The Utah Utes picked up the first of what could be a package recruiting deal from Compton College, Calif. Maxwell Lacy, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound corner, committed to the Utes Friday.
Lacy also held offers from San Jose State and Kansas State.
Lacy said he decided on the Utes partially because of the success the program is having this year and also because his childhood friend is current Utah corner Sean Smith.
"We played together growing up and kept in touch," he said.
Lacy said his commitment was firm, although he wasn't going to close any doors just yet.
"Arizona State said they were going to offer later, but right now I'm committing to Utah," he said. "I want to see how they can finish. They started strong. I want to see if they can finish strong."
Lacy's decision may sway his teammate Reggie Dunn, a 5-10, 185-pound receiver, when he decides the college of his choice. Dunn signed with Oregon State out of high school but didn't qualify academically.
"We've always talked about going as a package deal," Lacy said. "Being a receiver, he's got a lot of options right now."
Lacy's commitment gives the Utes 11 toward their 2009 signing class.
Word has it that 6-2, 285-pound defensive tackle Siosaia Tuipulotu from Euless Trinity H.S. in Texas has given a commitment to the Utes, although I haven't been able to confirm that yet.
He'd be a good get for Utah and an interesting one since he grew up playing rugby and has been playing football for only two years.
Here is Utah's list to this point:
Vyncent Jones, 6-3, 270-pound offensive lineman out of Jordan High
Jarrad Stewart, 5-10, 180-pound safety out of Pearland, Texas
Chris Brown, 6-1, 185-pound running back out of Newbury Park, Calif.
C.J. Porter, 6-1, 185-pound receiver out of Concord, Calif.
Jamal Smith, Oxford, Calif., 6-2, 185-pound receiver out of Oxford, Calif.
Eric Dago, 6-foot-4, 210-pound defensive end out of Westside High in Houston, Texas
James Aiono, Snow College, 6-3, 275-pound defensive end out of Murray High, now at Snow College
Colby Goodwin, a 6-foot-5, 202-pound tight end out of Cypress, Texas
Chris Washington, 6-foot-2, 195-pound safety out of Northridge High
Travis Cobb, 6-foot, 180-pound receiver out of Blinn Community College in Brenham, Texas
Maxwell Lacy, 6-3, 210-pound corner out of Compton College, Calif.

I had a story in today on Brian Johnson and how he could pass Alex Smith for the most wins by a starting quarterback. That might lead to some questions, such as who is Utah's next great quarterback? Corbin Louks will be in the running, as will Griffin Robles, who is on a mission but is expected to return this summer.
Another guy the Utes are looking at, but haven't offered, is Doak Raulston, a 6-2, 180-pound quarterback at All Saints' Episcopal in Fort Worth, Texas. Raulston, who is 16-3 as a starter, is drawing interest from several large schools including Tennessee and Purdue, his coach, Aaron Beck said.
Beck said Utah assistant Aaron Alford paid Raulston a visit last Friday and has been keeping tabs on him. Raulston is visiting Louisiana Tech this weekend.
"He's No. 2 on a lot of teams' boards," Beck said. "He is very, very interested in Utah. He loves the coaches. I know I am biased, but I think he'd be a good one."
Beck said Raulston visited Utah during the summer and participated in a camp as well as visiting New Mexico, CSU and Kansas.
TCU is keeping tabs on Raulston too, but already has a commitment from Casey Pachall from Brownwood High in Texas.
So why haven't the Utes offered? They're still looking and evaluating is what Beck has been told. One guy they are keeping tabs on is Keith Price, a 6-1, 176-pound quarterback at St. John Bosco in Bellflower, Calif. He has committed to Washington after giving the Utes a hard look, but word on the street is he might be wavering and Utah could be back in the mix.
- Lya Wodraska

We wrote quite a bit last spring and summer about Taysom Hill, the quarterback from Highland High in Pocatello, Idaho, who was heavily recruited by BYU.
Hill committed to Stanford, and will be signing with the Cardinal in February and then going on an LDS Church mission next summer.
Anyway, the prep All-America candidate was the victim of what seem to be dirty tactics during the annual "Black and Blue Bowl" between crosstown rivals Highland and Pocatello High.
Evidently, the Pocatello coach has been suspended for the actions. In the following video, Hill is kicking off, and, while totally defenseless is rocked by a Pocatello player.
During a subsequent kickoff, Highland has a player stay back to block for Hill. Apparently, the special teams coach who told the player to throw the block to protect Hill has been suspended, too.

Rivals.com football recruiting analyst Mike Farrell has some interesting insights in his Weekly Whispers column today, mostly about where 12 five-star prospects who remain uncommitted are leaning.
Obviously, one of those is linebacker Manti Te'o, the LDS five-star recruit from Punahou High.
Here's Farrell's take on Te'o: It certainly looks as if this decision will come down to USC and BYU, with the Cougars in the lead. Te'o still has a long list and took an official visit to UCLA, but this appears to be a two-team race.

