We mentioned in a previous post that Lone Peak's Tyler Haws is visiting Stanford this week, having already received a scholarship offer from the Cardinal.

Turns out, the other top Utah high school player that Utah, Utah State and BYU are all heavily recruiting, Provo's Brandon Davies, is also in the Bay Area this weekend.

Davies is visiting Cal, which recently extended a scholarship offer.

As for Haws, he will probably also visit Harvard, Davidson, BYU and Utah. We've received some better information about the so-called North Carolina interest in the two-time 5A basketball MVP.

North Carolina is not recruiting Haws, and has not asked him to visit, according to sources very familiar with the senior's recruitment.

-- Jay Drew

BYU fans have more than one reason to be nervous this weekend.

While BYU's football team is taking on an opponent, Northern Iowa, that it absolutely cannot afford to lose to, its basketball coaches will be glancing westward toward Stanford.

Why?

Because the Cougars' prized basketball recruit, Lone Peak's Tyler Haws, is visiting the Stanford campus in Palo Alto, Calif., this weekend, the first of his five "official" visits.

Lone Peak coach Quincy Lewis has asked Haws to commit before Oct. 1 so he can concentrate on his senior season without the distraction of making a college choice hanging over his head.

That means Haws needs to cram four other visits into September. He's believed to be going to BYU, Utah, Davidson and Harvard as well.

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For the second-straight week, KJZZ TV in Utah will televise a prep football game that includes a bunch of Division I recruits.

At 5:30 p.m. tonight, Timpview will meet Spanish Fork.

Timpview features BYU commits Craig Bills at safety and Bronson Kaufusi (a junior) at defensive end. A couple other Timpview players -- lineman Xavier Su'a-Filo, safety Chris Badger (a junior) and receiver Travis Van Leeuwen -- are being recruited but have yet to commit.

Timpview's Tui Crichton, a lineman, has committed to BYU but is out with a shoulder injury.

Spanish Fork features tight end Richard Wilson, one of the most recruited players in the state, and quarterback Breck Lewis, who is drawing some junior college interest.

BYU has commitments from two of the top 10 high school receivers in the West, if recruiting expert Brandon Huffman of Superprep.com is to be believed.

A week or so after unleashing his top quarterbacks in the West report, Huffman has produced his Top Receivers in the West list.

"The 2009 class of receivers in the West is deep, and extremely talented," Huffman says.

He lists Brett Thompson, the big receiver from El Dorado Hills, Calif., who committed to BYU last week at No. 6 and calls him the best offensive prospect in Sacramento.

Mitch Mathews, a 6-3 receiver from Beaverton, Ore., who committed to BYU in June, is No. 10 on the list. "Top playmaker in the Beaver State," Huffman notes.

Utah's top receiver is Bingham High's Michael Edmunds, who lands at No. 19. Edmunds, who has drawn interest from Stanford, Washington and BYU, is still without an offer. However, after being used lightly at receiver last year because the Miners had all kinds of other weapons, he started quickly this season with four catches for 34 yards in Bingham's 24-17 loss to Skyline.

He was also used on defense, and made four tackles. Word on the street is that colleges want to see more game film on Edmunds before they offer, and that at 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, he might be better suited to being a tight end.

With 4.5 speed, though, he's intriguing as a big receiver.

"Good size and speed, is a crisp route-runner," Huffman writes.

Right behind Edmunds at No. 20 is Timpview's Travis Van Leeuwen, "a big, tall receiver with very good hands."

Making Huffman's "Next 15" were Chanzell Porter, a receiver from Concord, Calif., who has committed to Utah.

On the list of "Other Receivers to Watch" are Mountain View's Jordan Smith, Pine View's Robert Evans and Timpview's Travis Jorgensen. Pine View's Evans, it should be noted, injured his knee a few weeks ago and is unfortunately out for the season.

-- Jay Drew

BYU didn't sign a high school quarterback last February and doesn't have a commitment from a prep quarterback so far this year, despite having more than three-quarters (14) of its scholarships already promised out.

I asked BYU quarterbacks coach Brandon Doman on Tuesday if he has any eligibility left that he's not telling us about, or if the Cougs are suddenly having trouble getting top QB talent into Provo.

Doman reminded me that the Cougars have two quarterbacks currently on LDS Church missions, Jason Munns and James Lark, and that starter Max Hall will have this year and next year, so if he doesn't get hurt, BYU really won't need a big-time guy until 2010.

He didn't need to tell me (and couldn't) that one of those 14 pledges is from Riley Nelson, the former Utah State quarterback who is currently on a mission and who has said, through his father, that he will transfer to BYU when he returns home next spring.

"We will be fine," he said. "The cupboard is not bare."

Doman said BYU will sign a high school quarterback in February, someone who is currently entering his senior year.

"We will sign one in February," he said. "We have to. We got a couple of high school seniors that we are still watching and evaluating. We will sign somebody. We actually have a really good idea who it will be."

Hey Brandon, a little hint, perhaps?

Not on your life, he said, citing NCAA rules that forbid coaches from talking publicly about recruits until they have signed.

Doman said the Cougars have their quarterback situation planned out all the way through 2016.

"You know, it will shift and shuffle around, but we have an idea of how it will shake down, ideally."

He didn't say this, but the Cougars are almost certainly pinning their hopes on getting Jake Heaps, the LDS quarterback from Skyline High in Issaquah, Wash., who is just starting his junior season. Heaps might just be rated as the top prep quarterback in the country at this time next year.

"We are looking at young men who are going to be juniors and young men who are going to be seniors," Doman said. "We've got a couple of ideas, and a couple of things in the works right now and we feel real good about it."

-- Jay Drew

We've already gone on record as saying we believe the top senior high school quarterback in Utah this year is Logan High's Jeff Manning, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound athlete who probably would have some Division I scholarship offers if he wasn't leaving on an LDS Church mission a couple months after he graduates next spring.

But who are the best quarterbacks in the West?

Brandon Huffman of superprep.com presents his list below, putting Manning at No. 9.

By way of reference, BYU offered the No. 5 guy, Taysom Hill of Pocatello's Highland High, but he chose Stanford.

