Just sat down to post something about the handful of top recruits who played in Friday's state boys basketball semifinals, but before I get to that, I just have to say one more time how fantastic that Davis-Lone Peak game was.

Simply unbelievable.

Not sure what the Dee Events Center holds, but there had to be 12,000 or so people there. Way up in the upper bowl, folks were standing the entire game to see two incredibly talented teams battle for more than two hours.

In the fourth quarter and both overtime sessions, it was deafening in there.

I've been covering high school sports in Utah since 1990 (though not as much now as I did from 1990 to 2003), and I can't ever remember a better athletic event.

From the crowd to the big plays to the final game-winning shot by maybe the best player to come along the past 10 years, Lone Peak's Tyler Haws, it was an unforgettable game.

Rarely do sporting events live up to the hype that surrounds them, but this one surely did.

Got the chance to see a couple more of the state's college basketball recruits today as the 4A state tournament continued at Weber State's Dee Events Center.

Woods Cross guard Holton Hunsaker, who has signed with Louisiana Tech but will go on an LDS Church mission first, was not all that impressive today in the Wildcats' 57-36 loss to Mountain Crest.

Hunsaker showed his skills at times, but the score got out of hand and, with little or no help from his teammates, he was put in difficult positions most of the second half.

Hunsaker was 5-for-18 from the field, and many of those shots came from well beyond the three-point line or were heavily contested. Still, a veteran high school coach told me Hunsaker will flourish when he gets some talent around him and doesn't have to look to score as much.

That seems reasonable.

His teammate, 6-foot-9 Patrick Day, was mentioned by a few recruiters I know as a possible college-level player when the season began. But I haven't heard much talk about Day lately, and he did nothing Thursday to help his cause.

Day was 1-for-10 shooting and only grabbed seven rebounds against a Mountain Crest team that is not that big. He also committed some real silly fouls.

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Provo's Brandon Davies, the 6-8 junior who is supposed to top out at 6-10 or 6-11, was solid in the Bulldogs' 50-39 win over Pine View. But I kind of expected more out of Davies, who gave up the ball too easily when he was down low with his back to the basket.

I didn't see one strong offensive move from the big guy, but his passing out of the post was outstanding.

I was impressed with Provo's sophomore guard, Kyle Collinsworth, who finished with 15 points and showed he will be one of the state's best players in a few years. He's the younger brother of BYU's Chris Collinsworth.

Pine View's Louis Garrett, who has a brother at Oklahoma State (Brad Garrett) struggled most of the game and got in foul trouble. He finished with just seven points in the final game of his outstanding prep career.

To be perfectly honest, I scoffed a bit last fall when I heard that the University of Utah was interested in Lone Peak senior Josh Sharp, a 6-foot-7 forward who is as skinny as BYU star Lee Cummard.

I think I even wrote something about the Utes wanting Sharp for one reason: so they would have a better chance at landing Lone Peak junior Tyler Haws the following year.

Well, I've changed my mind.

Sharp is good, folks.

He's athletic, he runs well and tonight against West Jordan in the 5A quarterfinals, he was 8-for-9 from the field and led Lone Peak with 18 points. He's a Division I player, I have come to believe.

Haws, meanwhile, struggled in the game. He was just 2-for-9 from the field for five points, but did have six rebounds and five assists. Remarkably for a high schooler, he didn't force anything when he realized it wasn't going to be his night, and he passed up many an open shot late in the game to set up a teammate for a better one.

Monday, I mentioned how Utah coach Jim Boylen changed his team's practice time so he could attend LP's first-round game and watch Sharp and Haws.

Tonight, with the Utes playing at TCU, Boylen obviously wasn't around.

BYU assistant coach John Wardenburg was there, though, and chatted with Lone Peak's coaching staff after the game. Anyone who thinks BYU doesn't want Haws as badly as Utah does is flat-out mistaken.

Neither Haws, nor Sharp, nor Fresno State-bound forward Bracken Funk (15 points, 10 rebounds) were made available to the media after the game, a rule Lone Peak coach Quincy Lewis put in the night the Knights beat Brighton at Brighton.

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West Jordan also had a Division I-caliber player on the floor tonight, but fans probably didn't realize it because 6-2 junior guard Reyes Gallegos didn't score and went 0-for-7 from the field.

It was the first time I had seen Gallegos play, so I went away a little disappointed. Still, he showed some excellent hops several times in collecting five rebounds. It will be his team next year as scoring leader Tanner Connors graduates, and Gallegos will have plenty of opportunities to show what he can do then.

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If you live along the Wasatch Front and can cut out of work a little early on Friday, you should make your way to Ogden for the 2:30 p.m. 5A semifinal between Lone Peak and Davis at Weber State. It should be a barnburner, and the atmosphere should be electric because Davis is undefeated and will bring a huge, huge crowd.

Lone Peak is more talented on paper, and bigger. But Davis has excellent guards and standout shooters who might be able to negate Lone Peak's height advantage. Should be a dandy.

OK, call me crazy, but I had a couple of spare minutes on Tuesday so I dialed one of the phone numbers I have for Benji Kemoeatu, the four-star football recruit from Kahuku, Haw., who apparently signed his national letter of intent back on Feb. 6 to play for West Virginia, but never sent it.

If you've read my posts, my colleague Lya Wodraska's posts or the posts on utezone.com, you know the story. There is interest in the situation in Utah because Kemoeatu committed to the Utes during his official campus visit, and two of his older brothers played at Utah before moving on to the NFL.

Anyway, I was stunned when someone answered the phone this time.

It was Benji's father, the Rev. Manako Kemoeatu.

He said that Benji still has not sent the letter to West Virginia and that "he has not decided yet."

When is he going to decide?

"Sometime soon, I hope," the reverend said, noting that West Virginia "keeps calling and calling. They want an answer soon."

When I asked what the hold-up was, Kemoeatu said that Benji still wants to talk it over with his family members.

Does that mean Ma'ake and Chris, the former Utes, are pushing for him to reconsider?

"No, they are just giving him advice. They are not telling him what to do," Manako Kemoeatu said.

Then I asked the question a lot of Ute fans want to know.

Is Utah still in the picture?

"Most definitely," he said.

And where does dad want him to go?

"I just say to my son, go where your heart tells you to go," he said.

Kemoeatu said his son is "coming along slowly but surely, but is not there yet," in his quest to qualify for a Divison I school academically.

As anyone who has followed the saga of the nation's top recruit, Pennsylvania quarterback Terrelle Pryor, knows, the signing period ends on April 1.

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One of the frequent contributors to utezone.com alerted that Web site's readers to an interesting article in the Orlando Sentinel recently about former Utah coach Urban Meyer's recruiting practices, and how he has drawn the ire of some of his fellow coaches by getting recruits to change their minds at the last minute and choose Florida.

If nothing else, check out the story to see what Urban looks like in a Darth Vader outfit.

Here's the link:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/orl-meyer24a08feb24,0,6157052.story?track=rss

I wasn't able to make it to Ogden on Monday for the first round of the Utah 5A boys basketball tournament and the eight games at the Dee Events Center. But I talked this morning with a local college recruiter who watched most of the games to get his impressions.

Here are a few of his notes:

* The two top players were juniors, not surprisingly, in Lone Peak's Tyler Haws and Pleasant Grove's C.J. Wilcox. Haws was efficient, scoring 24 points while taking just 14 shots. Wilcox pressed too much (his team was upset by Clearfield), and although he got 24 points, he needed 23 shots.

* How serious is Utah coach Jim Boylen about landing Haws? He moved Utah's practice time back so he could be there for Lone Peak's 11:10 a.m. game.

* Timpanogos post player Skyler Halford (21 points) has a chance to play somewhere, but needs to get stronger.

* Lone Peak's "other" junior, 6-8 Nate Austin, only played a few minutes and did not score.

* Brighton's Jace Tavita, the Utah signee, played one of his best games of the season. He scored 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting and stayed in control, all the while handing out five assists, a high total in a high school game.

* Alta's Taylor Brown showed some mental toughness by going 11-for-13 from the free-throw line and perhaps showed he's worthy of more college attention.

* The play of the day was made by Davis' Jackson Stevenett, who took a lob pass and threw down a dunk although he was 3 feet away from the hoop.

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If you are going today (Tuesday) to watch any of the eight 4A games, the players to watch who will be playing college basketball some day include Bountiful's Ben Aird (UVSC) at 11:10 a.m., Snow Canyon's Dalton Groskreutz at 12:50 p.m. and Pine View's Louis Garrett at 4:10 p.m.

The don't miss game is at 5:50 p.m., as Provo junior Brandon Davies goes up against Sky View senior Jordan Stone, who has signed with Utah State.

I'm in Fontana, Calif., for NASCAR races today and Sunday, so don't have much recruiting news to pass along, unless you think Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s jump from the No. 8 Budweiser car to the No. 88 Amp Energy Drinks car is worth posting about.

However, here are a few basketball recruiting tidbits I've gathered the past week:

* Although UVSC has not announced it, it appears that former Viewmont star Sol Jensen will end up with the Wolverines. Jensen, brother of former University of Utah star Alex Jensen, originally signed with Weber State prior to his LDS Church mission. Doesnt look like the Wildcats want him back.

* Former Skyline High star Nate Bendall has also returned from a mission, but his status is also uncertain. Bendall signed with Utah State before leaving, but the Aggies haven't exactly welcomed him back with open arms.

Bendall is attending Salt Lake Community College, but is not playing for the Bruins. He is considered a 4-2-4 by the NCAA, so he will have to graduate from SLCC before he moves on to any NCAA school other than Utah State.

* UNLV is taking a good look at East High's Malcolm Colbert and Olympus big man Elliott Bullock. They've also expressed a little interest lately in Pine View wing player Louis Garrett, whose brother, Brad, is at Oklahoma State.

* We've written a lot about Lone Peak's Tyler Haws, Provo's Brandon Davies and Pleasant Grove's C.J. Wilcox, the best juniors in Utah right now. Another junior, Bountiful's 6-5 wing Sean Carey, is also moving up the list.

Carey, who has family members in Indiana, will make unofficial visits to Ball State, Butler and Indiana when the state tournament is over next week.

I got a chance to talk briefly the other day with Logan High's Jeff Manning after he scored 18 points to help the Grizzlies win their 3A basketball tournament game over Cedar City.

Manning, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound junior is widely considered to be the state's best returning prep quarterback. Bingham's Jake Soffe, 6-2, 170, is also drawing some early attention.

Manning helped lead Logan to the 3A state football title last fall.