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The three top Utah high schoolers who remain uncommitted are Timpview lineman Xavier Su'a-Filo, Cottonwood lineman John Martinez and Highland lineman Latu Heimuli. All three are given four stars by Rivals, and the Web site lists Martinez as the top prospect in the state.
Farrell didn't mention Martinez or Heimuli today, but here is what he had on Su'a-Filo:
Could LSU or USC pull Xavier Su'a-Filo away from BYU? Offensive tackle Xavier Su'a-Filo of Provo (Utah) Timpview still lists nine schools of interest, but sources say that this is a three-team race between BYU, USC and LSU, with BYU holding the edge.
Su'a-Filo has been difficult to reach lately, but my source close to the family says LSU holds the edge. So who knows?

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Speaking of Cottonwood's Martinez, his father, Steve, said today that John went on his official visit to LSU last weekend for the LSU-Georgia game and that everything went well. No commitment yet, however.
The trip was Martinez's first official visit. He would still like to take officials to his three other favorites -- USC, UCLA and Ohio State (although he's made unofficial visits to Columbus and Los Angeles already) -- before deciding.
He was hoping to go to Ohio State on Nov. 22 for the Michigan rivalry game, but with the Utah 4A state football chamipionship game set for 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 21, that is not doable right now. Yes, undefeated Cottonwood expects to make it to the finals, and expects to see also-undefeated Timpview waiting for the Colts. No secret there.
John has missed Cottonwood's last few games with a second degree tear of the MCL, but could be cleared to play as early as Friday's game against Orem.
Rivals lists Martinez as the 81st best propect in the country.

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With the announcement that G Pittman is transferring, BYU should have another open scholarship spot for the Class of 2009. Obviously, the Cougars need help in the defensive secondary.
One high school player they might be jumping in on, according to one source, is Nolan Washington, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound receiver and defensive back from Kennedy High in Burien, Wash.
Washington has offers from Washington State, Arizona State, Minnesota, UNLV, Boise State, Northwestern and others, according to Rivals.com. Washington has said that being able to get on the field right away will factor heavily into his decision.
Right now, though, BYU has to be considered nothing short of a longshot.

-- Jay Drew

UCLA is making it a little bit easier on Manti Te'o, the star linebacker from Punahou High in Hawaii if he chooses the Bruins.
At least two of Te'o's teammates will sign with UCLA, it appears.
The Bruins received commitments recently from Punahou running back Dalton Hilliard and Punahou wide receiver Robby Toma, according to Paul Honda of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
Te'o has said his five favorites are BYU, Notre Dame, USC, UCLA and Stanford. Many believe it will eventually come down to BYU and USC, but that UCLA ranks third, Stanford fourth and Notre Dame fifth.
While Te'o's teammates are heading to UCLA, his cousin, safety Shiloah Te'o, is already at BYU.
Hilliard had 14 offers, according to Honda, including one from the University of Utah and one from Notre Dame.

-- Jay Drew

Latu Heimuli, the highly recruited defensive tackle from Salt Lake City's Highland High School, has three favorites but will still take some visits to other schools.
Heimuli, 6-3, 270, told us his favorites are Arizona, Nebraska and BYU. He has made official visits to Nebraska and Arizona (along with Washington State), and has been to nearby BYU unofficially a couple of times.
Heimuli's team plays Bountiful on Friday in the first round of the 4A state playoffs.
Next week, Heimuli will take an official visit to Colorado to watch the Buffaloes play Iowa State.
The four-star recruit said he wants to make a decision before basketball season begins a few days before Thanksgiving so he can concentrate on that season.

-- Jay Drew

Anyone who has watched BYU's football team play the last two games has undoubtedly noticed that the Cougars had difficulty keeping up with the talented athletes that UNLV and TCU put on the field.
BYU's defensive backs have looked especially vulnerable against quicker, faster and, in many cases, stronger receivers.
However, coach Bronco Mendenhall reiterated Monday that he will not overhaul his recruiting philosophy to get more athletic, faster athletes at BYU.
Generally, but not in every instance, that means that he will not go searching for non-LDS, African-American athletes across the country if he feels like those players will not "fit in" at the Mormon Church-operated school.
"We have put a lot of work into who we recruit here," he said. "Athleticism isn't the first thing we look at.... the institution is so very distinctive in what would draw a young man here, that will always be what we look at in terms of the fit for the young man, and our program.
"If not, I think then it just becomes exploitation, to bring a kid here just to play ball," he continued. "This university's purpose is far greater than that. The burden, and the opportunity, then shifts to the coaches to continue to find the right scheme to deliver what the players are capable of, which has worked very effectively for arguably one of the best stretches in ths league or any team in quite some time."
Seeing as how BYU has won 27 of its last 30 games, it is hard to argue with Mendenhall's recruiting blueprint. But TCU, UNLV and even Utah State, on occassion, exposed a lot of BYU weaknesses in terms of speed and athleticism.
"I don't ever see the philosophical nature of whom we are recruiting -- in terms of athleticism -- change," Mendenhall said. "We will recruit whom we can recruit that fit best at BYU and then our coaches are responsible to have them in the right place at the right time and to do the things that they are capable of, which we have done, again, at least leading to the 7-1 record at this point.
"And again, we will manage each game as best we can -- not really considering ourselves against anyone else in our league, in unit or production....And that really is, I think, the best way that we can go."