Also, two quarterbacks in Huffman's "Next 15" list have drawn BYU's interest, partly because they are LDS: Gilroy's Jamie Jensen and Andrew Pulsipher of Temecula, Calif.

Here are the lists:

1. Matt Barkley, Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei- USC The nation's top-ranked quarterback, Barkley enters his fourth year as the Monarchs' starting quarterback.

2. Richard Brehaut, Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) Los Osos - UCLA A great spring and summer has firmly entrenched him as the #2 quarterback in the West.

3. Allan Bridgford, Mission Viejo (Calif.)- Cal He too had a great spring and summer and is the next bigtime quarterback from the Mission Viejo quarterback factory.

4. Josh Nunes, Upland (Calif.)- Tennessee Nunes has a good, strong arm and the brains to match it.

5. Taysom Hill, Pocatello (Idaho) Highland- Stanford Was at his best at the Jim Harbaugh Academy and ended up being the quarterback the Cardinal landed.

6. Jordan Wynn, Oceanside (Calif.)- Colorado A true winner, Wynn has the "it" factor and is looking to lead the Pirates to a second straight state title.

7. Joe Southwick, Danville (Calif.) San Ramon Valley- Boise State The top quarterback prospect in NorCal, Southwick is poised to lead his school to another CIF section title.

8. Cody Vaz, Stockton (Calif.) St. Mary's- Oregon State What Vaz lacks in height, he makes up in smarts, mobility and pocket presence.

9. Jeff Manning, Logan (Utah) The top quarterback prospect in the Beehive State, Manning is another winner, leading his team to a state title as a junior.

10. Sean Schroeder, Dana Hills (Calif.)- Duke Despite lacking the talent around him, Schroeder is an accurate, precise passer who will excel under QB guru David Cutcliffe.

The Next 15 (in alphabetical order):
Andrew Pulsipher, Temecula (Calif.) Temecula Valley
Caleb Herring, Perris (Calif.) Citrus Hill- UNLV
Cameron Deen, Covina (Calif.) South Hills
Cayman Shutter, Honolulu (Hawaii) Punahou- New Mexico
Corey Nielsen, Cerritos (Calif.) Gahr- Hawaii
Dasmen Stewart, Oxnard (Calif.)- San Jose State
David Fales, Salinas (Calif.) Palma- Nevada
Derek Carr, Bakersfield (Calif.) Christian- Fresno State
Jamie Jensen, Gilroy (Calif.)
Josh Moten, Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne
Keith Price, Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco- Washington
Matthew Schilz, Pasadena (Calif.) Maranatha- Kansas State
Sean Berman, North Hollywood (Calif.) Harvard-Westlake
Tanner Rust, Lakeside (Calif.) El Capitan
Ted Landers, Gardena (Calif.) Serra

Other Quarterbacks to Watch (in alphabetical order):
Ben Conlin, Westlake (Calif.)
Breck Lewis, Spanish Fork (Utah)
Chad Rasmussen, Tacoma (Wash.)
Curtis Colton Morrison, Oceanside (Calif.)El Camino- San Diego State
David Gilbertson, Redmond (Wash.)
Desi Rodriguez, Saugus (Calif.)
Dex Lucci, Beverly Hills (Calif.)
Dustin Haines, Eugene (Ore.) South Eugene
Emir Lopez, Las Vegas (Nev.)
Ian Shultis, Thousand Oaks (Calif.)
Jack Lomax, Lake Oswego (Ore.)
Jake Bernard, West Ranch (Calif.) West Ranch
Ken Johnston, Carmel (Calif.)
Levi Levasa, Tualitin (Ore.)
Lucas Schindele, Tacoma (Wash.) Bellarmine Prep

The reporters and columnists at the Honolulu Star Bulletin newspaper have been busy covering the Hawaii baseball team that just won the Little League World Series this afternoon In Pennsylvania, but columnist Dave Reardon had time to write an excellent column on Manti Te'o, the five-star linebacker from Punahou High who is being recruited by virtually every top program in the country.

Reardon says BYU and USC are in a virtual dead heat for the star, and any other school getting him -- with the possible exception of UCLA and Norm Chow -- would be considered an upset.


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National recruiting analyst Tom Lemming ranks the top 10 college football recruiters in the followiing article that we've cut and pasted below. Lemming was in Provo in the spring and does a very thorough job on the national recruiting scene.

Because Lemming ranks former Utah coach Urban Meyer as one of the top 10 (and somehow believes it is difficult to recruit to Utah) I got curious and decided to look back at the two signing classes that Meyer inked (2003 and 2004) in the Februarys that he was in charge of Utah's recruiting.

A lot of people believe that Meyer won with Ron McBride's players and didn't recruit all that well while he was here.

Here they are. You be the judge:

2003 Utah Signees

Name High School/JC Pos. Ht. Wt.