He told me that he doesn't have any scholarship offers yet, but has received dozens and dozens of letters. Recently, he accepted an invitation to attend BYU's Junior Day. That opened his eyes a little, he said, after not really considering the Cougars prior to the visit.

"It would be nice to go to Utah," he said. "I've always been a Utah fan, but a scholarship [offer] is a scholarship. If BYU is more interested..... we will see where it goes."

Manning will be busy attending several camps this spring. He will attend the Scout.com camp in Las Vegas in March, and has also been selected to participate in an invitation-only camp for quarterbacks at USC.

"I don't know what to think right now," he said. "I'm just learning about the whole process and all that goes on."

Rivals.com will host one of its 5-Star Academy camps at Cottonwood High in April, and Manning almost assuredly will be invited to that. Also, NIKE is putting on one of its SPARQ training camps at BYU on June 14.

The Utes signed a quarterback a few weeks ago, getting Las Vegas prep star DeVonte Christoper, but BYU did not sign a QB.

Certainly, the Cougars will recruit one from the class of 2009. Their primary target will likely be Taysom Hill, a 6-2, 220-pound quarterback from Highland High in Pocatello, Idaho. Hill is a highly regarded LDS prospect whose older brother, Jordan Hill, played for Arizona State.

The University of Utah's women's soccer program was rocked a bit last month when a couple of star players announced they were leaving the progam for another school.

However, it appears the Utes have taken some steps toward replacing the stars.

Utah coach Rich Manning announced the signing of 10 players, including seven from Utah.

The Utah signees are:

* Bountiful High forward Chelsea Forbes

* Murray High goalkeeper Shaylynn Kennedy

* Viewmont High midfielder Mallory Mitamura

* East High midfielder Lauren Porter

* Orem High forward Anne Shallenberger

* Davis High midfielder Roxanne Tebbs

* Timpview High defender Kellie Woodfield



The Utes have also signed Lauren Dudley of Las Vegas, Katie Martinez of Littleton, Colo., and Hannah Turpen of San Clemente, Calif.

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A reader let me know that Sky View High's Jared Erickson, the state champion at 215 pounds at last week's 4A state wrestling tournament, has been offered a scholarship to wrestle at Air Force. Erickson, who almost received a football scholarship offer from SUU, but was bypassed late in the process, will visit the AFA soon.

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Speaking of wrestling, another reader alerted me to the fact that Duchesne coach Brandon Moat, who led the Eagles to their first 1A state championship since 1981 last week, was also a four-time state champion.

The recruitment of basketball superstar Tyler Haws, a junior at Lone Peak High, took a few interesting twists this past week, according to a source close to the reigning 5A MVP's recruitment.

Bottom line: BYU and Utah aren't the only schools wooing the star guard. Of course, they probably know that.

Stanford coach Trent Johnson was in town on Monday to watch Haws play in a practice at his school. Our source says that Stanford considers Haws one of its top recruits and will push hard to get him to the Pac-10 school. They believe he is very under-recruited right now.

Also, UConn and Duke have recently sent out feelers regarding Haws' interest in them, and Duke assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski has telephoned an intermediary in Utah hoping to set up a time when he can see Haws in person.

UConn has also expressed interest in Pleasant Grove junior C.J. Wilcox recently, our source said.

Of course, Wilcox and Haws were among a group of prep underclassmen that took in the University of Utah's game last Saturday against San Diego State. Pleasant Grove's LeSean Wilcox (C.J.'s cousin), Brighton's Corbin Miller, Provo's Brandon Davies and Bingham's Ben Clifford were also special invitees, along with the two prep seniors that Utah has already signed, Jace Tavita of Brighton and Josh Sharp of Lone Peak.

All of the high schoolers were invited into Utah's locker room and introduced to former Utah standouts such as Tom Chambers, Keith Van Horn and Danny Vranes.

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I'm asked a lot about where I think the three most highly recruited juniors in the state -- Haws, C.J. Wilcox and Brandon Davies -- will end up.

My guesses right now after an ongoing dialogue with some people close to the situations -- just guesses! -- are that Wilcox will go to Utah, Davies will go to BYU and Haws will go out of state, probably to Stanford.

It is still really, really early to be predicting such things. But you've asked for it, so there it is.

Having spent most of Tuesday watching five 5A girls basketball state tournament games, I've got some thoughts on college basketball recruiting rumbling about in my head.

Just a few odds and ends after watching several of the state's top players.

First, girls basketball in Utah has improved a bit since the last time I saw a game, about five years ago. The ball-handling, dribbling and pressure defense is much better than before. The shooting is about the same.

That said, I got a good chance to watch Skyline's two BYU-bound seniors, Jenteal Jackson and Dani Peterson, play in a blowout win over Kearns.

(After the Cougars got their butts kicked by Utah on Tuesday night, it looks like they can use any help they can get).

Anyway, Peterson and Jackson are stellar players, but they missed a lot of wide open, easy shots -- shots that Division I players simply have to make. Maybe it was unfamiliarity with the gym at SLCC, or state tournament jitters. Still, if they can't make those shots for coach Jeff Judkins, they will be riding the pine in Provo.

Two of the players who have signed with Southern Utah, Davis' Dani Hosking and Lone Peak's Amanda Farish, faced off against each other.

I was impressed with both. Hosking appears to be that rare player who can create her own shot and Farish is just plain strong and athletic. Help is on the way for coach Steve Hodson at SUU, it appears.

I also liked the play of Riverton's 6-foot-3 junior Chelsea Sorensen, who will probably be a top recruit next year. She's a little timid and seemingly unwilling to mix it up inside, but Sorensen runs well and has a nice shooting touch.

If you read my little blogs from the games on tribpreps.com, you already know I was taken back by the skills of Weber's Amie Jensen.

Didn't get a chance to talk with Jensen after the game because of deadline issues, but I went home wondering why she hasn't signed with a college program yet.

She can jump, she can run, and she has the sweetest jumper I've seen from a Utah female since Erin Thorn. She plays a little selfishly, but that's probably by design because the Warriors didn't have a lot of other weapons, outside of Kelsey Sparkman.

The college basketball team with the best record in the state won't be playing on Wednesday night, as many Utahns probably believe.

Nope.

The Salt Lake Community College Bruins, who are 25-1 and ranked No. 5 in the national junior college poll, play their biggest games of the season to date on Friday and Saturday. The Bruins travel to Idaho to take on No. 1-ranked College of Southern Idaho in a SWAC doubleheader.

We got the scoop today on SLCC recruiting from assistant coach Russ Beck, who notes that as many as nine players off arguably the best team in school history could end up playing for four-year schools next year.

Although no SLCC players have signed yet, here's the rundown:

* Point guard DaVell Jackson, who had 31 points the last time SLCC played CSI, is probably the Bruins' most recruited player, although some academic issues have put him behind other sophomores.

Jackson has offers from New Mexico State, UNLV and Louisiana-Monroe, while other big-time programs have expressed interest but are waiting word on his academic progress.

* Two guard Brian Green, the former Davis High star, recently eclipsed the school record for three-pointer and now has 139. Weber State, Southern Utah, Utah Valley State College and Cal State Fullerton have offered, but Green will likely go on an LDS Church mission first. Utah State and UC Irvine are also interested.

* Wing player Bassy Banny, the 6-3 jumping jack from the Ivory Coast, is being looked at by Hawaii and UC Riverside.

* Power forward Aaron Smith, a 6-8 shooter who started his career at Idaho, has drawn the attention of Iowa, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Furman and Montana State, among others. He has not received an official offer yet.

* Papa Samba Guisse (pronounced: Gussy), the 6-9 power forward from Senegal, has an offer from Cal State Fullerton. Weber State and UC Irvine are also interested.

* SLCC's big Canadian post player, Marc Van Burck, the transfer from Colorado, is an excellent student who is drawing the attention of several Ivy League schools.

* Former Cedar City High star Yahosh Bonner, pound-for-pound the strongest player on the team, has backed up Jackson all season, but has still caught the interest of Montana, Eastern Washington and several Division II schools such as Dixie State College.

* Backup shooting guard Chris Medina, the former Ben Lomond standout, is being recruited by the College of Idaho (formerly Albertson's College).

* Andy Palmer, the undersized post player from Pine View High in St. George, is being looked at by BYU-Hawaii, Seattle-Pacific, Alaska-Anchorage and Dixie State.

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With 10 sophomores scheduled to leave the program this spring, the Bruins obviously have a new roster to fill.

Some 10 Utah preps have signed to play for Division I programs next year, but there are still a few good players out there that the junior colleges -- SLCC, Snow College and the College of Eastern Utah -- will likely try to grab.

Chief among those are Pine View's Louis Garrett, Alta's Taylor Brown, Davis' Connor Van Brocklin and Jackson Stevenett, Snow Canyon's Dalton Groskreutz, Timpanogos' Skyer Halford, Woods Cross' Patrick Day, Olympus' Elliott Bullock and the Brighton seniors, Ali Langford and Abe Millsap.

Halford leads the entire state with a 23.47 scoring average.

There are probably others; those are the names I've heard the most from college sources.

The Class of 2008 is signed (mostly), so it is time to start looking at the best football players in the Class of 2009, right?

ESPN, which works with Souts, Inc., to cover recruiting, recently came out with its ESPN 150 Watch List for the Class of 2009. The good news for BYU fans is that four of the players on the list (which includes a lot more than 150 players, by the way) have already committed to BYU.

Here are the four:

* Terry Alletto, an offensive center from Ponderosa High in Parker, Colo.

* Adam Timo, a running back from Snow Canyon High in St. George

* J'Ray Galea'i, a safety from Kahuku High in Kahuku, Hawaii

* Craig Bills, a linebacker from Timpview High in Provo

Besides Bills (ESPN doesn't show him as a BYU commit, but he is) and Timo, the only other Utahn on the list is Cottonwood lineman John Martinez, who could join Lynn Katoa as one of the most sought after prep football players in state history, if early indicators are accurate.

Martinez, who was offered by BYU as a sophomore, already has offers from the likes of USC, LSU and Oklahoma.

Surpisingly, ESPN's list doesn't include TImpview's Xavier Su'afilo, the lineman who ranked as one of the best junior prospects in the country at the U.S. Army All-American Combine for junior in San Antonio last month.

It does include the five-star recruit whom most BYU and Utah fans familiar with recruiting have already heard about: linebacker Manti Te'o of Punahou School in Honolulu.

    Intercollegiate athletes can't participate in intramural athletics, but imagine the flag football team the University of Utah could put together the next few years.

    We mentioned a few days ago that Layton High all-state quarterback Gavin Green has signed to play baseball for Utah.