-- Jay Drew

Remember the recruiting battle between Oregon State and Utah I wrote about before the teams played this season? Well, it looks like the Beavers are one up on the Utes. According to Rivals.com, Mana Rosa, a 6-3, 245-pound defensive end out of Hawaii committed to Oregon State today, choosing the Beavers over Utah, UNLV and Hawaii.
The Utes, who didn't sign any players out of Hawaii in their 2008 class, don't have any commitments from the islands for their 2009 class either, although it's still very early in the recruiting process. The Utes have commitment from two other DEs, Eric Dago out of Texas and James Aiono now at Snow College.
I also noticed that on Saturday a tight end from California the Utes had offered, Terrence Miller, gave an oral commitment to Arizona before Saturday's game against USC. Not really too much of a surprise the Utes didn't get him, especially since the Utes already have a commitment from a tight end, Colby Goodwin out of Texas.
- Lya Wodraska

BYU's men's volleyball program has received an oral commitment from Hamilton Day, a 6-foot-2 senior outside hitter from Newport Harbor High in Newport Beach, Calif.
Day helped his prep team reach the CIF Southern Section Division I championship match last spring.
He committed to BYU coach Shawn Patchell last week after an in-home visit from Patchell.
He was also recruited by Pepperdine and California.
The Cougars finished 25-5 last year and were second in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament. BYU will host the NCAA Final Four tournament next spring at the Smith Fieldhouse.

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We haven't heard of many college baseball commitments this fall, after there were seemingly a dozen or so last fall.
However, Washington State has recently landed a couple of Utah's top prep baseball players.
A.J. Carman, a right-handed pitcher and first baseball at Judge Memorial, and Kendall Mayer, a right-handed pitcher at Cottonwood, have orally committed to Washington State. They will sign with the Cougars on Nov. 10.
Carman is a two-time 3A all-stater and Mayer is a one-time 4A all-stater.

-- Jay Drew

Just because the Utes are on a bye week doesn't mean the coaches won't be busy? The biggest task this weekend? Recruiting. Utah will have its maximum seven coaches out on the road watching prospective future Utes. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham and defensive coordinator Gary Andersen are staying closer to home and watching their sons play for their respective high schools, Brighton and Juan Diego.
I know one recruit the Utes are really high on is 6-2, 285-pound defensive tackle Siosaia Tuipulotu from Euless Trinity H.S. in Texas. He is a former rugby player who has only been playing football for two years, but has shown enough potential to get attention from the Utes along with BYU, Nebraska and Purdue, among others.
- Lya Wodraska

Most of BYU's 2009 football scholarships are spoken for, but the Cougars do have offers on the table to a handful of players, including Brad Wilcox, a 6-foot-7, 240-pound offensive tackle from the heart of Big 12 country, Edmunds, Okla.
Most people familiar with BYU football recruiting figured it was only a matter of time before Wilcox committed to the Cougars. Lately, however, BYU has received a little competition for the lanky lineman from a Big 12 team.
Wilcox, 265 pounds, visited Iowa State last weekend and has received a scholarship offer from the Cyclones.
Wilcox, who is LDS and has mission plans, was told by Iowa State coaches that they are willing to work with the two-year absence, and that they are familiar with LDS players, having coached Kory Pence, Scott Fisher and Paul Fisher recently. All three were offensive linemen.
Wilcox told the Cyclonereport.com that he has offers from BYU, ISU and Oregon State and that Texas Tech is showing a lot of interest.
BYU will be "tough to overcome" for other schools, he told the Web site.
Wilcox and his family moved to Oklahoma from Everett, Wash., in 2003.

-- Jay Drew

Northridge High in Layton has a pair of players who have already committed to BYU and Utah, respectively, with safety Chris Washington saying he will become a Ute and running back Peni Maka'afi choosing the Cougars.
Check out our prep sports blog to read more about the players, and how they have battled injuries this season.
Maka'afi has a severely sprained ankle and Washington has played with a fractured bone in his foot.

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This next item surely will come as bad news to fans of Salt Lake Community College basketball.
The Bruins' chief rival, College of Southern Idaho, has just landed one of the best basketball players in the country.
According to Andy Katz of ESPN.com, Nate Miles arrived in Twin Falls on Tuesday and will play for CSI this season. He will be eligible to play in mid-December.
Miles, college basketball fans know, is the 20-year-old freshman who was expelled from UConn earlier this month.
Coach Jim Calhoun had called Miles the best offensive player on the team. The 6-foot-7 guard/forward from Toledo, Ohio, was considered one of the top shooting guards in the country coming out of the Patterson School in Patterson, N.C.
Miles was kicked out of UConn after he broke a restraining order against a 19-year-old woman by calling her within 20 minutes of the judge's ruling. He had allegedly abused the woman, a student from Manchester, Conn., according to the Hartford Courant.
Locally, the transfer has even more implications because coach Barret Peery recently left the head coaching job at CSI to be an assistant at Utah. However, most observers believe Miles will play a year of junior college ball and then declare for the NBA draft.