David Dirkmaat Fresno (Calif.) CC OT 6-7 260

Jonathan Fanene College of the Canyons (Calif.) DL 6-4 300

Gerald Fletcher El Camino JC (Calif.) DB 5-10 175

Steve Gordon Mesa (Ariz.) CC DB 6-0 190

Matt Kovacevich Palomar JC (Calif.) P 6-1 185

Paueli Tamasoa Long Beach CC (Calif.) DT 6-1 295

Reza Williams San Bernardino Valley College LB/DE 6-3 240

Jerome Wright Antelope Valley CC WR 6-0 175

Kyle Brady Tooele HS WR 6-2 210

Martail Burnett Jordan HS (Los Angeles) DB 6-3 218

Tony Castaldi St. Bonaventure HS (Simi Valley, Calif.) DL 6-3 235

Kyle Gunther Camarillo (Calif.) HS OL 6-4 265

Thomas Huff Camelback HS (Phoenix) WR 6-4 200

Joe Jiannoni La Quinta (Calif.) HS LB 6-1 220

Joe Johnson Palm Desert (Calif.) HS WR 5-8 175

Mike Liti Foothill HS (Santa Ana, Calif. RB 5-10 205

Alex Puccinelli Notre Dame HS (Toluca Lake, Calif.) DE 6-2 225

Bryce Scanlon Evanston (Wyo.) HS LB 6-2 225

Ryan Smith Bishop Amat HS (Diamond Bar, Calif.) DB 5-10 165

Eric Weddle Alta Loma (Calif.) HS DB 5-11 185

2004 Signees

Utah signees

Player Position School Height Weight

Terrance Apted OL Fagatuio HS (American Samoa) 6-5 280

Brent Casteel RB Antioch HS (Calif.) 5-11 195

Robert Conley OL LaMarque HS (Texas) 6-3 315

Randy Faletoi DT McKinley HS (Hawaii) 6-2 290

Quinton Ganther RB Citrus CC (Calif.) 5-10 200

Afa Garrigan DB Kahuku HS (Hawaii) 6-2 190

Desmond Hanohano WR St. Louis HS (Hawaii) 6-5 210

Tim Harris DB Fort Scott CC (Kan.) 6-0 190

Brian Johnson QB Baytown Lee HS (Texas) 6-2 190

Jordan Johnson RB/WR Mesquite Poteet HS (Texas) 6-2 195

Paul Kruger QB Timpanogos HS 6-5 235

Matt Mason DB Bakersfield HS (Calif.) 5-9 161

*Pate Moleni DL Hunter HS 6-1 239

Eugene Oates DB Fort Scott CC (Kan.) 5-11 175

John Peel WR Scottsdale Chaparral HS (Ariz.) 6-2 185

Adarrious Ross DB Culver City HS (Calif.) 5-9 165

Paul Soliai OL Coffeyville CC (Kan.) 6-5 330

Bryce Scanlon DE Evanston HS (Wyo.) 6-2 245

*Chad Smith RB Lehi HS 6-0 180

**Nik Sonntag DL Oregon State 6-4 245

Ray Stowers RB Iolani HS (Hawaii) 6-1 205

Aaron Straiten WR Antioch HS (Calif.) 6-3 193

Fano Tagovailoa DB Coffeyville CC (Kan.) 6-0 191

Kelly Talavou DL Idaho 6-0 318

Justin Weatherall-Walker WR/DB West L.A. CC 6-1 200



Here's Lemming's article:

I've been covering college football recruiting for 31 years and nobody does it better than USC's Pete Carroll. He heads my list of the top 10 recruiters in the head coaching fraternity, which includes Illinois' Ron Zook and Notre Dame's Charlie Weis.

Carroll has great charisma. He doesn't have great facilities to show to recruits and the USC camps is located in Watts, not Beverly Hills. But USC has more talent than a few NFL teams. His third-string players are better than many first-stringers on other Pac-10 teams. Success breeds success and USC, located in one of the richest of all breeding grounds for high school talent, keeps reloading every year.

Here are the other leading recruiters, listed alphabetically:

Tommy Bowden, Clemson: He has learned a lot from his father Bobby, who built a great program at Florida State and was one of the great recruiters of the past. He has done an exceptional job of recruiting out-of-state. An underrated recruiters, he has done an excellent job in Georgia and Florida.

Tim Brewster, Minnesota: He has recruited two good classes in a row. In fact, last year's class was the school's best in 30 years. When he was an assistant, he always ranked with John Blake of North Carolina as one of the two best recruiters in the country among the assistant coaches. He has landed two of the best running backs in the class of 2009 and has been selling a new state-of-the-art stadium that will be ready next year.

Mack Brown, Texas: Like Pete Carroll, he has a great natural resource base. But three coaches before him couldn't get it done in the Longhorn State. Now he gets anyone he wants in Texas. He has a winning personality. He is an underrated coach. He sells great facilities, the best in the country along with Ohio State.

Phil Fulmer, Tennessee: He slips under the radar most of the time but he has the ability to recruit out-of-state. That's important because Tennessee isn't a good state for football. He always is under criticism because it is the nature of Tennessee football. Called "Fat Phil," he has the ability to persuade out-of-state kids to come to Knoxville.

Urban Meyer, Florida: He was successful at Utah, where it was tough to recruit, and he is successful at Florida, where it is easy to recruit because he has great natural resources, better than any other state. He is relentless, has a take-no-prisoners attitude. He lives for recruiting. He used to text message 200 kids a day. The youngsters of all the leading recruiters, he learned early that you can't win consistently without great talent.

Nick Saban, Alabama: He is a carbon copy of Meyer. At Michigan State, he was a great recruiter. He went head-to-head with Michigan and won at times. At LSU, he put a fence around Louisiana. Now he is doing the same thing at Alabama. He is a non-stop recruiter and innovator who is one step ahead of the NCAA.

Jim Tressel, Ohio State: Very underrated, he belongs with the elite coaches. He is in the national title picture every year, even more than Woody Hayes. He has great natural resources to choose from and has an almost complete hold on Ohio. But, like Carroll, he is very good nationally. Kids feel comfortable with him.

Charlie Weis, Notre Dame: Last year's 3-9 record tarnished the image but he has recruited three top 10 classes in a row--7, 3 and 2.Some critics say he is arrogant and hard to deal with but that certainly isn't the case when he is recruiting. He is smart, to the point, relentless and very personable. Kids love him.

Ron Zook, Illinois: He turned around Illinois' program with his charm and personality and recruiting skills. He has a bull-in-a-china-shop attitude, relates to his players,communicates well with anyone and is very aggressive. Illinois always has been a tough sell--it has been known more as a basketball school by many--and Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Purdue and Northwestern are closer to the Chicago' recruiting base than Illinois is. But Zook has been smart enough to bring in recruiters like Mike Locksley who knows the Washington D.C. area. And he has done a good job in Florida, where he made his reputation as one of the nation's foremost recruiters.

Dave Hammer, director of the Salt Lake Metro club basketball program, was kind enough to send us a list of where members of the 2007-08 graduating class are going to play college basketball.

Fourteen Metro players who graduated in 2008 will play at the next level this season. They will play in California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Here's the list:

Olympus' Elliott Bullock -- Stanford

West's Reggie Chambers -- Florida Gulf Coast

East's Malcolm Colbert -- Northwest CC

Clearfield's Cameron Evans -- Snow College

Spanish Fork's Matt Gardner -- Southern Utah

Pine View's Louis Garrett -- College of Southern Idaho

Timpanogos' Skyler Halford -- Utah State

Lone Peak's Justin Hamilton -- Iowa State

Highland's Jon Henderson -- Southern Utah

Judge's Noel Holliingsworth -- Brown

Northridge's Scott Odekirk -- Northwest CC

Kearns' Jay Peters -- Northwest CC

Pine View's Jordan Rex -- Snow College

Lone Peak's Josh Sharp -- Utah

A Meyer almost returned to the University of Utah, but not the one you might think.