    Well, so has Judge Memorial quarterback Joe Pond.

    Pond helped Judge get to the 3A state championship game in football last fall. He was also an all-Region 10 selection and second-team all-stater in the Deseret News.

    ------------------------------

    Most Utah and BYU basketball fans know that the Utes and Cougars are already involved in several heated recruiting battles for a pair of high school juniors, Lone Peak's Tyler Haws and Pleasant Grove's C.J. Wilcox. Provo's Brandon Davies also has the attention of both schools.

    However, there is another high school junior both the Utes and Cougars also want: Jeremy Olsen, a 6-foot-10 center from Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Ga.

    Olsen lived in Utah until he was 7 and is averaging 15.2 points and 10.3 rebounds a game for a school in Georgia's 5A division.

    Tribune sports writer Michael C. Lewis noted in his blog recently that Utah coach Jim Boylen went to Atlanta earlier this week to watch Olsen play. Go to http://blogs.sltrib.com/utehoops/index.htm.

    Along with Utah and BYU, Olsen, who carries a 4.0 grade point average, reportedly has offers from Xavier, Providence, Auburn and Notre Dame.

   

I thought the West Jordan-Bingham boys' basketball game was one of the best-contested games that I've seen so far this season.

I say this because of the twists, the turns, the momentum shifts and the strategy that it took for the two teams to play the game. I had one observer say to me that the coaching was bad on both sides because it seemed that neither side was making adjustments as the game wore on.

I couldn't disagree more. It's tough to adjust when the other side knows every play you're going to run, every screen, every clearout, everything. That's what happened Friday night. When two league foes, who happen to be rivals, get together, knock-down drag-out basketball games happen. Everything is contested and that's the way basketball should be at this stage of the season.

That being said, I thought Reyes Gallegos was the best player on the floor Friday night, along with West Jordan's Tanner Connors. So why didn't the Jaguars win? They simply didn't play well in the first half, and they fell behind by a sizable margin. They were able to make it up in the third quarter, actually taking the lead at one point. But when you expend that much energy making a comeback, there's often not enough in the tank to finish the game.

Another thought: Bingham's Ben Clifford is going to be a good one. A sophomore, he's a legit 6-foot-7 and he's skinny, which means he's probably got another growth spurt or two left. If he gets to, say, about 6-10, he could develop into a mid-high major Division I prospect. He's aggressive, he has good footwork and he can rebound the ball. I haven't seen Provo's Brandon Davies, another super-soph, but Clifford has definite upside.

-- Tony Jones

BYU has announced that it has signed six girls soccer players to national letters of intent, including three Utahns.

The Utahns signed by coach Jennifer Rockwood are Auna Janis, a midfielder from Mountain View High in Orem; Dana Oldroyd, a defender from Timpanogos High in Orem and McKinzie Olson a goalkeeper from Brighton High in Cottonwood Heights.

Also signing with the 2007 Mountain West Conference champions are Lauren Anderson of Monte Vista High in Danville, Calif.; Hallie Keenan of Los Altos High in Hacienda Heights, Calif., and Jennie Marshall of Beyer High in Modesto, Calif.

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Westminster's women's volleyball program has signed Anne Elise Hackamack, a 5-10 right side hitter and setter from Wasatch High in Heber City.

Nice article today in the Californian newspaper about Siaki Cravens, the 6-foot-1, 218-pound tight end who signed to play football for the University of Utah last week.

Turns out, Cravens is a pretty good basketball player, too. Maybe coach Jim Boylen will be interested.

Check out the article at http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/02/14/sports/highschool/calhighschool/10_02_432_14_08.txt

Playing for Temecula Valley High, Cravens scored 26 points and had 12 rebounds (not bad for a 6-1 forward) in his final high school game, a 78-60 loss to Canyon Country. Canyon Country features 6-9 center Cody Anderson, who has signed with Montana State in basketball.

Cravens lettered four years in both football and basketball at TVHS, and was all-CIF, all-valley and all-league in basketball.

According to his bio on Utah's Web site, he enjoys performing magic tricks.

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OK, I will admit it.

I've stopped trying to call someone at Kahuku High School in Hawaii every day to get the latest on Benji Kemoeatu, the four-star offensive lineman who committed to Utah then apparently de-committed and signed his letter of intent to play for West Virginia.

He didn't send the letter because his parents weren't around to sign it.

Well, according to Kevin Kinder of the West Virginia-based Web site bluegoldnews.com, the parents are home now, but the letter is still home, too.

"Benji has not sent in his letter of intent, but West Virginia is still on top," his father, Manako, told Kinder on Wednesday. "He has been talking to a couple of people on the East Coast, but he still has the [oral] commitment to West Virginia. He is still thinking about the whole process."

The Web site noted that one of the big factors in Kemoeatu's decision is the proximity of his older brother, Chris Kemoeatu, who plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I'm told Pittsburgh is about an hour away from Morgantown, W.V.

However, I talked to Chris Kemoeatu's agent, former Judge Memorial star Kenny Vierra, now a San Francisco attorney, the other day.

Vierra told me that Chris Kemoeatu is a restricted free agent this year and an unrestricted free agent after the 2008 season. The likelihood that he's in Pittsburgh a year from now isn't high.

The other Kemoeatu brother in the NFL, Ma'ake, plays for the Carolina Panthers.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone

Thanks for the love you've shown the Recruiting Trail blog the last few months. You've made it one of the more popular blogs on the Tribune's Web site.

Today, we continue our little discussion about Utah high school quarterbacks.

A kind reader reminded me today that at least one of the state's high school quarterbacks from the Class of 2008 has landed a Division I scholarship.

Layton quarterback Gavin Green is bound for the University of Utah -- on a baseball scholarship.

Green, a lefty, signed with the Utes back in November, just before helping the Lancers get to the 5A state championship game. He was a second-team Tribune all-stater at QB, and first team in the Deseret News.

He led the Lancers to their first region title in more than 20 years. He's also the leading scorer on Layton's basketball team.

Sounds like a great candidate for The Tribune's Athlete of the Year award, which will be announced in June.

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I also should have mentioned one of the Tribune's other all-state quarterbacks, Gordon Garrett of 2A Grand County.

A track star who recently posted a 7.05-second time in the 60 meters and runs the 40 in 4.48 seconds, Garrett has been asked to walk on at six different schools, but has no scholarship offers. He will probably end up playing cornerback in college if he decides to walk on somewhere.

Just caught up with Rhen Richard, the Class 3A all-state quarterback from Union High in Roosevelt, Utah, who helped the Cougars get to the state semifinals last fall.

I haven't seen Richard's name pop up on any lists of signings, so I figured something was up.

I should have been checking the rodeo reports.

Richard, last summer's national high school all-around cowboy champion, is in San Angelo, Texas, competing in a rodeo this week. He has completed the required classes for graduation, so he's been on the rodeo circuit the past few weeks, and plans on staying in the Texas area for a few more weeks until the high school baseball season begins in Utah.

"I'm doing OK," he said. "It's tough to win money out here because there are a lot of good ropers."

Richard, who got his PRCA card (license) a year ago, is teaming with Ogden's Colby Siddoway in team roping events.

He said he didn't sign to play college football last week, but that doesn't mean he has given up on the idea, noting that he still has an offer from Snow College.

"A lot depends on how I do in rodeo," he said.

He had some offers from some other junior colleges and small four-year schools, but those have been withdrawn, he said.

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Speaking of Utah prep quarterbacks, it was not a standout year for them.

Not one has earned a Division I scholarship, although Timpanogos' Christian Stewart will receiver "preferred walk-on status" from BYU after an LDS Church mission.

The Tribune's other 5A all-state quarterback, Alta's Ryan Rosenvall, has signed with Pasadena City College in California.

There's a good chance "Rosey" will start for PCC, according to a source close to his recruitment. The Lancers run the same offense as Alta does and the coaches there like Rosenvall's ability to run and pass.

As a side note, PCC's top receiver last fall, David Reed, has signed with Utah.

Rosenvall has said he will go on a mission after one year of playing, a desire that may have scared off some out-of-state Division I schools such as Boise State.

The two 4A all-state quarterbacks were Timpview's Quin Mecham and Pine View's Nick Marinko, who faced off in the 4A championship game. Mecham has signed with Snow College, while Marinko told me last week he will probably go to Pennsylvania if he's accepted and walk on at the Ivy League school.

Along with the aforementioned Richard, the other 3A all-state quarterback was Logan's Jeff Manning. He's a junior, however, and could be recruited next year because of his athleticism, 6-foot-5 frame and strong arm.

Weber State signed Fremont's Joel Hancock, but he doesn't count because he actually graduated two years ago, before an LDS Church mission.

Last we heard, more than 60 high school girls from Utah's 2008 senior class had signed to play college soccer.

That has to be a record -- not just for soccer, but any sport.

We've detailed those signings in our prep sports blog and in the pages of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Looks like no fewer than six of those girls have signed with Utah State, which released its list of seven signees today.

Joining the Aggies will be Lone Peak's Shantel Flanary, Bountiful's Molli Merrill, Brighton's Megan Rhoads, Provo's Chandra Salmon, Alta's Summer Tillotson and Northridge's Lexi Venable.

The Aggies also signed Brittney Boyack, a forward from Spring Valley High in Las Vegas.

Flanary is also a forward, while Rhoads, Tillotson and Venable are defenders. Salmon is a midfielder and Merrill is a goalkeeper.

Another day, another phone call to Kahuku (Haw.) football coach Reggie Torres.

He doesn't know what four-star offensive lineman Benji Kemoeatu is going to do, either.

Reached at 3:30 p.m. HST today (Monday), Torres said he hasn't seen Kemoeatu since Friday, and is pretty certain the senior hasn't sent his national letter of intent any where, yet.

"If he has decided, I am pretty sure I would know because I am the one that he's asked to fax it in," Torres said. "I've got the [fax] numbers."

The coach isn't sure if Kemoeatu's parents have returned from the church conference they have been at since early last week. One of them needs to sign the letter before it is valid.

Torres was involved in the staging of the Pro Bowl in Honolulu most of the weekend and did not have time to talk to Kemoeatu or his family.

"Nothing has happened that I know of," he said.

The recruit signed the LOI on Wednesday and said he was going to send it to West Virginia. However, he has not spoken publicly about the matter since.

I posted a few weeks ago about McKade Brady, a multi-purpose athlete at Sky View High in Smithfield, Utah who had received a scholarship offer from Navy.

Brady said today that he didn't sign with Navy on Wednesday because he wants to take a trip to Annapolis, Md., before making up his mind.