Have BYU and Notre Dame ever gone head-to-head for a football recruit before?
It appears the Irish have upped their pursuit of Manti Te’o, the linebacker from Hawaii who most observers agree has BYU, USC and UCLA in his top three.
Here’s an interesting item we found in the South Bend Tribune, written by Eric Hansen, regarding how Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis spend part of his bye weekend.



Forget the honey-do projects, the smorgasbord of college football on TV to glut from, even quality time with the spouse.

Charlie Weis spent his bye weekend going bye-bye — to Hawaii, no less.

Well, sort of. For all of about six hours. Offset by about 18 hours of time spent in an airplane.

He did not pack a suitcase.

The Notre Dame head football coach can write it off as a pleasure trip if linebacker [Manti] Te'o — perhaps the best linebacker in the country with or without an apostrophe — ends up verbally committing to Notre Dame.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder with 4.55 40 speed plays for the Punahou School in Honolulu, and Weis arrived just in time Friday to catch the Buffnblu's matchup with the Iolani School. All NCAA rules allowed the Irish coach to do on the trip basically is see and be seen.

"That's why he's got a job, because he can recruit and does it to this extreme," national recruiting editor for scout.com Allen Wallace said of Weis. "Te'o would be a perfect fit for the Irish defense. Actually, he'd be a perfect fit for any defense. He's a search-and-destroy type of guy. He's strong, he's athletic and he has a bad attitude."

Te'o has only made one college visit so far, to UCLA — where Punahou alum Norm Chow is the offensive coordinator. He said he also plans to visit Stanford, BYU, Notre Dame and USC.

-- Jay Drew

Alex Cassel, a junior volleyball star at Juan Diego High, has captured the attention of a school a long, long way from Draper, Utah.

Cassel is being actively recruited by the University of Buffalo, whose coaches saw the 6-foot middle blocker and outside hitter at a club tournament last spring in Denver.

Buffalo has contacted her early this fall and has indicated she is high on its recruiting list.

We found this interesting take on Jake Heaps, the junior quarterback from Skyline High in Issaquah, Wash.
Heaps is widely considered one of the best high school quarterbacks in the Class of 2010, and he's considering BYU.
He completed 11 of 13 passes for 322 yards and also ran for a score in his team's 38-0 win on Friday.
Here's what Bob Condotta, a beat writer who covers University of Washington football for the Seattle Times, wrote in his blog about Heaps:

I went to the Skyline-Issaquah game last night and wasn't expecting to see a 38-0 blowout. But it was a fun atmosphere anyway, and a great chance to see some of the top prospects in the state. As the story indicates, Jake Heaps had a phenomenal game, and anyone who saw it would agree that he is one of the best QB prospects in the nation. His 87-yard TD pass in the second quarter was one of the best plays I can imagine a high school QB making as he stepped away from pressure near his own end zone, then fired a pass maybe 50 yards in the air down the sideline, hitting his receiver right in stride. Talking to some people there, the general feeling is that it's either UW or BYU for Heaps, depending obviously on the coaching situation at Washington. Coaches from BYU, Oregon State and Washington State were all there and there may have been some from other schools but I just didn't see them.

- Jay Drew

We've written plenty about the top senior football players in the state of Utah this year -- guys such as Cottonwood's John Martinez, Timpview's Xavier Su'a-Filo and Craig Bills and Highland's Latu Heimuli.

Naturally, you are wondering about the best juniors in the state. Well, ESPN has you covered. The sports leader's Web site recently came out with its 150 Watchlist for the Class of 2010.

Three Utahns made the list:

* Timpview's Chris Badger, a 6-foot, 176-pound safety who already has offers from BYU and Utah.

* Timpview's Bronson Kaufusi, a 6-foot-6, 226-pound defensive end who has already committed to BYU.

* Brighton's Ricky Heimuli, a 6-foot-3, 276-pound defensive tackle.

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Some odds and ends from the recruiting Web sites the past few days:

* Highland High's Latu Heimuli (6-4, 300) will visit Washington State this weekend. The defensive tackle will have plenty of time for the visit because his high school team played on Wednesday night.

Yes, it is UEA weekend in Utah, which means school is out Thursday and Friday (and Monday, for some). That means high school football is played on Wednesdays -- probably the only state in the union that has a full slate of varsity football on Wednesday at least once every year.

Highland played at West on Wednesday night.

As has been noted in this space previously, Heimuli will visit Arizona next weekend (Oct. 25). Having visited Nebraska last week, he told Rivals.com that he will probably choose between Oregon State, Cal and UCLA for his last two visits.