Nicki Meyer, the daughter of former Utes football coach Urban Meyer and a standout high school volleyball player, just committed to play volleyball for Georgia Tech.

Nicki Meyer is a 6-foot libero from Buchholz High's 2007 Florida Class 6A state volleyball championship team. A libero in volleyball is kind of like a defensive specialist and Meyer will be a senior at Buchholz this fall.

She also had scholarship offers from Ohio, South Florida and Utah.

"For a while I wanted to go back to Utah," Meyer told the Gainesville (Fla.) Sun. "I love Utah and would love to go back."

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We've written a lot about some of the most-recruited football and basketball players in the state this year, but there's a wrestler from Mountain Crest High in the Cache Valley that rivals them all in terms of national interest.

Ethen Lofthouse, the Mustangs' three-time state champion, is being recruited by some of the top college wrestling programs in the country, including Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan and Oregon State.

Ethen's uncle, Luke Lofthouse, a former Salt Lake Tribune Prep Athlete of the Year, currently wrestles for Iowa.

Of course, Olympic gold medalist Cael Sanderson of Heber City is the coach at rival Iowa State.

-- Jay Drew

Cottonwood High senior Isi Sofele, a 5-foot-8, 175-pound running back with reported 4.4 speed in the 40, begins his final year of high school football tomorrow with a game against Clearfield, so his college recruitment is sort of on the back-burner right now.

However, Sofele took some time Thursday night to run through his list of offers and talk about his favorites.

"I'm really looking hard at Washington State," he said. "I guess I would call them a favorite. I like the coaching staff and I love the campus. I could feel at home there."

Sofele also has offers from Utah, SMU, Hawaii, UNLV, Air Force, Kansas State, UConn and Washington, he said.

He has made unnofficial visits to Washington, Washington State and SMU the past few months, going to SMU with another highly recruited Cottonwood player, safety Asi Hosea.

Sofele said he is in the process of trying to decide which schools to take official visits to this fall. He said he will likely commit to a school some time after the football season ends, but before the signing period begins in February.

"Really, I'm not that close to deciding," he said.

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Close observers of Utah high school basketball may remember Holden Jasper, a standout player two years ago at Mountain View High in Orem. Jasper averaged just under 15 points a game his only year of playing high school basketball, in 2006-07.

Well, Jasper will play this season for Eastern Wyoming College.

He sat out last year to get his academics in order.

Eastern Wyoming is in Torrington, Wyo.

A quick glance at EWC's roster shows that coach Casey Jones has or had had a few other Utahns on his team: Delta's Jordon Johnson, Valley's George Williams and Manila's Casey Robinson.

California receiver Brett Thompson's commitment to BYU on Tuesday means that the Cougars now have 13 pledges from the prep football class of 2009, and a 14th promise if you count Riley Nelson, the former Utah State quarterback who is transferring to BYU when he returns from his LDS Church mission in March.

Here are the others, in case you are wondering: Kahuku (Haw.) safety Jray Galea'i, Timpview safety Craig Bills, Snow Canyon running back Adam Timo, Timpview lineman Tui Crichton, Beaverton (Ore.) receiver Mitch Mathews, Ponderosa (Colo.) lineman Terry Alletto, Bingham tight end Remington Peck, Mountain View running back Anthony Heimuli, Northridge running back Peni Maka'afi, Hunter lineman Ryan Mulitalo, Palm Desert (Calif.) defensive back Trevor Bateman and Bryan (Texas) lineman Fono Vakalahi.

As far as I can tell, BYU has fewer than 10 offers out there right now, and only a few more scholarships available.

The known offers are to Spanish Fork tight end Richard Wilson, Timpview lineman Xavier Su'a-Filo, Punahou (Haw.) linebacker Manti Te'o, Reno (Nev.) linebacker Kyle Van Noy, Highland defensive tackle Latu Heimuli, Bingham linebacker L.T. Filiaga, Northridge safety Chris Washington, Edmond (Okla.) offensive tackle Brad Wilcox and Steven Fanua, a linebacker from Milpitas High near San Jose, Calif.

All those players except Wilcox have offers from several other schools, so the Cougars have a bunch of recruiting battles on their hands.

Fanua, for instance, recently told Scout.com that he is leaning toward Cal. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder is ranked as the No. 18 MLB in the country by the Web site and allso has offers from Arizona State, Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, San Diego State, Boise State, Fresno State, Arizona, UNLV and Portland State.

Fanua said he only has one visit lined up so far -- to BYU in January. Although he is LDS, he has said he doesn't plan on going on a church mission right away.

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Will Shamburger, a 6-0, 180-pound receiver/defensive back from St. John Bosco High in California, has orally committed to Boise State. Shamburger had offers from Utah and Washington State, along with the Broncos.

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Pine View receiver Robert Evans had a fantastic summer playing in 7 on 7 passing camps and was slowly drawing interest from several Division I programs. Unfortunately, Evans tore his right ACL in practice last week and will undergo season-ending surgery this week, according to his father.

-- Jay Drew

Just got email confirmation from a family member that Brett Thompson, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound receiver from Oak Ridge High in Eldorado Hills, Calif., has committed to BYU.

Thompson, who rates three stars from scout.com, informed BYU coaches of his decision this morning.

Last week, a source told The Recruiting Trail that Thompson's commitment to BYU was imminent.

He also had offers from Air Force, UNLV and Nebraska, but was getting serious looks from several Pac-10 schools.

Thompson had more than 500 receiving yards and six touchdown catches as a junior. He also had more than 500 receiving yards his sophomore season.

Thompson attends the same high school that produced BYU receiver Austin Collie.

-- Jay Drew

I had a nice visit last night with Chris Washington, the three-star (Scout.com) football safety from Northridge High in Layton who has offers from BYU, Utah and Utah State.

Here's the latest: Washington was going to commit to either Utah or BYU this week. He is not interested in Utah State. He wanted to commit before the Knights begin their season on Friday at Jordan.