However, the quarterback/receiver/defensive back said he is 90 percent sure he will sign to join the midshipmen.

"If I like it, and I am pretty sure I will, then I will sign," he said.

Brady says that Utah, Utah State and BYU all talked to him about becoming a preferred walk on, but no local Division I school delivered a scholarship offer.

"I'm not going to turn down a scholarship just to walk on somewhere else," he said.

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

Another Utah prospect I was pretty high on entering last fall's season was Pine View quarterback Nick Marinko. Suffice to say, I was surprised Marinko's name didn't show up on any Signing Day lists.

Marinko told me Thursday night that he is still considering his options.

Mostly, he is waiting to see if he gets accepted at Pennsylvania, an Ivy League school that does give out athletic scholarships.

"If I get accepted, I will probably go there and walk on to the football team," he said.

If that doesn't work out, Marinko is also considering walking on at Dixie State College or accepting a partial grant-in-aid from Southern Virginia University, where former Dixie High and Copper Hills coach Mike Smith is a football coach and athletic director.

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

West High's Fusi Lutui has orally committed to play basketball for Miles Community College in Miles City, Mont.

Lutui, a 5-foot-10 forward, is averaging 13.5 points and 9.5 rebounds a game for the Panthers.

She will join two other Salt Lake City area products at Miles, Brittany Tattersal and Shannon Hildreth.

Miles is 23-1 and ranked 14th in the nation in NJCAA Division I.

Kahuku, Haw., football star Benji Kemoeatu will not fax his letter of intent to West Virginia today (Friday), his high school coach, Reggie Torres, told me around 3 p.m. (MST).

But that doesn't mean Kemoeatu is leaning in another direction.

"It is because his parents are not back in town yet," Torres said. "I really think he is still thinking highly of West Virginia."

Utah and Oregon State fans are holding out hope that when Kemoeatu's parents return from a church conference they won't sign the document. He needs a parent's signature for it to be official.

However, Torres -- who has seemingly grown weary of talking about the four-star recruit's situation -- says rumors that the family wants him to go elsewhere are unfounded.

"Oh, no, no, they will sign it," he said. "They just want him to get a good education. I'm pretty sure they will sign it."

Someone who answered the telephone at Kemoeatu's home on Thursday said the parents were scheduled to return that night, but Torres said he heard they won't be back until at least Saturday.

Now that Kahuku lineman Anthony Siilata has made it official and faxed his letter of intent to Oregon State a day late (see Lya Wodraska's Utah blog for more details at http://blogs.sltrib.com/utes/index.htm ) attention has focused on his teammate, Benji Kemoeatu.

He is the player, of course, who announced Wednesday he was going to West Virginia, but wasn't able to send the letter because his parents were out of town and needed to sign it. Since then, rumors have circulated that the family is unhappy with the decision.

Nobody has been able to reach Kemoeatu -- surprise, surprise -- since Signing Day, but a Kahuku source told me last night that he might be waiting until his brothers, NFL players Chris and Ma'ake Kemoeatu, return home for Pro Bowl festivities.

The parents were scheduled to return home late last night from a church conference, according to a sibling who answered the phone yesterday.

I am not advocating negative recruiting, but if I were a coach at Utah or Oregon State, the two schools who were also in the running for the four-star recruit's services, I might want to make sure the family hears about a story that broke from Morgantown on Thursday.

New West Virginia coach Bill Stewart dismissed three players charged with felony possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.

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

Utah basketball beat writer Michael C. Lewis has blogged in the past about Brad Tinsley, the Oregon prep player who was released from signing with Pepperdine when that school's coach quit during the season. Utah is one of the schools that was recruiting Tinsley before he signed with Pepperdine, and is apparently now back in the picture to land him.

However, the Utes have acknowledged they probably won't have a scholarship to give him the first year.

Here's more on the situation from the Oregonian newspaper:

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1202444711279710.xml&coll=7

Something smells fishy here.

In December, the Utah State Aggies announced they had signed four junior-college recruits, including defensive lineman Sevaro Johnson out of Laney College in Oakland, Calif.

"He's a big body that plays inside and is very athletic for his size and we think we can impact the run game as well as push the pocket to help with the pass rush," USU coach Brent Guy said at the time.

Either Johnson has a way of turning himself into two people, or the Aggies just got robbed.

Johnson signed with Colorado State on Wednesday.

It's true -- right there on the list on CSU's Web site. Johnson is one of 25 recruits that new Rams coach Steve Fairchild signed.

When asked why Johnson was not on Utah State's list Wednesday, (before reporters knew he had signed with CSU) assistant coach Danilo Robinson said Johnson didn't qualify academically.

So ... are USU's academic standards higher than those at CSU?

Gotta wonder.

******

Actually, the Aggies lost three defensive linemen at the last minute, as Sacramento-area star Greg Grimes de-committed and signed with Boise State and Keenan Brown of San Bernardino de-committed and signed with San Jose State.

Our Utah State beat writer, Steve Luhm, says a couple of the tight ends the Aggies recruited may end up playing defensive end.

Here's more from Luhm on Utah State's signing day, stuff that didn't make the printed version of the paper:

According to Danilo Robinson, two things helped Utah State's coaches during their recruiting: the new facilities and the Aggies' two-game winning streak at the end of last season.

The new athletic complex "has been a tremendous asset," Robinson said. "We're able to compete with everybody in the WAC and Mountain West, we feel. ... This is the first year we've been able to do that. We were able to show [the facilities] to the kids, rather than just show them a picture or pile of dirt. This class was affected by that."

Utah State also finished 2-10 last season after winning at New Mexico State and Idaho to close the year.

"Definitely good for the program, the kids and the coaches," Robinson said. "We were able to go into homes and point out that we have a two-game road winning streak and we led in the fourth quarter of eight games last year. We were not able to finish games because we were lacking them -- this class. These recruits were able to see how
close we are."

******

Recruiting buffs should note that we've got more on the recruiting efforts of BYU and Utah. Go to the blogs written by BYU beat writer Rhiannon Potkey and Utah beat writer Lya Wodraska.

Also, our high school sports writers have written extensively about the record number of girls soccer players from Utah who signed with Division I programs.

We ran a list of where state 5A champion Alta's football players are going to college yesterday, and a trail reader called today wondering about Jordan's players.

Of course, three-time all-state receiver Cody Raymond is going to Snow College -- after a two-year LDS Church mission.

Jordan coach Alex Jacobson says the big boys are missing out on Raymond, one of the state's all-time leading receivers.

"Two words," says Jacobson: "Wes Welker."

Welker, of course, is the New England Patriots receiver who tied a Super Bowl record with 11 receptions in the Patriots' 17-14 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday.

"Cody Raymond is going to be the next Wes Welker, in my opinion," Jacobson said. "I'm not saying he's going to play in the Super Bowl, but he is going to have an impact in this game, somewhere, somehow."

As prep sports writers who cover Jacobson's team know, he is one of the most passionate guys around -- but a little prone to hyperbole. Still, I was shocked myself that Raymond didn't get more D-I attention.

The coach said Jordan defensive backs/receivers Darren Carter and Bridger Battaglia are both headed to Dixie State College in St. George.

Linebacker Travis Jones is trying to decide between two or three junior colleges in California, while running back/linebacker Hayden Moss is undecided and may pursue a college career in wrestling.

Next year, Jordan will have at least two Division I recruits, Jacobson believes, noting that offensive linemen Vyncent Jones and Kyle Johnson, both juniors are both drawing major league attention. Jones is the son of former University of Utah and Minnesota Vikings standout Wayne Jones.

By listening to coaches talk, reading a few of the accounts in the Utah newspapers this morning and watching a few television news shows last night, one would think that Brigham Young and Utah got all the football players they went after on signing day.

Hold on a minute, folks.

While it is true that both schools picked up some gems, the fact of the matter remains that both apparently missed out on that one player they wanted the most, and that's got to hurt.

Actually, one could argue that BYU failed to get four of the five highest-ranked LDS prospects in the land. If the Cougs really want to break into the BCS and challenge for a national title -- and that's a really big 'if' -- they simply have to get the very best LDS players.

Yesterday, they didn't.

Sure, Bingham's Austin Holt, the four-star tight end who committed a year ago, followed through on his promise.

But what about the others?

Four-star linebacker Uona Kaveinga (that son of a bishop!) chose USC, while three/four-star center Hamani Stevens picked Oregon. Locally, Timpanogos defensive end David Kruger a four-star guy in some circles (Rivals.com), signed with Utah and Cottonwood's five-star linebacker Lynn Katoa signed with Colorado.

To be fair, Kruger had deeper ties to Utah than BYU, despite living in Utah County, and Katoa was never recruited by the Cougars and is only marginally LDS, from what I've been told (though not by him; I've never asked).

Still, not getting Kaveinga and Stevens -- losing them to BCS schools at the last minute -- really stings.

The highest-ranked LDS quarterback in the country, Kevin Prince of Crespi High in Southern California, also bypassed the Cougars. He de-committed to Washington at the last minute and signed with UCLA, saying he will grayshirt his first year and possibly go on an LDS Church mission.

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said Wednesday that BYU didn't recruit a quarterback because it is loaded at that position. Too loaded to pass on a guy whom UCLA and Washington wanted?

As far as Utah goes, the Utes are still holding out hope that four-star offensive lineman Benji Kemoeatu changes his mind once his parents return home and decides not to fax that letter of intent to West Virginia. Because he's not 18 yet, he has to have a parent or guardian's signature on it to make it valid.

It is a tough loss to swallow for Utah fans because Kemoeatu's three older brothers all played for the Utes, with huge success. The program sent two of the brothers to the NFL, for heaven's sake, and it can't persuade the next in line to follow in their footsteps?

Like I said, that's got to hurt.

Dixie State College in St. George has signed 10 players, including the grandson of assistant coach Ken Schmidt, former Skyline High quarterback and defensive back Kenny Schmidt.

Here's Dixie State's list:

Dixie State Signees

Name Pos Ht Wt Hometown High School Other

Tauni Vakapuna RB 5-9 210 N SLC, UT Hunter Mission

Quin Ah You DL 6-4 305 Laie, HI Kahuku Dixie JC

Lee Millard DL 6-3 240 N SLC, UT Wood Cross Snow

Jacob Ferrin DL/LB 6-3 245 Nampa, ID Skyview Univ. Utah

Scot Brown SF 5-11 200 Ririe, ID Ririe BYU-ID

Carson Seegmiller WR 6-0 195 St. George, UT Pine View Mission

Tyler Warhurst OL 6-5 290 St. George, UT Pine View

RJ Best OL/DL 6-3 265 St. George, UT Snow Canyon

Ammon Schwab P/K 5-9 180 Bountiful, UT Bountiful

Kenny Schmidt DB 6-3 180 Draper, UT Skyline

 

Morning, everyone.