* Speaking of Washington State, the beleaguered program will welcome another Utahn this week: Cottonwood running back Isi Sofele. The 5-8, 165-pound Sofele has offers from Arizona, Oregon State, Washington, UNLV, Utah, SMU and UConn in addition to WSU, which will be his first official visit.

The Cougars play host to USC this weekend, so if nothing else, Heimuli and Sofele will probably find that the Cougars need a lot of instant help.

Sofele said he will visit Hawaii on Dec. 2 with his cousin, Cottonwood safety Asi Hosea. The two have said they would like to attend the same school, if possible.

Hosea is also visiting Washington State this weekend, but it will be an unofficial visit and he will pay his own way.

Hosea told Rivals.com that he will take an official visit to Kansas State on Oct. 25. He has already taken an unofficial visit to SMU, and plans on taking an official visit to the Dallas-area school when the high school season is over.

Hosea said he has offers from Hawaii, Washington, Oregon State and Utah, in addition to the schools he is visiting.

Cottonwood played at Granger on Wednesday night.

-- Jay Drew

The Utah Utes went 1-for-2 in its recruiting of Blinn Community College receivers in Brenham, Texas. A day after one receiver, Justin Jordan, turned down the Utes and orally committed to UAB, the Utes received an oral commitment from his teammate, Travis Cobb.
Cobb orally committed to the Utes earlier then changed his mind and kept looking. He narrowed his list to UAB, Arizona and Utah before giving the Utes another commitment Tuesday.
"I was ready for coaches to stop calling and get it over with," Cobb said of his commitment. "It's nice knowing where I'm going so I don't have to think about it anymore."
The 6-foot, 180-pound Cobb is the 10th oral commitment the Utes have received for their 2009 class. He is the third receiver to commit, joining C.J. Porter out of Concord, Calif., and Jamal Smith out of Oxford, Calif.
Cobb said he considered going to UAB with his teammate, but ultimately decided on the Utes because it is the same offense he is in now and because the Utes are a Top 25 program.
"I want to see different places too," he said. "I'm from North Carolina and I'm in Texas now, so I want to see a lot of places."
- Lya Wodraska

Nate Bendall is going back to Utah State -- next year.

Bendall is the 6-foot-9 forward from Skyline High who played for the Aggies in 2005-06 before departing on an LDS Church service mission to Nauvoo, Ill.

Bendall returned in 2007, but the Aggies did not have a scholarship available at the time, and so Bendall enrolled at Salt Lake Community College.

He redshirted last season while the Bruins were making their run to the junior college national championship game, but practiced with the team and was evidently impressive enough in those workouts to earn the attention of Division I recruiters.

Bendall went through the recruiting process again, and last week he orally committed to Utah State for the second time. He said Monday that he will sign a national letter of intent with Utah State on Nov. 12.

Shortly after that, he will begin playing for SLCC, and will be considered a redshirt sophomore. So, when he joins the Aggies, he will have two years to play two seasons.

Bendall appeared in 15 games for USU in 2005-06, and averaged about five minutes per game.

He said Boise State and one of the Montana schools (he can't remember which) offered him scholarships, and that Colorado State and several West Coast Conference schools had expressed interest.

Bendall said he thought about waiting to sign until his season with SLCC was over, but he got the assurance from USU coach Stew Morrill that the Aggies would not recruit another junior college big man if he committed, so he did.

-- Jay Drew

A tight end Utah was recruiting, Josh Mauro out of L.D. Bell in Hurst, Texas, committed to Stanford yesterday. He also had offers from Boise State and Louisville.
Mauro's schoolmate, basketball player Marshall Henderson, committed to the Utes so many thought the Utes might land Mauro.
However, the decision for Mauro to go elsewhere was probably accelerated when Colby Goodwin, a 6-foot-5, 202-pound tight end out of Cy-Fair in Cypress, Texas, committed to the Utes.
I've heard the Utes were only going to use one scholarship for a tight end in its 2009 class and Goodwin said 'yes' first. I know the Utes really wanted Goodwin so I bet they cooled on Mauro once Goodwin committed.

Here is the list of oral commitments for 2009 so far. It doesn't include receiver Travis Cobb, who gave the Utes an oral commitment then decided to keep looking. He says he has narrowed his choices to the Utes, UAB and Arizona.
Current commitments
Vyncent Jones, 6-3, 270-pound offensive lineman out of Jordan High
Jarrad Stewart, 5-10, 180-pound safety out of Pearland, Texas
Chris Brown, 6-1, 185-pound running back out of Newbury Park, Calif.
C.J. Porter, 6-1, 185-pound receiver out of Concord, Calif.
Jamal Smith, Oxford, Calif., 6-2, 185-pound receiver out of Oxford, Calif.
Eric Dago, 6-foot-4, 210-pound defensive end out of Houston, Texas
James Aiono, Snow College, 6-3, 275-pound defensive end out of Murray High, now at Snow College
Colby Goodwin, a 6-foot-5, 202-pound tight end out of Cypress, Texas
Chris Washington, 6-foot-2, 195-pound safety out of Northridge High

Lya Wodraska

We mentioned last week that Southern Utah's men's basketball program received commitments recently from a pair of tall Australians, 6-10 Matt Hogdson and 6-11 Nate Crombie.