However, he received a letter from UCLA coaches over the weekend, inviting him to the Bruins' Sept. 1 game (Labor Day) against Tennessee in the Rose Bowl. The letter did not include a scholarship offer, but Washington is going to try to make it to the game.

It could work out, because Northridge is scheduled to play in St. George, Utah, on Saturday, Aug. 30 against Crespi Carmelite High of Encino, Calif. Washington figures he can continue the drive down Interstate 15 to Los Angeles and catch the Bruins' opener.

"I will go and check them out and see what they are doing," he said. "I don't know if they will offer or not. I really can't say. I can't tell."

He said even if UCLA offers, he is not sure he will accept.

As for the BYU-Utah dilemma, he isn't sure right now what he will do.

I asked him the top reasons why he would choose either school.

For BYU, he said the coaching staff is the "main draw," and he really likes the place and the fact that the Cougars are ranked No. 16 in the nation right now by the Associated Press. The fact that one of his best friends, Northridge running back Peni Maka'afi, is headed to BYU is also a factor.

For Utah, he said he has grown up cheering for the Utes and their program and that he has several friends already on the Utah team. Also, his sister, Kelly Washington, earned an academic scholarship from the U. and will be a freshman there this coming school year.

"Man, I really like both places," he said.

He said BYU is recruiting him a bit harder right now, with more cards and letters from the coaches. Utah hasn't been as active.

"I know [Utah] wants me bad, though, so that's not a big deal," he said.

-- Jay Drew

There has been some scuttle on the internet that Eric Dago, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound defensive end out of Westside H.S. in Houston, Texas has committed to the Utes. You could say it is kind of true.
Dago said he is leaning toward the Utes, but wants to keep his options open. He also is considering Arkansas and Auburn, among others.
"I like Utah, there is a strong chance I will go there, I just don't want to say 'yes' right now," he said. "It's my final year, so I want to keep my options open."
Dago also has to get some academics in order too. If he takes care of his schoolwork, the Utes might find the competition for his services heating up.
Dago said he plans to visit with the Utes during the bye week, on Oct. 25.
"I love their defense," he said.

- Lya Wodraska

Northridge High safety Chris Washington, who holds scholarship offers from BYU, Utah and Utah State, will likely commit some time this week, a source close to Washington's recruitment said last week.

Washington wants to commit before his senior season, which begins Friday night when the Knights travel to Jordan to take on the Beetdiggers. Jordan has a Division I recruit of its own in lineman Vyncent Jones, and possibly another if fellow lineman Kyle Johnson shows he has sufficiently recovered from a knee injury.

So which school will it be for Washington?

The senior has been fairly quiet on the matter, perhaps waiting to see if any out-of-state offers came in. My guess is Utah will land the three-star prospect (Scout.com), but it is only a guess.

In Utah's favor is the fact that Washington has made friends with a couple of Utah players, including linebacker Stevenson Sylvester. In BYU's favor is that one of Washington's best friends on Northridge's team, running back Peni Maka'afi, has already committed to the Cougars.

The chance to play immediately might be USU's biggest draw.

By the way, Washington was recently named to the 2008 B2G All-Sparta Team for his performance in early July at the B2G Elite Football Camp in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Washington was named the defensive MVP at the camp.

-- Jay Drew

Ian Harward has made his decision.

"I just called coach [Dave] Rose and committed to BYU," he said Friday night. "I am just happy. I think it is going to be a great fit."

Harward also had an offer from Utah State, which was his only offer for several months. But after watching him play for the club team Utah Pump N Run over the summer, BYU coaches apparently liked enough of what they saw to offer him a scholarship.

"I've always dreamed of being a Cougar, and now it is going to happen," Harward said.

The 6-foot-10 rising senior was injured with a bad back for much of his junior season.

He will sign a national letter of intent with the Cougars in November, but that will mostly be symbolic because he intends to leave on a church mission in September of 2009 or even a little before then.

Harward joins Lone Peak's 6-10 Nate Austin, who committed to the Cougars a few months ago.

BYU has two scholarships left to give out to the class of 2009 (or a junior college transfer), and is targeting two other Utah products, Lone Peak's Tyler Haws and Provo's Brandon Davies.

-- Jay Drew

Brandon Huffman, West recruiting manager for Scout.com, has an interesting feature on the Web site today that talks about his "All-Under-The-Radar" Team of 2009 prep football prospects.

To make the team, prospects from the West cannot have received an offer from a Division I-A program yet.

Here are the Utahns (or players with a tie to Utah) that made the list, and a comment from me:

* Logan quarterback Jeff Manning. Manning would probably have several offers if he hadn't announced he is going on an LDS Church mission next summer.

* Jamie Jensen, Gilroy, Calif. Jensen is LDS and has the interest of BYU, but the Cougars have not offered yet. Jensen led Northern California in passing as a junior.

* Timpview receiver Travis Van Leeuwen. Van Leeuwen has said he wants to go to Utah, but is still waiting on an offer from the Utes.

* Bingham receiver Michael Edmunds. Another big, strong receiver who has good speed for his size, Edmunds would love an offer from BYU. What are the Cougars waiting for?

* Jordan lineman Kyle Johnson. At 6-5, 265, he has the frame to be a good one. A knee injury has probably kept schools from offering until they see if he's fully recovered.

* Bngham lineman Talai Livai. Seen as a raw talent because he's only played one year of organized football. Scouts will watch his first few games closely.

* Davis lineman James Cowser. Again, another prospect who has dealt with an injury (hand) that might be keeping offers away.

* Judge athlete Keenyn Walker. His brother got a late offer (to Hawaii) and accepted. Maybe he will, too.

* Highland linebacker Sam Nielson. Scouts will discover him when they go to watch Latu Heimuli.

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Defensive end Mana Rosa of Baldwin High in Hawaii told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin recently that he has an offer from the University of Utah. Rosa is recovering from a surgery on his left arm that left a 10-inch scar, two titanium plates and 14 screws. He broke his arm at a camp in June and is listed at 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds.

Hawaii and UNLV have also offered Rosa, the newspaper said.

-- Jay Drew

Just talked to Ian Harward, the 6-foot-10 Orem High center who holds basketball scholarship offers from Utah State and BYU.