The dust has settled, mostly, on another signing day and I hope to have some wrap-ups and commentary posted on all the happenings later in the day.

Until then, we just got the list of 22 players that Snow College signed. The list includes 20 in-state players, which is typical for a junior college such as Snow.

Lots of interesting names here for the Badgers. They've landed a pair of receivers who were oh-so-close to getting Division I offers, Jordan's Cody Raymond and Timpview's Mark Ercanbrack.

Also, they picked up Timpview quarterback Quinn Mecham, who led his team to an undefeated, record-breaking season.

And, running back Sam Langi of Bingham probably would have picked up a D-I offer if not for some academic issues.

Here's the list:

Name High School Position

Brayden Stenbridge South Summit Line Backer

Chad Willson Layton Line Backer

Alex Froelich Northridge Line Backer

Jordan Anderson Alta Line Backer

Saula Taufa Manti Defensive Line

Zach Enosa American Fork Defensive Line

Vili Halasima Timpview Defensive Line

Tonga Fisilau East Defensive Line

Parker Cracroft East Defensive Back

Andrew Carver Riverton Defensive Back

Devin Peterson Logan Defensive Back

Matt Putnam Layton Defensive Back

Quinn Meacham Timpview Quarterback

Steve Thornton Box Elder Offensive Line

Trey Taylor Crowley (TX) Offensive Line

Patrick Au Kahuku (HI) Offensive Line

Muka Atiga Hunter Running Back

Sam Langi Bingham Running Back

LeRoy Unga Payson Running Back

Drew Robinson North Summit Tight End

Mark Ercanbrack Timpview Wide Receiver

Cody Raymond Jordan Wide Receiver

Another high school player has announced he will join BYU in 2008 as a "preferred walk on."

Neil Crook of West Albany, Ore., said he will join the Cougars in a note sent to Utah media outlets by his father.

Crook, the two-time Oregon 5A defensive player of the year as a middle linebacker, helped his team go 14-0 and win the state championship last December.

Here's Utah State's list of 21 signees

Name School Position Comment

Sheldon Armstrong Long Beach (Calif.) Poly HS DB

Kellen Bartlett Blue Springs (Mo.) HS TE

Marquis Butler Los Angeles Locke HS RB

Casey Davis Snow (Utah) College DT

Patrick Dvoracek Arlington (Texas) Timberview HS OL

Robert Fuller San Bernardino (Calif). Arroyo Valley HS QB

Quinn Garner Santa Cruz (Calif.) HS LB

Chris Harris Pasadena (Calif.) Duarte HS ATH

Exavier Johnson Van Nuys (Calif.) Birmingham HS ATH

Alfred Kikau Sacramento (Calif.) Rio American HS DB

Tremel Kline Los Medanos (Calif.) JC WR

Magnum Mauga Grossmont (Calif.) JC DL

Jeremy Mitchell Laney (Calif.) College TE

Harold Moleni West Valley City (Utah) Hunter HS TE

Oscar Molina Baldwin Park (Calif.) HS DL

Joe Moreno Mission Hills (Calif.) HS TE

Emmanual Ojeriakhi Bakersfield (Calif.) HS WR

x-Tanner Richins Logan (Utah) HS OL

Robert Tidwell Humble (Texas) Atascocita HS DL

Bobby Wagner Ontario (Calif.) Colony HS LB

Christopher Williams El Camino (Calif.) JC DB

x-signed in 2007 but will enroll this spring

The Web site totalbluesports.com is reporting that Uona Kaveinga, the four-star linebacker from Lawndale, Calif., has signed with USC.

Kaveinga is supposed to announce the decision on live cable television shortly, but TBS has apparently confirmed the signing with the player's father.

Kaveinga committed to BYU three weeks ago, but visited USC shortly thereafter and has said little publicly since that visit.

We will follow with some comments from Kaveinga when they become available.

Here's Southern Utah's list of signees:

Name Ht Wt Yr Pos Hometown Previous Schools
Robert Ah-Sue 5-11 195 Jr WR Riverside, Calif. Riverside CC/Ramona HS
Alex Bair 6-4 275 Fr OL Henderson, Nev. Foothill HS
Zach Brackus 6-5 290 Fr OL Murray, Utah Murray HS
Nate Carter 5-9 190 Fr RB St. George, Utah Dixie HS
Rickey Clark 6-2 200 Fr SS Hayward, Calif. Tennyson HS
Myles Crawford-Harris 6-2 180 Fr FS Oakland, Calif. Oakland Technical HS
Paul Fuaalii 6-5 210 Fr LB Salt Lake City, Utah Cottonwood HS
Chris Haning 6-4 200 Fr TE North Salt Lake, Utah Woods Cross HS
Justin Jensen 6-6 300 Fr OL American Fork, Utah American Fork HS
Derek Keller 6-4 218 F LB Draper, Utah Alta HS
Justin Manu 6-4 290 Fr DL Salt Lake City, Utah Highland HS
James Nielsen 6-4 300 Fr OL West Valley City, Utah Cyprus HS
Aaron Po'hua 6-4 300 Jr OL West Valley City, Utah Snow College/Cyprus HS
R.J. Tialavea 6-4 220 Fr QB Kearns, Utah Kearns HS
Richie Tukuafu 6-3 190 Fr WR Salt Lake City, Utah Cottonwood HS
Dion Turner 5-11 175 Fr CB Oakland, Calif. Oakland Technical HS
Brian Wilson 6-1 205 Fr RB/SS San Diego, Calif. Mission Hills HS

Here is Weber State's list of 2008 signees

Freshmen ( NAME POS HT WT CL HOMETOWN HS/JC


Pierre Alexander DL 6-0 310 Fr. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Carl Albert

Ryan Eastman DL 6-1 260 Fr. Honolulu, Hawai*i St Louis

Demetri Enesi DL 6-2 260 Fr. Beaverton, Oregon West View

%Joel Hancock QB 6-4 190 Fr. Ogden, Utah

Brett Jividen OL 6-3 260 Fr. Tucscon, Arizona Sahuaro

Micah McMurry LB 6-1 200 Fr. Fruitland, Idaho

Spencer Rangasan OL 6-0 250 Fr. West Jordan, Utah Cottonwood

Jamie Rigby WR 5-10 165 Fr. Bountiful, Utah

%Blake Sims S 6-3 190 Fr. Syracuse, Utah

%Antwain Stutson DB 6-0 180 Fr. Pomona, California Montclair

%Caldwell Taylor DL 6-5 210 Fr. Deweyville, Utah

%Nick Webb S/LB 6-4 205 Fr. Salt Lake City, Utah

%currently enrolled in 2008 Spring semester at Weber State

JUNIOR COLLEGE TRANSFERS (4) NAME POS HT WT CL HOMETOWN

%Joe Collins WR 6-3 175 Jr. Seaside, California Seaside/Monterey Peninsula

%Nestor Cruz OL 6-4 295 Jr. Fresno, California Central / Reedley (Calif.)

%Joe Larson DL 6-1 270 Jr. Crescent City, California Del Norte / Butte (Calif.)

Jon Williams K 5-10 200 So. San Diego, California Point Loma / Alcorn State

%currently enrolled in 2008 Spring semester at Weber State

Consider me astonished.

Just got a text from Hamani Stevens, the four-star recruit who eliminated BYU last week and said it was down to UCLA and Oregon.

"I'm going to Oregon," Stevens wrote.

When Stevens replaced BYU with UCLA and noted that one of the reasons why he did so was because he wanted to play closer to home, I figured he was headed to UCLA for sure. Boy, was I wrong.

The offensive center needs to brush up on his geography, however. Los Angeles is actually closer to Provo than Eugene, Ore.

As of 4:45 p.m., Utah State has released the names of 16 players who have signed to play for the Aggies next fall. A source told the Tribune's Steve Luhm that there could be as many as 21 when the next list is released around 5:30 p.m.

After reading through the bios of the 16 guys, my first inclination is to wonder why USU once again failed to sign more players from the state of Utah.

Do BYU and Utah really get all the good ones and leave the Aggies with just scraps, as been the contention from Logan for several years now?

Assistant coach Danilo Robinson said in a teleconference earlier today that the Aggies always focus on Cache Valley prospects and Utah players.

Really?

The list of 16 includes only three Utahns: Logan lineman Tanner Richins, Hunter tight end Harold Moleni and Riverton lineman Casey Davis, a transfer from Snow College.

Right now, Utah has 15 signees, including five from Utah, while BYU has 21, including eight from Utah.

One thing we learned at today's BYU press conference: Coach Bronco Mendenhall is not a big fan of the systems that rank recruits by giving them stars.

"We don't really care how many stars whomever ranks our recruits [gives them]," he told the media and a crowded room full of Cougar Club members at LaVell Edwards Stadium. "Every player, once they come to BYU, has no stars."

The coach used a powerpoint presentation to show that of BYU's 22 starters in 2007, 14 of them were unranked by either Scout.com or Rivals.com. Of the eight who were ranked, the average ranking was 2.5 stars.

He told people who are obsessed with the recruiting Web sites, "Find something else to do with your time, please."

However, Mendenhall acknowledged that "right now, it is exciting to see where everybody ranks our class, etc., but it will be more fun to me to watch and see how many stars get put on them when they get here."

The Tribune's BYU beat writer, Rhiannon Potkey, has a lot more from today's news conference on her blog at http://blogs.sltrib.com/byu/index.htm

Here are Utah's State's signees as of noon.

Kellen Bartlett TE 6-3 235 FR HS Blue Springs, Mo. (Blue Springs HS)
Marquis Butler RB 6-0 185 FR HS Los Angeles, Calif. (Locke HS)
# Casey Davis DL 6-3 285 JR JC Riverton, Utah (Riverton HS/Snow JC)
Patrick Dvoracek OL 6-4 295 FR HS Arlington, Texas (Timberview HS)
Quinn Garner LB 6-3 230 FR HS Santa Cruz, Calif. (Santa Cruz HS)
Chris Harris ATH/RB 5-10 185 FR HS Pasadena, Calif. (Duarte HS)
Alfred Kikau DB 6-0 180 FR HS Sacramento, Calif. (Rio Americano HS)
Tremel Kline WR 6-3 200 JR JC Beaufort, S.C. (Battery Creek HS/Los Medanos JC)
# Jeremy Mitchell TE 6-5 255 JR JC Benicia, Calif. (Benicia HS/Laney JC)
Harold Moleni TE 6-3 230 FR HS West Valley City, Utah (Hunter HS)
Oscar Molina DL 6-4 245 FR HS Baldwin Park, Calif. (Baldwin Park HS)
Joe Moreno TE 6-3 230 FR HS Mission Hills, Calif. (Mission Hills HS)
Emmanual Ojeriakhi WR 6-3 185 FR HS Bakersfield, Calif. (Bakersfield HS)
" Tanner Richins OL 6-6 310 FR HS Logan, Utah (Logan HS)
Robert Tidwell DL 6-3 235 FR HS Humble, Texas (Atascocita HS)
# Christopher Williams DB 6-3 190 JR JC Torrance, Calif. (Leuzinger HS/El Camino JC)

" Signed in 2007 but did not enroll until this spring
# Signed in December

Sorry, folks.