Hodgson confirmed his commitment in an email, but we had nothing from Crombie. Turns out, that young man's response finally arrived today, via email.

Crombie said he his 6-11 and 95 kilograms. He said he was being recruited by Denver and Hawaii and that he currently plays for the Brisbane Capitals, an ABA team.

"I chose SUU because I thought it was the best program for me as a player, and the coaches are experienced," he said.

Southern Utah is coached by Roger Reid, who visited the Australians along with assistant coach Ron Carling, who has extensive ties in that country. Carling, of course, was the longtime Alta High coach.

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Shay Sorensen, a senior at Weber High in North Ogden, has signed a letter of intent to play volleyball for Westminster.

Sorensen averaged three kills and 1.5 blocks per set as a junior. She will be a three-year starter and has been a captain the past two seasons.

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James White, a running back from Skyline High in the Dallas, Texas, area, has orally committed to Iowa State. White has rushed for 470 yards and three touchdowns this season.

According to the Dallas Morning News, White chose Iowa State over Minnesota, Colorado and Utah.

-- Jay Drew

Provo High's Brandon Davies, the top big man in the state, is headed to BYU.

Davies, the 6-foot-8 power forward/center who helped lead Provo to the 4A state championship last spring, orally committed to BYU coach Dave Rose on Sunday morning.

Davies gave me the news via telephone a few minutes ago, and said he committed in Rose's office at the Marriott Center after making his official campus visit this weekend.

"It just felt right to choose BYU," he said. "It's close to home and I have a huge support system if I go there, with my family close by and my high school teammates and all the people who have helped me over the years."

Davies' commitment to BYU comes less than three weeks after another highly recruited high school senior from Utah, Lone Peak's Tyler Haws, committed to Rose.

Haws is expected to play one year and then go on an LDS Church mission. Davies has not decided whether he will go on a mission or not, but said he will play at least two seasons of college basketball before deciding.

He won't turn 19 until July of 2010.

Regardless, Davies said he is "extremely relieved" that his first major decision is out of the way.

The power forward/center also made official visits to Cal, Utah State and Gonzaga, and had offers from those three schools, along with BYU. He recently crossed Gonzaga off the list.

-- Jay Drew

When it comes to football recruiting, the University of Utah casts a much wider net that BYU, offering scholarships to dozens of more players than the Cougars do.
While most schools offer like Utah does (more than 50, maybe close to 100), BYU probably offers fewer scholarships than any Division I school in the country. Coach Bronco Mendenhall said once that his staff focuses on fewer than 35 players a year, and probably offers scholarships to less than 30.
BYU is probably unique in that regard, due to its sponsoring institution and the type of young man that can handle its strict environment. The Cougars only have a handful of scholarship offers still out there, as we have detailed in previous posts.
That said, we are starting to get a better picture of the players that Utah is focusing on -- other than the nine players who are already known to have committed to Utah.

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One such player is Josh Brown, a cornerback from Lancaster, Texas. Brown has offers from Utah, North Carolina, Wake Forest and Nebraska. The 6-foot, 180-pound senior recently said he was leaning toward Nebraska and that he will make his first official visit to Lincoln, having recently taken the SAT college admission test.
As Highland High's Latu Heimuli learned recently, recruits have to take one of the college admission tests (ACT or SAT) before they can go on an official recruiting visit.
Brown said he plans on visiting Utah when his senior season is over.

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The Utes recently received an oral commitment from Chris Washington, a safety from Northridge High in Layton. Jordan lineman Vyncent Jones is the other Utah high schooler to have committed to the Utes. Snow College's James Aiono, a Murray High product, has also said he will sign with Utah in February.

Other Utahns who have received scholarship offers from the Utes are Cottonwood running back Isi Sofele, Bingham linebacker L.T. Filiaga, Highland's Heimuli and Timpview offensive lineman Xavier Su'a-Filo.

Among the top out-of-staters that Utah has offered include Rolando Jefferson, a receiver from Fresno, Calif.;' Terrence Miller, a tight end from Moreno Valley, Calif.; Everett Benyard, an offensive tackle from San Diego; Kapua Sai, an offensive guard from Honolulu; Nat Harrison, a linebacker from Fresno, Calif.; and Cameron Marshall, a running back from San Jose, Calif.