Harward said he is very, very close to deciding, but has not pulled the trigger yet.

"It is coming up soon," he said. "I am not quite there yet, but I am close."

Whichever schools lands Harward won't see him play for them for awhile, though. He will leave on an LDS Church mission next summer, and won't play until 2011.

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A well-placed source tells me to expect a football commitment soon from Brett Thompson, the receiver from Oak Ridge High in El Dorado Hills, Calif. That's the same school that produced BYU's Austin Collie.

My source says Thompson will commit to BYU because of the coaches, Collie, the college lifestyle there and Thompson's desire to go on a church mission.

Scout.com gives the 6-foot-3 210-pound Thompson three stars (out of five).

From what I hear, Thompson was almost unstoppable at the Del Oro (Calif.) passing league in late July and was only contained when opponents double- and triple-teamed him.

Oak Ridge opens the season against Rocklin High.

-- Jay Drew

Lone Peak High's Tyler Haws has made another list of the top high school basketball players in the country.

SLAM Magazine has ranked Haws No. 50 in the country in the Class of 2009 (rising seniors).

Says the magazine: "The slender guard's height, feel for the game, playmaking ability, and jumper have made him a hot commodity."

Slender?

First time I've ever read that about Haws. Maybe he has dropped a few pounds this summer. He's not overweight by any stretch, but he's no Lee Cummard, either.

A good source says Haws has started to schedule from official campus visits and that Stanford, BYU and Utah are on the list with, perhaps, Davidson and Harvard.

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Senior Brandon Davies and junior Kyle Collinsworth, the Provo High teammates we've been writing a bit about lately, have been playing with the BYU players lately in afternoon pickup games on campus. NBA center Mark Madsen, the former Stanford star, has been among the competitors, I've been told.

Collinsworth has started to hear a lot from Cal and Gonzaga. Of course, BYU, Utah and Utah State have already offered the junior.

-- Jay Drew

Nebraska has landed a basketball recruit that Utah State had made a scholarship offer to, the Lincoln Journal Star reported on Tuesday.
Brandon Ubel a 6-foot-9, 220-pound power forward from Overland Park, Kan., visited Nebraska on Monday and committed upon receiving a scholarship offer.
Ubel will be a senior this fall at Blue Valley West High School in Kansas.
Ubel also had scholarship offers from Drake, Illinois State and Utah State, according to the newspaper.

Twenty girls who played for the Salt Lake Metro club basketball program last year are moving on to college programs, and a 21st player will attend SLCC on a volleyball scholarship.

Also, five players from prior seasons have move on to four-year schools.

Metro players will attend college in Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

All told, Metro has produced 51 college players in its three years of having a girls club program.

Here's were the players are heading:

Sheila Adams -- Idaho State
Dana Allred -- Southern Virginia
Taylor Altenburg -- New Mexico State
Taylor Dancer -- Southern Utah

Amanda Farish -- Southern Utah

Mechel Hunt -- College of Southern Idaho

Amie Jensen -- Salt Lake Community College

Alexis Kaufusi -- Brigham Young University

Kamille Lisonbee -- Marshall

Ryan Littlefield -- Southern Virginia

Mandy Munns -- Utah

Anna Nostrant -- SLCC (volleyball)

Alyssa Olsen -- Sheridan College

Meagan Pearson -- College of Eastern Utah

Dani Peterson -- BYU

Cassie Platt -- Southern Utah

Melissa Porter -- Montana State-Billings

Kelsey Sparkman -- Salt Lake Community College

Brooke Tolman -- Central Wyoming CC

Shanae Vaifanua -- Dixie State College

Morgan Wood -- Southern Utah

Junior College Transfers

Keshia Catten -- Westminster

Lauren Hally -- BYU Hawaii

McKenzie Jessop -- Westminster

Michelle Pace -- Westminster

Lindsie Wilson -- Montana Tech

With the basketball evaluation period having ended at the end of July and most college football coaches concentrating on fall camps, recruiting news is kind of spotty right now.

However, Les Hamilton, coach at Alta High in Sandy, has let us know that two of his players have received college offers.

Quarterback Ammon Olsen -- perhaps the second-best quarterback in the state behind Logan's Jeff Manning -- just received a written offer from Southern Utah University. Olsen is a 6-foot-4, 195-pound rising senior.

Also, Alta offensive lineman Parker Erickson, 6-foot-3 and 275 pounds, has a written offer from Idaho State.

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Perhaps we should have said that Manning and Olsen are the best throwing quarterbacks in the state. Several newspapers in Utah have reported that Adam Timo, the running back from Snow Canyon High in St. George who has committed to play football for BYU, is switching to quarterback for his senior season.

The Warriors apparently want to more fully use Timo's tremendous athleticism and put the ball in his hands as often as possible.

Timo played quarterback for the Warriors earlier this summer at at BYU 7 on 7 passing camp, so the idea of making the move has been in the works for awhile now.

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A reliable source close to Lone Peak High superstar Tyler Haws has told us that UConn is jumping into the mix for Haws' services, but has yet to offer the 6-4 shooting guard who's listed as one of the top 100 prospects in the country.

-- Jay Drew

With news breaking last night that BYU's football team has received another commitment from a guy who is not exactly at the top of the national top recruits list, some BYU fans who read this blog are getting a little antsy that coach Bronco Mendenhall is settling for one- and two-star recruits and not focusing enough on higher-rated players.

First, Mendenhall has stated time and again he does not believe in the "star-system" concocted by the recruiting Web sites, and puts little if any trust in them. I believe him, but I know that most college coaches across the country do take a little bit of stock in them -- some more than others.

The recruit under the microscope this time is Fono Vakalahi, a 6-foot-4, 320-pound offensive lineman from Bryan High in Bryan, Texas. Scout gives him two stars and Rivals.com gives him three.

Reason I bring this up is because today Mendenhall announced a change in his redshirt policy that, ostensibly, makes the BYU program even more different than most programs. In short, the coach won't decide who redshirts and who doesn't until after the season, rather than before, like most coaches do.

You can read more about the change and why Mendenhall is enacting it on The Tribune's Web site.

Will the new policy make a recruit think twice about going to BYU, or will it just help Mendenhall wean out the players who really don't want to be there?