I have been down at BYU's press conference announcing the 21 recruits that the Cougars have signed (as of 3:30 p.m.) and wasn't able to post for a couple of hours.

Of course, the big news while I was away is that the Kahuku, Hawaii, players are apparently not going to sign with Utah.

For the latest, go to my colleague Lya Wodraska's University of Utah blog at http://blogs.sltrib.com/utes/index.htm

It is probably already old news by now, but BYU did get a letter from Shiloah Te'o, the Kahuku safety. That was their 21st signee.

Coach Bronco Mendenhall said they were still waiting for one more recruit's decision (and were holding open one scholarship), but wasn't able to say his name because no school has received a letter yet from Uona Kaveinga.

Asked what the chances are of getting one from that "unnamed recruit," Mendenhall said "It's still 50-50, as far as I know. Last I heard he had narrowed it down to us and one other school."

I will have more on BYU's press conference later, but there wasn't any other earth-shattering news.

Looks like Vanderbilt has received the LOI of Park City defensive tackle Colt Nichter, the 6-foot-2, 275-pound all-stater who was also recruited heavily by Washington State.

There's a lull in the action for both BYU and Utah right now -- both schools are expecting only a couple more letters -- so it seems like a good time to recap which Utahns are going out of state to play college football.

Here's a list:

Cottonwood's Lynn Katoa -- Colorado

Judge Memorial's Lewis Walker -- Hawaii

Lone Peak's Kevin Whimpey -- Idaho State

Lone Peak's Kyle Whimpey -- Idaho State

Park City's Colt Nichter -- Vanderbilt

Alta's Jerad Fehr -- Navy

Just noticed that BYU's list of signees is up to 20 now with the addition of Bingham High linebacker Iona Pritchard, the 6-0, 220-pound heavy hitter.

Looks like the Miners were 25-2 with Pritchard as a starter. Pretty impressive.

Just got word from Utah State today that coach Brent Guy is ill and won't be participating in the school's teleconference today regarding its recruits.

This should make Guy feel better. As of 10 a.m., here's the list of players who have sent their letters of intent to the Aggies:

Kellen Bartlett TE 6-3 235 FR HS Blue Springs, Mo. (Blue Springs HS)

# Casey Davis DL 6-3 285 JR JC Riverton, Utah (Riverton HS/Snow JC)

Patrick Dvoracek OL 6-4 295 FR HS Arlington, Texas (Timberview HS)

Alfred Kikau DB 6-0 180 FR HS Sacramento, Calif. (Rio Americano HS)

# Jeremy Mitchell TE 6-5 255 JR JC Benicia, Calif. (Benicia HS/Laney JC)

Harold Moleni TE 6-3 230 FR HS West Valley City, Utah (Hunter HS)

Emmanual Ojeriakhi WR 6-3 185 FR HS Bakersfield, Calif. (Bakersfield HS)

Robert Tidwell DL 6-3 235 FR HS Humble, Texas (Atascocita HS)

# Christopher Williams DB 6-3 190 JR JC Torrance, Calif. (Leuzinger HS/El Camino JC)

# Signed in December

Thanks to someone who works for Wells Fargo bank, we've learned about Utah's first big surprise of the day.

The Utes will receive a letter shortly from Dudley LaPorte, a tight end from Santa Barbara Community College who had committed to Ole Miss.

Here's a link to a Web site announcing LaPorte's decision:

http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?id=1400&nid=8784

It appears that LaPorte, who was also recruited by Nevada, will send in his letter around noon today.

Utah has announced 12 signees as of 11 a.m., including one player who actually signed in December, junior college transfer Lamar Chapman of El Camino CC in Torrance, Calif.

The Utes have not delivered any suprises yet.

There was some speculation that they might lure Las Vegas receiver Juron Criner away from Arizona. We haven't seen Criner show up on Arizona's list yet, but there's some thought that if he was headed to Utah, he would have sent his letter in with DeVonte Christopher, his high school teammate who faxed his in more than two hours ago.

By my count, there are two players left who have committed but have yet to show up on Utah's list: Zach Davila, a lineman from Cienega High in Arizona, and David Reed, a receiver from Pasadena City College.

The first big surprise of 2008 signing day has been delivered, by Brigham Young.

The Cougars just announced they have received a letter of intent from Bernard Afutiti, a 6-0, 260-pound defensive lineman from Mount San Antonio College in California.

I had to do some quick research on the kid because he was not on any lists of BYU commitments published before today.

Afutiti, who sent in his letter around 10 a.m. MST, was fourth on Mt. Sac's team with 41.5 tackles.

He played high school football at Kaiser High in Fontana, Calif., and graduated in 2005. He received offers out of high school from Michigan, USC, Oregon State and Utah, according to a BYU news release.

As of 10:45 a.m., the Cougars have 19 signees. Nothing yet from Kahuku's Shiloah Te'o, Bingham's Iona Pritchard or the big one, Leuzinger's Uona Kaveinga.

The nation's No. 1 football recruit is going........to delay his announcement.

Just watched Pennsylvania quarterback Terrelle Pryor's live news conference on CSTV. Pryor said he is going to delay his decision until he can visit Oregon and Penn State, probably next week.

The 6-foot-6, 235-pound dual-threat quarterback did say that his final four are Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon and Penn State.

Pryor said he almost had his mind made up last night, but that Penn State and Oregon have made late pushes. Most analysts believed he was going to sign with Ohio State.

Signing day is off and running, with letters of intent pouring into the football offices at all the state's schools.

At 9 a.m. BYU had announced 14 signees on its Web site (www.byucougars.com) and Utah had announced 11 on its Web site (www.UtahUtes.com.

No surprises thus far.

We haven't seen anything from the other three schools in Utah's "Big Five" -- Utah State, Weber State or Southern Utah.

Nationally, all eyes are on Pennsylvania prep quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who was undecided heading into today. No news yet on Pryor.

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Alta High coach Les Hamilton just sent out a list of where players from the 5A state championship team are headed. Most of these have been noted here and elsewhere, but there are some new revelations, such as the announcement that safety/kicker Jerad Fehr will sign with Navy.

Here's the list:
RB Sausan Shakerin -- Utah
K Jerad Fehr -- Navy
DE Derek Keller -- Southern Utah
LB Jordan Anderson -- Snow College
QB Ryan Rosenvall -- Pasadena City College
LB Jefferson Court -- BYU (preferred walk-on)
LB Boo Andersen -- Utah (preferred walk-on)
DB Kaden Carli -- Southern Utah (preferred walk-on)
TE Brady Hunt -- BYU (walk on)
RB Shayne Day -- Snow College (walk on)
OL Jordan Betz -- Undecided
DL Kevin Fortin -- Southern Utah (preferred walk-on)

If you are a reporter and you are trying to reach by telephone a high school football star who remains undecided tonight, you would probably have better luck reaching Mitt Romney for a comment on Super Tuesday.

Good thing there are high school coaches.

I just talked to Kahuku High coach Reggie Torres to get the latest on a pair of his players that Utah is trying to lure to Salt Lake City.

There's really nothing new to report, unfortunately. Perhaps the biggest development is that lineman Benji Kemoeatu, the four-star recruit, is saying he might not sign tomorrow after all. It is actually the beginning of the "signing period," Torres notes, and there's nothing that says a recruit has to sign on Wednesday.

Torres said that West Virginia is still "very much" in the picture for the big lineman who has two brothers in the NFL (one at nearby Pittsburgh).

"He's stuck between all three -- West Virginia, Utah and Oregon State," Torres said, clicking off positives about each program.

Torres said Kemoeatu's fellow lineman, Anthony Siilata, is still torn between Utah and Oregon State, but is expected to announce his decision at a signing ceremony (10 a.m. HST) at Kahuku.

Chris Fetters of Scout.com talked to Torres earlier Tuesday and reported on that Web site that Siilata was probably going to pick Oregon State. However, Torres gave me the impression that the player is still undecided.

As for Shiloah Te'o, the safety who has committed to BYU, Torres said UNLV has made a late and strong push, but that his commitment to the Cougs appears solid.

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A few other odds and ends to pass along on the eve of football signing day.....

* Remember Hamani Stevens, the three-star offensive lineman from Hemet High in California that BYU was after until last week when he told Cougar coach Bronco Mendenhall he was more interested in the Pac-10? He just returned a text message, letting me know that he will announce his decision (UCLA or Oregon) at noon PST on Wednesday.

* Beau Gardner, a tight end from Mesa (Ariz.) High who was considering walking on at either BYU or Arizona State, received a late scholarship offer from Northern Arizona and accepted it, according to Scout.com.

* Defensive back and receiver Greg Castillo, the speedster from Philadelphia whose father is on the Eagles' coaching staff, withdrew his commitment to Villanova and announced Tuesday that he will sign with Iowa. Castillo received an offer from BYU, but it was withdrawn when he didn't commit by a certain agreed-upon deadline.

Today seems to be the day when guys who plan on accepting invitations to be preferred walk-ons are announcing where they are going to play college football.

The latest player to let us know is Bingham linebacker Forrest Dabb. The Region 3 defensive MVP will walk on at Utah, according to his father, Steven Dabb.

Forrest Dabb, who led the Miners in four defensive categories, was also recruited by Southern Utah and was also offered preferred walk on status by Utah State.

Steven Dabb says the difference-maker was Utah defensive coordinator Gary Andersen, who recruits local kids for the Utes.

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One of the guys who posts on Utezone.com alerted that Web site's readers to a story on Sports Illustrated's Web site about a Nevada high schooler who committed to play football at Cal -- without Cal ever having recruiting him.

It's one of the more bizarre recruiting stories you will see.

Check it out at: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/andy_staples/02/04/pryor.watch/index.html

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Tomorrow is signing day, as many of you know, and I will start and end the day talking about recruiting on local media outlets if you are interested in checking it out.

