Lone Peak's Nate Empey, Timpanogos' Isley Filiaga, Lone Peak's Clint Mower and Orem's Tobias Titus, Zeke Tuineu-Wily and Peter Tuitupou.

Obviously, BYU doesn't concede Salt Lake County to the Utes, either. BYU is also getting a non-LDS kid from out of the Utah's shadow this year, having received a commitment from West High running back Garrett Nicholson.

The Cougars are also pursuing Alta's Sausan Shakerin, whose cousin, Bo Nagahi, played for Utah.

It appears that the tall and talented wide receiver from Florida who could take BYU's 2008 football recruiting class from good to extraordinary is slipping away from the Cougars.

O'Neill Chambers, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound athlete who visited Provo in June and promptly declared the Cougars as his favorite has changed his mind after a weekend visit to Purdue, he told the Web site superprep.com.

"I think [Purdue] is a really good fit [for me]," he said. "I didn't commit, but Purdue moved up and now they are No. 1."

Chambers showed interest in BYU, although he is not LDS, because his coach at Harmony High in central Florida, Tyler Anderson, played at BYU. Anderson helped lead Tooele High to a state title before moving to Florida.

He has a visit scheduled to BYU on Jan. 11 and to Florida on Jan. 18. Both schools have offered.

He told The Recruiting Trail a few weeks ago that he is leaning toward leaving the state, a point that he reiterated to superprep.com on Monday. He said he is trying to set up a visit to South Carolina as well.

"I was really liking BYU, but they haven't been in touch as much lately," he said. "Florida is a great school. Coach Gonzales [of Florida] calls me a lot."

On a scale of 1-5, most recruiting services list Chambers as a three or a four-star recruit.

He has caught 15 passes for 319 yards and four touchdowns for his 3-1 team.