Only time will tell.

Partly because he did not visit a lot of talent combines and all-star camps this summer, Highland High defensive tackle/offensive guard Latu Heimuli of Salt Lake City is perhaps not as highly touted as some of the state's other top prospects.

Maybe that's why he didn't make ESPN's list of the top 150 prospects in the country. Cottonwood's John Martinez was No. 31 and Timpview's Xavier Su'a-Filo was No. 52.

However, many of the country's top college football programs know who he is.

Heimuli told me tonight that he just picked up another offer and now has eight. Utah, BYU, Colorado, Washington, Washington State, Arizona, Arizona State and Oregon State have offered, he said.

Oddly, Heimuli is trying to arrange unofficial visits to three schools that have not offered him: Florida, Nebraska and Tennessee. He said he has grown up watching those schools on TV and would like to draw their attention.

"Nebraska said they would offer if I come out there. I'm not sure about the other two," said Heimuli, who was called the No. 4 prospect in Utah by Rivals.com, behind Martinez, Su'a-Filo and Timpview's Craig Bills, a safety.

Heimuli, 6-foot-4, 300 pounds, said he is still open and has no favorites. Part of him wants to stay close to home, he said, while the lure of a BCS school is also attractive.

He said Colorado, BYU, Utah and Oregon State are recruiting him the hardest.

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Totalbluesports.com is reporting that BYU has received an oral commitment from Fono Vakalahi, a 6-foot-4, 320-pound offensive lineman from Bryan High School in Bryan, Texas. The mammoth lineman also had an offer from Baylor, according to the Web site.

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Bountiful High soccer star Monica Okapal has orally committed to play soccer for the University of Utah. Okapal, a forward, has started since her freshman season for the Braves and was the team's leading goal scorer last season before suffering a knee injury.

-- Jay Drew

His club coaches predicted that Provo High's 6-foot-9 Brandon Davies would start getting more basketball scholarship offers once the summer club basketball circuit concluded, and they were proved right the other day.

"I just got a couple more offers," Davies said Wednesday night. "Gonzaga and Santa Clara have offered."

That brings the rising senior's offer total to five: BYU, Utah and Utah State extended scholarship invitations to Davies months ago.He said there may be a couple more soon from what his club coaches and high school coach, Craig Drury, have said.

Davies said he is still "wide open" and not leaning in any direction. He said he hasn't even decided whether he wants to stay in-state or leave Utah's borders yet.

"I like every school that is recruiting me," he said. "Right now, there isn't a wrong choice."

As far as a timetable goes, Davies would like to commit to a program by the end of October so he can sign his national letter of intent in early November.

He hasn't decided whether he will go on a mission yet, because of his relatively young age, he would be able to play two seasons of college basketball before he was eligible to go.

Most scouts project him as a power forward in college.

Davies also acknowledged he needs to improve his college admission test score to qualify academically. He got a composite score of 16 on the ACT the first time he took it, he said. Generally, an 18 or higher is needed.

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BYU basketball star Jonathan Tavernari was at football practice in Provo today, so I asked the junior-to-be what he thought of Davies' game. Oddly enough, Tavernari said he hangs out occassionally with Davies.

"We don't talk [recruiting] a lot, but I am pretty sure he wants to be a hometown hero," Tavernari said.

Check out our BYU sports blog in a few days for more on my chat with Tavernari, who just returned from playing with Team Brazil in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Greece. The Brazilians didn't make the Olympics.

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In case you missed it, one of the state's top female prep soccer players has made her college choice.

The Tribune's Chhun Sun is reporting that Nikisha Fernades of Woods Cross High has committed to San Diego State.

Fernandes is the daughter of Fred Fernandes, the Woods Cross football coach who won three state titles as Northridge's coach back in the day. Her commitment is a big get for the Aztecs of the Mountain West Conference, considering that Fernandes also had offers from defending NCAA champion USC and the University of Utah.

-- Jay Drew

Just had a nice chat with Richard Wilson, the highly recruited tight end from Spanish Fork High, because I heard he was at BYU's football practice today along with Xavier Su'a-Filo but didn't see him and wanted to be sure.

Turns out, he wasn't there. But he still had some news for you recruiting buffs out there.

Wilson said he pretty much has narrowed his college choices to four, after having received nine Division I offers to date.

"Miami, Stanford, LSU and BYU are probably my favorites," he said. "They are all neck-and-neck with each other, so I can't say I am leaning in one direction. But those are the four I am really looking hard at."

Wilson says he is 6-foot-3 1/2 inches tall and 225 pounds. His Spanish Fork team begins two-a-days on Monday, so he is now turning his attention to high school football and away, for a while, from the recruiting process.

Still, he hopes to decide by Nov. 1, he said.

That will come after the Oct. 25 Georgia-at-LSU game that he plans on attending. He also wants to make official campus visits this fall to Miami and Stanford. As for BYU, he figures he has already been there enough to know what the place is all about, but is tentatively planning to make an official visit in January when many other recruits visit the campus.

"If I am not already dead-set on another school by then," he said.

Wilson said he went to an LSU camp with Su'a-Filo in July and was impressed.

Noticeably absent from his final four list is Utah, although Wilson said he grew up a Ute fan.

"They just don't have that tradition at tight end that I'm looking for, sorry to say," he said.

Other schools that have offered include Boise State, Washington, Tennessee and Arizona, he said.

It's no secret that Wilson and Su'a-Filo are good friends, but Wilson said there is no "package deal" agreement in place between two of the most recruited prep players in state history.

"In the end, we both have to do what is best for ourself," he said.

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Rivals.com is reporting that Highland High defensive tackle Latu Heimuli has picked up an offer from Washington State. Heimuli, 6-foot-3, 295, is listed as the No. 4 prospect in the state of Utah by Rivals.com, behind only Cottonwood's No. 1 John Martinez, Su'a-Filo and Timpview safety Craig Bills, who has committed to BYU.

Heimuli also has offers from BYU, Utah, Colorado, Oregon State, Arizona and Washington.

He told recruiting analyst Rick Kimbrel that he is being recruited the most by Colorado and BYU, but that he is still pretty open. He has not set up any official visits yet.

Originally, Heimuli told The Recruiting Trail that he wanted to commit before Highland's season begins in a few weeks, but now he is talking about deciding after the season.