Patrick Kinahan and David James, morning show hosts on radio station 1320 AM The Fan will have me on at around 8:40 a.m. Wednesday.

I am also scheduled to appear on Alema Harrington's Powerhouse sports television show at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday evening.

The best overall unit in Utah prep football last fall may have been Alta's linebackers/defensive ends.

We reported last week that Hawks defensive end Derek Keller has committed to Southern Utah.

Monday, Alta linebacker Jordan Anderson said he's headed to Snow College.

Today, we have learned that Alta linebacker Jefferson Court will take BYU's invitation to become a preferred walk-on. Court, who is 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, turned down a scholarship offer from Utah State .

Another Alta defensive star, Boo Andersen, will likely accept Utah's offer to become a preferred walk-on.

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Utah State has landed another linebacker from California.

Quinn Garner, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound star from Santa Cruz (Calif.) High has orally committed to the Aggies. Garner was the Santa Cruz County defensive player of the year and a second-team all-stater according to Cal-Hi Sports.

After having a scholarship offer from San Diego State pulled, Garner picked the Aggies over San Jose State.

Salt Lake Community College's softball program has announced that it has signed 10 players from three states to its 2008 freshmen class, including seven from Utah.

The Utahns are: Springville's Sarah Clark, Viewmont's Stacie Graham, Taylorsville's Marqi Gray, Layton's Kylee Higgins, Weber's Reilee O'Brien, Bingham's Shaynie Phillips and Bountiful's Kim Weese.

The three others are Erika James of Montpelier, Idaho; Hayley Atiyeh of Las Vegas and Jordyn McDonald of Las Vegas.

Also, the SLCC news release notes that Weber's Randee O'Brien and Hunter's Meranda Wood have agreed to play for the Bruins.

And, one of SLCC's players, former Kearns High star Tara Bendt, has signed with UNLV. She was an all-Region 18 selection in 2007 and led the Bruins with a .401 batting average.

Had a quick conversation last night with Andrew Rich, the safety from Ogden's Bonneville High and Ephraim's Snow College who agreed in December to walk on at BYU, bypassing scholarship offers from Cal and Boise State.

I gotta tell you, the kid is a saint.

With the reports that a couple of players that BYU was counting on have de-committed to the Cougars in recent days, I assumed Rich would be given one of those scholarships.

"Not that I know of," Rich said. "I haven't discussed it with a coach at all. I am still planning on paying my own way."

Rich started classes at BYU on Jan. 7 and said everything is going well.

When I asked him if he would be disappointed if BYU didn't give him a scholarship, he said, "Not really. I am sure the guys that are getting the scholarships have earned them."

The Utah State Aggies have found themselves a quarterback.

Robert Fuller, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound quarterback from Arroyo Valley High in San Bernardino, Calif., has orally committed to USU and will sign his national letter of intent with the Aggies on Wednesday, an athletic official at his school confirmed this morning.

Fuller's commitment has also been reported by the Web site rivals.com.

"I like the coaching staff at Utah State and I liked the environment of the area," Fuller told Rivals.com. "I feel I will be comfortable there for four years."

Fuller thrrew for 2,775 yards and 28 touchdowns and also rushed for 807 yards and 10 TDs.

As a junior, he threw for 604 yards in one game, the second-most in a single game in the nation.

Fuller was recruited by some bigger schools as defensive back, but it appears a promise from Utah State that he would get a shot at playing quarterback helped persuade him to go to Logan.

Also, the Daily Bulletin newspaper is reporting that Fuller's teammate at Arroyo Valley, defensive end Keenan Brown, has also committed to the Aggies.

Also committing to Utah State on Monday was Joe Moreno, a tight end from Mission Hills High in California. Moreno is 6-2 and 220 and caught eight touchdown passes last fall.

Rivals has also reported that Sheldon Armstrong, a defensive back from Long Beach Poly High in California has committed to Utah State.

Kellen Bartlett, the 6-2 tight end from Missouri we talked about on Monday has confirmed to Scout.com that he did indeed commit to the Aggies. He said the big reason why was a relationship he has built with USU assistant coach Darrell Dickey.

___________________________

The news hasn't been all good for the Aggies, however.

The Sacramento Bee is reporting today that Greg Grimes, the defensive tackle from Inderkum High, has de-committed to the Aggies. Grimes is now saying that he is going to Boise State.

Because highly touted linebacker Uona Kaveinga and his family members are not talking to anyone right now, we are left to speculate on what the four-star recruit from Leuzinger High in Lawndale, Calif., is going to say and do on signing day.

Here's my guess: the kid who commited to BYU a few weeks ago (and has said little else since) is going to USC.

Before Cougar fans get on me for throwing out negative vibes, I just noticed that the editor of totalbluesports.com, Brandon Gurney, is also predicting Kaveinga is going to be a Trojan.

I am basing my call on a half-dozen conversations and/or e-mails I've exchanged with people close to the recruiters the past few days.

It has come down to three factors: 1) USC coach Pete Carroll has promised Kaveinga that his scholarship will still be there if he chooses to go on an LDS Church mission. That's groundbreaking stuff for Carroll, from what I hear. 2) Kaveinga's parents have warmed up to USC's coaching staff and are no longer pushing BYU. 3) Three letters: BCS.

The closest I can get to Kaveinga is his high school coach, and Deon Tolliver told me a half hour ago that he honestly doesn't know.

"We've had our discussions [in the past], but he's pretty much only talking to his family about it right now,' Tolliver said. "I don't ask anymore."

What Tolliver does know is that Kaveinga will make the announcement at 6 p.m. PST Wednesday on the local Fox television affiliate, Fox Sports West.

That's one of the reasons why I think it is USC. I just don't see the teenager going on live television in the Los Angeles market to say he's chosen BYU over USC.

Also, I talked to BYU-bound tight end Austin Holt tonight, and he told me that BYU Fed-exed two Letters of Intent to him on Saturday with the instructions that he is to sign one and fax it to BYU on Wednesday morming as soon after 7 a.m. as possible.

He can sign the other one in a ceremony during lunchtime at Bingham High and keep it in his scrapbook.

I can't imagine Bronco Mendenhall allowing Kaveinga to fax in the letter after 7 p.m. (local time) after he's asked all the other recruits to get it in early.

Plus, BYU will announce Tuesday that it will have a signing day party for boosters at noon on Wednesday where it will show highlights of all its recruits and talk about them.

And as you've heard a hundred times, coaches can't talk about recruits until they have signed.

Back from his weekend visit to Oregon State, lineman Anthony Siilata isn't feeling too well.

But it has nothing to do with the gut-wrenching decision Siilata must make in the next two days.

Siilata was too ill to make it to school on Monday, he said, but summoned up enough energy for a quick telephone conversation.

The lineman from Kahuku HIgh in Hawaii said he did not commit to the Beavers during his time in Corvallis. He's trying to decide between Utah and Oregon State.

"I'm still thinking about it," he said. "No commitment yet."

Siilata traveled to the mainland with teammate Benji Kemoeatu, and said he was "pretty sure" that Kemoeatu didn't commit, either.

"Both of us probably won't decide until signing day," he said.

Signing day is Wednesday, of course.

Siilata, who is called "Ants" by his famiily and friends, according to his father, Ailaoa, said the teammates had fun on the trip and said the OSU campus was more beautiful than he thought it would be.

He also noted that "there was no pressure at all" from the OSU coaches for a commitment.

We have a couple of Snow College commitments to report, in different sports.

In football, the Badgers have received an oral commitment from Alta High linebacker Jordan Anderson.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder helped lead the Hawks to the 5A state title. He earned all-state recognition from The Salt Lake Tribune and was the Region 2 Defensive Player of the Year.

Anderson said he probably could have gone to Southern Utah or Dixie State College, but decided on the junior college in Ephraim instead.

In basketball, Clearfield High senior Cameron Evans has orally committed to Snow College.

Evans, a 6-foot-6 wing player, averages 16.2 points and nine rebounds a game for Clearfield. He was a Salt Lake Tribune second-team all-state selection as a junior.

Evans is ranked among the state's top "tough guys" by the Intermountain Hoops Scouting Service, which notes, "Evans is a tremendous athlete, a college level athlete in multiple sports."

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Also, a reliable source informs us that Justin Blackmore, an offensive and defensive lineman at West Jordan High, has agreed to walk on at BYU. Blackmore is also a fine wrestler.

Recruiting news hasn't been all that great lately for Utah fans, what with Texas prep quarterback Cole Loftin de-committing and then pledging with Southern Methodist and Hawaii prep linebacker Alema Tachibana saying he will play for Hawaii.

Here's a positive note, however.

The sports information director at Pasadena City College, Robert Lewis, sent me this note about David Reed, the wide receiver from PCC who committed to Utah in January. Remember, it is Lewis' job to pump up his players, but it sounds as if Reed could be special.

Lewis writes, "Reed, by the way, set a national community college record for most receptions in a season at 111 this past year. He broke every receiving record, except for longest catch, in a game, season, and career at Pasadena City College. If he doesn't make the NFL, I'll be completely perplexed. [I am] Stunned by the lack of interest in him at 4-year universities. Anthony Miller went to PCC before becoming an All-Pro receiver. He was a great sprinter.

Reed has the hands of a Wes Welker, makes yards after the catch, and can catch the long bomb in stride.

He has all the tools to be a great one. Utah is very lucky. Dennis Gossard, a long-time head coach and more recently an assistant, who's been part of the football program for 30-plus years at PCC said he's the greatest receiver he's ever seen at the community college level, Miller included."

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

Speaking of e-mails, I thought I would pass along this note about the correct term for referring to Pacific Islanders. This was sent to me by Jesse Makani Markham, a member of the Department of Georgraphy at the University of Hawai'i, after I wrote an article about the "Poly Pipeline" to Utah and BYU.

Markham writes, "The US Census broadly labels the people indigenous to Oceania -- aka the Pacific -- as Pacific Islanders. Three subgroups make up Pacific Islanders: Polynesians (Hawaiian, Samoan, Tongans, Maori, Tahitian, etc), Melanesians (Fijians, Solomon Islanders, Papua New Guineans, etc.) and Micronesians (Chamorro, Marshallese, Chuukese, Kosraeans, Pohnpeians, etc).

The majority of the Pacific Islanders that are recruited are Polynesians. However, there have been some Fijians in recent years as well."

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I've confirmed from a representative at his high school that Kellen Bartlett, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound tight end from South High in Blue Springs, Mo., has orally committed to Utah State. He was also recruited by Boise State and Southern Illinois. I hope to have more on Bartlett when he returns my phone call.