It worked (and is still working) for the University of Utah, so maybe it will for Southern Utah University as well.
SUU men's basketball coach Roger Reid has landed a pair of giants from the land down under, getting commitments recently from a couple of high school seniors in Australia.
Committing to sign with the T-birds when the November early signing period begins are 6-foot-10 Matt Hodgson and 7-footer Nate Crombie. Hodgson weighs 225 pounds and Crombie is 220.
Hodgson verified the commitment in an email earlier today, saying that Reid -- the former coach at BYU -- and assistant coach Ron Carling, the ex-Alta High coach, personally visited him in Australia.
Hodgson said he also had offers from Washington State, Valparaiso and Pacific. He is currently averaging 25 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks per game at Ipswich Grammar School in Queensland, he said.
"Coach Carling and Coach [Reid] have treated me like a secondary son, and although I know they will push me extremely hard when I get over there, I will always be welcome with open arms into their family environment, which they have said to me," Hodgson wrote. "I was so impressed with them as people and I know that if there were more people like Coach Carling and Coach Reid involved with basketball, it would be a much more enhancing environment."
Crombie plays for the Queensland Academy of Sport and has been a member of the Australian National Junior Team.

-- Jay Drew

Just got a text message from Latu Heimuli, the four-star defensive tackle from Highland High in Salt Lake City.
"Hey, it is Latu. I just wanted to let you know that I have to more visits set up -- Washington State on the 17th and Arizona on the 25th (of October).
Heimuli, 6-4, 305, is not the most talkative kid around, but on the football field he is quickly becoming one of the most-recruited seniors in the state this year.
As previously noted, Heimuli went on his first official visit last week, to Nebraska. He rated the visit "an 8 or a 9."
He said he also wants to visit Oregon State and Colorado. He has been to BYU and Utah several times on unofficial trips, and, of course, both schools have offered the all-state lineman.

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According to Texashoops.com, Utah State's men's basketball program has offered a scholarship to Cory Remekun, a 6-8 power forward from Mesquite High School in Texas.
Remekun made his official visit to Logan in mid-September, and told the Web site that the Aggies took him horseback riding.
Remekun has said he wants to sign in November so he can focus on his senior season.
He has also visited Missouri State and Western Kentucky and is interested in Penn State, St. Louis, North Texas and Tulane.

-- Jay Drew

Skyline High running back Algernon Brown, a junior, has orally committed to BYU, the Web site totalbluesports.com is reporting today.
Brown, 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, has started for the Eagles since midway through his sophomore season, but has battled some injuries this fall and missed a couple of games.
He is the cousin of former BYU defensive lineman Manaia Brown, a Granger High product.
Alge Brown was among the dozen or so recruits who attended the UCLA-BYU game and received a scholarship offer from the Cougars shortly thereafter.
Along with 15 commitments from the Class of 2009 (this year's seniors), the Cougars now have two commitments from the Class of 2010.
Along with Skyline's Brown, Timpview's Bronson Kaufusi has committed to BYU.

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Among the high school seniors that BYU has offered a scholarship to is Kyle Van Noy, a 6-foot-4, 202-pound linebacker from McQueen High in Reno, Nev. Scout.com calls Van Noy a four-star recruit.
The versatile star recently made his first official visit, to Colorado, and watched the Buffaloes get destroyed by Texas.
Van Noy told Allen Wallace of superprep.com that he really liked Colorado coach Dan Hawkins and that he enjoyed the visit. Van Noy said he will visit BYU on Jan. 10 and Arizona State on Jan. 17.
He is trying to line up dates to visit Boise State and UCLA.

-- Jay Drew

Kyle Collinsworth, the 6-foot-5 Provo High junior basketball star, has a list of favorite schools, according to an article on the Rivals.com Web site written by recruiting analyst Jerry Meyer.
It is a short list.
Although Collinsworth is a long way from making a decision, Meyer notes, Washington State and BYU are presently in the lead in his recruitment.
"Washington State is a big one for me," Collinsworth told Meyer. "I went to their elite camp this summer and like them a lot. And then BYU is right across the street from me."
As we mentioned on this blog previously, head coaches from WSU, BYU, Utah and Utah State have visited Provo High to look at Collinsworth (and teammate Brandon Davies, in some cases) the past month, along with assistants from Cal and Stanford.

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BYU football coaches have scholarship offers out to fewer than 10 high school football players (seniors) who have not accepted them yet, and one of those players is Steven Fanua, a linebacker from Milpitas, Calif.
Fanua recently went on his first official visit, to Cal.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior was accompanied by his parents and he said he was impressed with Cal coach Jeff Tedford.
Fanua is scheduled to visit BYU on Jan. 10. He also had a trip scheduled to Fresno State in December.

-- Jay Drew

College coaches beat a path to Provo High last week to catch some open-gym workouts.

They were there to see not only Provo's 6-9 senior Brandon Davies, but one of the fastest-rising juniors in the country, Provo's 6-6 Kyle Collinsworth.

Davies has narrowed his choices to BYU, Cal and Utah State, and those three schools all had representatives at Provo last week, according to a well-placed source. Davies will make his official visit to BYU this weekend, and is expected to decide shortly thereafter.