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

Rivals.com is also reporting that Travis Cobb, a 6-foot-, 178-pound receiver from Blinn Community College in Texas has de--committed to the University of Utah. Cobb told the Web site that he called Utah coaches a day after he committed and de-committed.

He said UAB is now at the top of his list.

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The Gazette-Times of Corvallis, Ore., is reporting that 6-foot-8 center Joe Burton of Hemet (Calif.) has committed to Oregon State. Utah was among the schools that had offered a scholarship to Burton, the newspaper said, alluding to reports by the Los Angeles Times and ESPN. Marquette, Gonzaga, San Diego State and Central Florida were also in pursuit with offers in hand.

-- Jay Drew

ESPN has released it's top recruits for 2009 to its insider subscribers. A couple names of interest on the list. Manti Te'o, No. 6, is high on the list for Utah and BYU. But they're going to have to compete with the likes of USC, Florida, LSU and others.
The feat for Utah and BYU will be to see if they can keep their homegrown talent, John Martinez (No. 31) and Xavier Su'a Filo (No. 52) in state. Word has it Gary Crowton, now LSU's offensive coordinator, is wooing Su'a Filo really hard.

Well, the Utah State Aggies just got a little company in their pursuit of Orem High's 6-foot-10 Ian Harward.

Harward's mother just confirmed that her son received a scholarship offer today from BYU. She said they met with BYU coaches this afternoon and the offer was extended.

Whatever Harward decides, he won't count as a 2009 signee (although he will probably sybolicly sign in November) because he will go on an LDS Church mission next summer before enrolling.

Harward received his first and only other offer, from Utah State, a few months ago.

A source -- not Harward's mother -- said Ian will now "pray for guidance to decide which school he will attend."

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We've also been told by a reliable source that Provo junior Kyle Collinsworth received a scholarship offer on Sunday night from Washington State of the Pac-10.

-- Jay Drew

Orem High's 6-foot-10 Ian Harward says he could pull the trigger this week, make a decision and commit to a college basketball program.

Since the Utah State Aggies are the only Division I school that has offered the late-bloomer a scholarship, that's probably good news to the Aggies.

It also might be a subtle warning to the BYU Cougars: If you want me, you've got four or five days to let me know.

"I'm hoping to make a decision by the end of this week," Harward said Monday morning. "Some people told me that I might get a few more offers after July, but from whom, I really don't know."

Sources have said that Harward really, really wants to go to BYU, but the rising senior kind of downplayed that by telephone Monday, saying "it's a little bit true, but Utah State is still a great option for me."

Sounds to me like the ball is in BYU's court.

The more I hear from people, the more I think it has less to do with Provo's 6-9 Brandon Davies than I stated before. It's no secret that BYU has two scholarships to give, and it is focused on getting Tyler Haws and Davies.

Why is the recruitment of Davies and Harward unrelated?

Because Harward will turn 19 in September of 2009 and will go on an LDS Church mission before he enrolls at a school. He wants to leave a bit early, if they will let him, so he can be back in time for the 2011-12 season.

Like Lone Peak's Nate Austin, who has committed to BYU and plans on a mission before his freshman year, Harward won't "count" as a scholarship athlete until 2011. Davies, meanwhile, most likely will not go on a mission, sources have said.

Harward was asked by BYU coaches (and other coaches, too) to participate in a couple of summer all-star tournaments last month with Utah Pump-N-Run Red so they could evaluate him against top-notch competition. Harward was injured (back problems) the second half of his junior season at Orem, so he hasn't been seen by a lot of scouts.

Sure enough, a BYU coach was at every P&RR game in Las Vegas and Southern California to watch not only Harward but teammates such as Davies and Provo's Kyle Collinsworth, who will be a junior.

But the evaluation period is now over, and Harward is waiting -- at least for a few more days.

-- Jay Drew

Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham says it is a double-edged sword: the quality of high school football in Utah has risen steadily the past 15 years, creating more Division I recruits for local schools such as BYU, Utah and Utah State. However, it also means that Utah is becoming more attractive to out-of-state schools as a recruiting stop.

We are seeing that this year, Whittingham noted (while not supplying specific names), as it appears that three of the state's top five prospects will be leaving its borders.

Cottonwood offensive lineman John Martinez almost assuredly will be leaving, with USC, UCLA, LSU and Ohio State among his final four choices. Timpview lineman Xavier Su'a-Filo is leaning out of state, probably to LSU, while Spanish Fork tight end Richard Wilson looks to be 50-50 right now between Utah/BYU or an out-of-state power.

"Each and every year, a [few] go out of state," Whittingham said at the MWC football meetings two weeks ago. "When I first go to Utah in 1994 -- and this is just my own opinion -- there seemed to be six, eight, maybe 10 Divison I players in the state. Now that has evolved to 18, 20, maybe even 24."

BYU has commitments from Timpview safety Craig Bills and Snow Canyon running back Adam Timo, both of whom are four-star recruits according to Scout.com, but the Utes could see themselves shut out on the top five local guys this year if you don't count Snow College lineman James Aiono, a five-star guy who signed with them in 2007 but did not qualify academically.

Whittingham said BCS schools such as the ones Martinez, Su'a-Filo and Wilson are looking at "have a slight advantage" over MWC schools when it comes to recruiting, but said he rarely has a recruit bring that up.

"It is a factor, but we just tell them, ‘We are living proof that if you take care of business you will be in the BCS," Whittingham said, alluding to Utah's BCS-busting Fiesta Bowl run in 2004.

-- Jay Drew

Watch for Wasatch High in Heber City to have some pretty good boys basketball teams in the next few years.
While most of the big summer basketball tournaments in Las Vegas were contested last week, a Wasatch-based team of 15-and-under players participated in the National Youth Basketball Association tournament this week.
The team went 5-2 overall with just Heber Valley kids despite often playing against all-star type teams. They went 2-1 in pool play and advanced to the highest (Platinum) bracket, where they went 3-1.
Wasatch met up with the only other Utah-based team, Utah Select, in its second round of bracket play and managed to defeat the St. George-area team.
Utah Select went 2-1 in pool play before getting ousted by Wasatch.

-- Jay Drew