We now know that the Aggies have commitments from at least three high schoolers: Bartlett; Emmanuel Ojeriakhi of Bakersfield, Calif., and Greg Grimes of Inderkum High in Sacramento, Calif.

Alema Tachibana, one of the standouts at Kahuku High in Hawaii whom the Utes were recruiting has apparently committed to Hawaii, according to reports in both major Hawaii newspapers today.

Here's one of the links: http://starbulletin.com/2008/02/04/sports/story02.html

The papers also report that the Warriors received a commitment from Paipai Falemalu, a linebacker at Kahuku.

BYU showed some interest in Falemalu last summer, but he told me a month ago that he never received an offer from the Cougars.

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Not getting Tachibana is a setback, but the Kahuku players the Utes really want -- Benji Kemoeatu and Anthony Siilata -- were returning from a visit to Oregon State on Sunday. I wasn't able to reach either player on Sunday evening, and I haven't seen anything on the internet yet indicating what they thought of the trip or whether either player committed.

Right now, no news is probably good news for Ute fans.

We will keep trying to reach the players today.

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Just got a call from Timpanogos High football coach Brad Molen. He confirmed what a Weber State source told me Saturday.

Timpanogos quarterback Christian Stewart has accepted an invitation to walk on at BYU and receive "preferred walk on" status. It is not certain whether Stewart will enroll this fall or "gray shirt" until he goes on an LDS Church mission in January of 2009.

I was impressed with Stewart's playmaking ability the only time I saw him play last fall -- a playoff game against Alta. I'm just not sure he has the size or arm strength to play Division I football.

We will see.

Timpanogos' top player, defensive end David Kruger, will sign with Utah on Wednesday.

Also, Molen said that running back and safety Taylor Lyons is drawing some interest. Utah State has shown him the most love, but no scholarship offer as of yet. The Aggies may ask him to walk on.

An excellent baseball player, Lyons may go that route in college, Molen said.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday, everyone.

I am trying to reach a couple of recruits Utah is pursuing that visited Oregon State over the weekend and hope to have an update on whether they committed to the Beavers or not.

Until then, there are a couple of interesting recruiting articles I found on the internet this morning that might be of interest to Utah and BYU fans.

First, the Detroit Free Press has a story on prep quarterback Terrelle Pryor, widely regarded as the top recruit in the country, and where he might be headed. Of interest to Ute fans is that Pryor may end up at Michigan, and could play against the Utes when they visit the Big House for the 2008 season opener.

The link is: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080203/SPORTS06/802030648/&imw=Y

For BYU fans, the Orlando Sentinel has a story about Florida receiver O'Neill Chambers, who committed to BYU last month, and his teammate, Kedron Paul.

Go to: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/orl-recruit0308feb03,0,1638658.story

Enjoy the game!

I got the following information from a source a few days ago, but have been sitting on it although the source has been spot on accurate with everything in the past. Heard the same story from somebody else today (who is independent of my first source), so I am going to go with it....

Here's what went down with Hamani Stevens' elimination of BYU as a college football choice:

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall visited Hamani and his family on Wednesday night. When Mendenhall asked for a commitment, Hamani told the coach he wanted to take an unofficial campus visit to UCLA this weekend before deciding for sure.

Mendenhall then asked Hamani whether he was serious about BYU or not. Hamani said something about always wanting to go to a Pac-10 school and that his parents want him to play close to home.

(The same parents who sent a son to play at UTEP, by the way).

Upon hearing that, Mendenhall stood up, wished the player and his family well and told them he hopes Hamani has a great career at UCLA.

The next day, Hamani told a reporter from Rivals.com that BYU was off his BYU-or-Oregon list and had been replaced by UCLA.

He answered a texted question from me with one word (Yes!), confirming the Rivals.com story, but has not returned any other texts or phone calls.

Hence, I haven't confirmed what happened in his living room Wednesday night with somebody who was actually there.

But it is an interesting story and sheds a little more light on what goes on in this crazy process we call recruiting, so I thought I would pass it on.

More proof that Salt Lake Community College is building its women's volleyball dynasty with local products.

The Bruins announced they have signed five Utahs to letters of intent recently in their attempts to remain one of the nation's top junior college programs.

SLCC has signed Highland's Brittny Lolohea, Skyline's Whitney Nilson, Fremont's Analaine Palaez, Snow Canyon's Ananalisa Nostrant and Dixie's Lakelle Havens.

"This is a fantastic group of freshman. Not only are they classy young ladies, but they are all very strong players with extensive athletic backgrounds and experience that will certainly contribute to the winning tradition here at SLCC," coach Shay Goulding said in a school news release. "I am very excited to call them Bruins and to add them to the talent of our returning sophomores."

OK, back to some recruiting news.....

This doesn't sound good for Utah fans.

Dave Reardon of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin is reporting in his blog that Kahuku linebacker Alema Tachibana is leaning toward signing with Hawaii. The two-star recruit is visiting Hawaii's campus this weekend.

Here's the link: http://starbulletin.com/blogs/uhsportsextra/tachibana-says-hes-leaning-to-uh/

I wasn't able to talk to Tachibana last week. However, his teammate, Benji Kemoeatu, told me a few days ago that Tachibana was visiting Hawaii just for fun and that he was going to sign with Utah.

So, who knows?

This blog is supposed to be about recruiting, but I'm going to stray a bit from that topic today because of all the emails I have been getting about a story published in today's Salt Lake Tribune that I wrote regarding a baseball player at BYU who has essentially been kicked out of the LDS Church-operated school for not going to church enough.

Go to http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_8149321.

The major criticism seems to be that the article does not include the church leaders' side of the matter and that there has to be more to the story about why Kent Walton is no longer a student at BYU. True, I never got a response from bishop Wayne Childs or stake president James Kearl, the men who decided to withdraw Kent Walton's ecclesiastical endorsement.

Here's why: When Kenneth Walton returned my phone call Friday afternoon, he was in Childs' office and told me that Kearl was on his way to the meeting. Kenneth Walton invited me to drive from the Tribune offices in Salt Lake City to Provo and observe the meeting.

When I told him that drive would take about an hour or longer in rush hour traffic, he told me the bishop and stake president were not willing to wait, but I could try and make it and perhaps catch them as they left the meeting if they wouldn't let me in. Fair enough.

An hour later, I was near Lehi when I called Walton again and learned the meeting was over and that the church leaders had gone home.

Also, after speaking with baseball coach Vance Law and BYU spokeswoman Carrie Jenkins earlier in the day, I was convinced that neither church leader (who are both BYU employees) would discuss the matter publicly.

However, I obtained Childs' home telephone number and tried to call the bishop five times on Friday evening. The line was busy all night.

Others have claimed that the term "kicked out of BYU" is misleading. My response is that is just a matter of semantics. Kenneth Walton showed me the letter dated Jan. 27 his son received stating that "you are no longer eligible to attend daytime or evening classes, to register for other courses, to graduate from BYU or to work for the University....until you return in good standing."

Essentially, that made Walton ineligible to play baseball, because it is hard to stay eligible when you cannot go to class or enroll in other classes. If that's not called getting kicked out, I don't know what is.

The Waltons reluctantly agreed to meet with me Friday night at Thanksgiving Point. I looked Kent Walton in the eye probably three or four times during the course of our hourlong meeting and asked him again and again: "Are you sure there is nothing more you have said or done -- or not done -- that could have caused you to be dismissed from BYU?"

He answered yes each time.

I called his roommate and teammate, Jake Wortham, and got the same response.

Also, I spoke off the record with several sources affiliated with BYU's athletic department who obviously have to remain anonymous or they could potentially lose their jobs. They are flat-out mystified as to why this is happening. Nobody said one negative thing about Kent Walton.

One e-mailer said the article implied that every BYU student -- LDS or not -- has to get their ecclesiastical endorsement from an LDS bishop. I probably should have been more clear on that matter. Non-LDS students, of course, can get their endorsement from leaders of other faiths.

One other minor issue: I was chosen to write the article because my assignment on Friday was to cover breaking sports news of any type. And our BYU beat writer, Rhiannon Potkey, was on the road traveling between Colorado Springs and Laramie.

I don't have an axe to grind with BYU or anything of the sort. Charges that I am somehow biased against the school or LDS Church are hurtful, irresponsible and completely off-base.

A day after BYU was told no by an offensive lineman from California that it desperately wanted, the University of Utah got the same answer from a topflight defensive end.

Several recruiting Web sites are reporting today that Ben Terry, a top junior college prospect from Saddleback College has picked Oregon State over the Utes.

"I am committed to Oregon State," Terry told BeaverBlitz.com. "I felt some real love there. I am glad to be a Beaver."

Terry, 6-foot-3, 245 pounds, was a first-team all-league selection at Saddleback and reportedly runs the 40-yard dash in 4.55 seconds, a dazzling time for someone his size.

He was listed as one of the top linebackers in the country out of high school, but failed to qualify and had to go the JC route.

He also had offers from Central Michigan and New Mexico State, but said after visiting Utah on Jan. 18 that it was a battle between the Utes and Beavers for his services.

Of course, Utah is going head-to-head with OSU for two other prospects, Kahuku, Hawaii, teammates Benji Kemoeatu and Anthony Siilata.

Both are visiting Corvallis this weekend.

Our list of football players who will sign with Utah State next week is slowly filling up.

The Sacramento Bee is reporting that Greg Grimes, a defensive lineman from Inderkum High in the Sacramento, Calif., area, has orally committed to the Aggies.

Grimes is a 6-foot-1, 290-pound all-area selection whom the newspaper calls "worth the wait for the Aggies."

Utah Staet also has a commitment from Emmanuel Ojeriakhi, a wide receiver from Bakersfield, Calif.

Five Juco stars will be making their way to Logan, if they have not already. Those include Sevaro Johnson and Jeremy Mitchell of Laney College in the Oakland area, Chris Williams of El Camino College and Snow College's Casey Davis, a former Riverton High player.

Magnum Mauga, from Grossmont College in California, has said he will sign with Utah State as well after committing to BYU. A plethora of issues kept him from joining the Cougars.

We have learned about a couple more Snow College football players who are moving on to four-year programs.

Coach Steve Coburn reports that Lee Millard, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound defensive lineman who prepped at Woods Cross High, is headed to Dixie State College. The Rebels have a Division II program in St. George, as many Utahns know.

Also, Joseph Sawyer, a 6-foot-3, 256-pound tight end from Ogden High, has signed with Northwestern Oklahoma State, a Division II program in Alva, Okla.