Collinsworth, meanwhile, continues to draw attention from some of the top programs in the country, and one local recruiting expert said he could end up drawing as much recruitment, or more, than Lone Peak's Tyler Haws, who recently committed to BYU.

Last Monday, Utah coach Jim Boylen and assistant coach Barret Peery and a coach from Cal were at the gym just a stone's throw from the BYU campus.

Wednesday, coaches from Utah State and Stanford were there. Thursday, Washington State coach Tony Bennett and BYU coach Dave Rose were there..

The source said more college coaches are expected to visit Provo next week.

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Highland High's Latu Heimuli, one of the state's most-recruited senior football players, went on an official recruiting visit to Nebraska over the weekend and witnessed Cornhuskers' humiliating loss to Missouri.

Heimuli, a defensive tackle, is a four-star recruit according to Scout.com. He told the Web site he was impressed with the pregame atmosphere and the athletic facilities in Lincoln.

"Nebraska was pretty high on my list already," he told the site. "I can really see myself going there and playing there."

He said he also wants to visit Arizona, Oregon State and Colorado. Of course, BYU and Utah have both offered the all-stater.

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Southern Utah's women's basketball program has received a commitment from Taylor Anderson, a 6-foot wing player from Lyman High in Wyoming. Anderson played the last two years with the Salt Lake Metro club basketball team.

She averaged 13.2 points and 9.8 rebounds a game during the 2007-08 season.

Jadie Parsons of South Sevier High in Monroe, Utah, has also committed to SUU, as has been previously reported here.


-- Jay Drew

Scout.com recently came out with its rankings of the top high school cornerbacks in the West.
No Utahns made the Web site's top 15 list.
However, Judge Memorial's Keenyn Walker made the "next 15" list, along with Trevor Bateman, a senior from Palm Desert, Calif., who has committed to BYU.
Lone Peak's Quade Chappuis made the "others to watch" list.

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The University of Utah had a bunch of prospective women's soccer recruits on campus on Saturday when it played host to BYU in a game at Ute Field. Alas, the Utes were hammered 5-0 by the Cougars on a cold and rainy night in Salt Lake City.
Among the players (juniors) who visited were Lehi's Harley Spier and Kyleigh Royall, Alta's Alexa Pulley, Davis' Jamie Wilkinson, Bountiful's Felicia Sturgeon and Juan Diego's Jen Flynn.

-- Jay Drew

Just got off the phone with Richard Wilson, the Spanish Fork tight end who has scholarship offers from some of the top schools in the country.

Wilson said he committed to BYU on Friday morning.

"I called coach Mendenhall and told him," Wilson said. "It just felt right."

Wilson's Spanish Fork team plays at Timpanogos tonight, but he is home nursing a cold and trying to get some sleep in between the phone calls.

"Coach Mendenhall acted like he was pretty excited when I told him," Wilson said.

One good thing about the Utes playing Oregon State tonight is that Utah coaches will be able to recruit at high school football games on Friday.

Last week, BYU sent out seven coaches (the most allowed by the NCAA) to watch high school and junior college games because it had a bye. The Utes will get that chance tomorrow.

Both schools play TCU on Thursday nights, so that will provide an opportunity for coaches to see Friday and Saturday prep games.

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said at his weekly news conference Monday that he met with the seven coaches who went out last weekend and got basically the same report from all seven: the Cougars' national ranking is being noticed.

"What each of them [talked about] was the overwhelming response and the amount of interest being generated just by the winning, number one, but now by the national recognition, and they find by themselves, much maybe similar to myself as a head coach, having to answer questions about those things.," Mendenhall said. "They are not in the outside world, rather than in staff rooms, working. I think they were surprised by the amount of attention, and having to field questions about how does it feel to be seventh or eighth or to be on ESPN or articles in Sports Illustrated, or all those kinds of things."

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Provo basketball star Brandon Davies confirmed to Jerry Meyer of Rivals.com that he has eliminated Gonzaga and is now focusing on just BYU, Utah State and Cal.

"After his October 11 visit to local school BYU, Davies will cut his list to at least two if not down to one," Meyer wrote. "The number one issue directing his decision making will be how far away from home he wants to go to school."

Here's what Davies told Rivals about each school:

BYU -- "It's 10 minutes from my home, so it might be nice to stay close to home."

California -- "They play in a top league, and I'd have a chance to play against some of the top players in the country."

Utah State -- "Utah State is in between distance-wise. It is close enough to home where I wouldn't be that far away, but I'd also be getting away."

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Mark Saxon, who covers UCLA football for the Orange County Register, blogged today about UCLA's chances of landing Manti Te'o, the No. 1 linebacker recruit in the country from Hawaii.

"UCLA may still be a long shot for his services, but I've heard that five-star linebacker Manti Te'o from Hawaii has spoken highly of UCLA since taking his official visit recently. In fact, there are some people who believe Te'o will choose between UCLA and BYU, though he still lists 14 schools (including USC) as possibilities," Saxon wrote.

For more, go to this link.


-- Jay Drew