Some of the top high school football players in the country -- including Cottonwood's John Martinez and Timpview's Xavier Su'a-Filo -- are in Orlando, Fla., this week preparing to play in Sunday's Under Armour All-America Football Game.

Martinez and Su'a-Filo will play for the "black" team, along with Manti Te'o, the highly recruited linebacker from Punahou High in Hawaii who has BYU among his list of favorites.

Su'a-Filo, the Tribune all-stater, has been fairly reclusive lately, causing some to wonder if he's changed his own list of favorites. But Wednesday, he told several recruiting Web sites that his top five includes LSU, USC, Utah, BYU and UCLA.

He has already visited the first three schools, he said, and plans visits to BYU on Jan. 10 and UCLA on Jan. 17 before he makes his final decision.

Asked specifically about BYU, Su'a-Filo told Scout.com that "there's no place like it" and that it is "my hometown school."


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The Under Armour game is the last of three high school football all-star games scheduled for this weekend.

On Friday, the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl will be played in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Bountiful High linemen Darren Denucci, who is being recruited by Weber State, Southern Utah and others, is the only Utahn in that game, which will be televised by Fox College Sports at 4 p.m.

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl will be played on Saturday at noon at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, and will be televised by NBC. However, no Utahns are in the game.

One of the reasons former Cottonwood High star running back Stanley Havili listed when he chose USC over BYU a few years ago was his desire to play in the Rose Bowl.

The Trojans will play Penn State in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, but Havili might not get to play in the big game.

According to various reports, the fullback's status for the Rose Bowl is uncertain due to academic issues and an ankle injury.

The Trojans have been practicing with tight end Rhett Ellison in the backfield in case Havili can't play, and Ellison lined up at fullback against UCLA earlier this month.

Freshman D.J. Shoemate is also in the running to be the starter in Havili's absence.

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Brandon Gurney of totalbluesports.com is reporting that BYU is interested in Bijon Samoodi, a defensive back from Servite High School in Anaheim, Calif.

The 5-foot-8, 170-pound cornerback had three interceptions last season and his college recruitment has started to pick up lately. He has offers from Montana State and Stony Brook, but has scheduled visits to BYU (Jan. 9) and SMU (Jan. 23), according to Gurney.

-- Jay Drew

Catching up with where some of Utah's top prep athletes are headed -- or may be headed.

* Alta High pitcher Justin Campbell, who has signed with Utah Valley University, has been invited to play in the Under Armour 2009 Preseason Baseball All-American game in Arizona.

Campbell had a 1.18 earned run average lst year as a junior and was a Tribune 5A all-stater.

* Bountiful High offensive lineman Darren Denucci, a 6-foot-5, 270-pound offensve lineman, leaves Sunday to play Offense-Defense All-American Bowl in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The game is Jan. 2 on FSN (Fox Sports Net) at 5 p.m. MT.

* Judge Memorial linebacker/fullback Zach McKown, a Tribune second-team all-stater, recently visited Dartmouth. He has also visited Harvard. He has received an in-home visit from Southern Utah. Northern Arizona and Eastern Washington have also expressed interest.

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It's a well-known fact that BYU is heavily recruiting Jake Heaps, a junior quarterback from Skyline High in Issaquah, Wash. Heaps is widely considered to be the top quarterback prospect in the country from the Class of 2010.

If for some reason they don't get Heaps, the Cougars are also keeping tabs on several other LDS prep QBs around the country.

One of those is Hayden Schaap, a junior at Cibola High in New Mexico. Schaap started for his team as a junior and was named second-team all-district. His team went 4-7.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Schaap is also drawing interest from Utah and Tulane.

-- Jay Drew

Peter Tuitupou, a Snow College tight end who played high school football at Mountain View High in Orem, has signed with Washington State.

Tuitupou also had an offer from New Mexico State and was drawing interest from Washington before a change of coaches in that program.

He visited Washington State the weekend of Dec. 12-14.

Tuitupou committed to Utah out of high school, but was academically ineligible and went to Snow.

The Badgers went 11-1 last season, losing only to Butler (Kan.) Community College in the Top of the Mountains Bowl.

Tuitupou caught 21 passes for 250 yards and four TDs for the Badgers.

As a mid-year transfer, Tuitupou will have three years to play two for WSU. He will enroll in classes this January and be eligible to participate in spring ball.

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Kyle Van Noy, the tight end/linebacker from McQueen High in Reno, Nev., is "85 percent" sure he will commit to BYU, according to a report by Allen Wallace on Scout.com.

Van Noy, the 6-4, 200-pound athlete, told Wallace, "Right now it is mainly BYU and Arizona State. But I'd say it is probably about 85 percent to BYU."

Van Noy is scheduled to visit BYU on Jan. 10. He has already visited ASU.

A couple days after visiting Cal, Cottonwood High running back Isi Sofele decided he will commit to the Pac-10 school.

According to Cecil Thomas, head coach at Cottonwood, Sofele committed to the Golden Bears on Monday.

Sofele is considered one of the top running backs in Utah, perhaps second only to Snow Canyon's Adam Timo, who has committed to BYU.

Sofele rushed for 1,916 yards and had 30 touchdowns as a senior.

He also visited Washington State, SMU and Hawaii and had offers from those schools.

It appears that another school has entered the picture for Cottonwood High running back Isi Sofele.

The 5-foot-7, 160 pound Sofele, rated as the No. 33 all-purpose back in the country by Rivals.com, visited California over the weekend.

Sofele has also visited Washington State, Hawaii and SMU and had said he was leaning toward either WSU or SMU.

Sofele was one of five recruits who visited the Berkeley campus over the weekend. Cal is preparing to play Nevada in the Emerald Bowl.

Rivals.com ranks him as the No. 9 prospect in Utah.

Defensive tackle Latu Heimuli isn't the only star from Salt Lake City's Highland High School that is drawing the attention of college recruiters.

Tevita Kinikini, a fullback and defensive end at Highland, is also getting some college scholarship offers.

Kinikini has offers from Navy, Idaho State and Snow College, and had drawn interest from BYU, Utah, Utah State and Southern Utah.

Kinikini could be a late academic qualifier, according to a family member, and that has probably already hampered his recruitment a bit.

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Cottonwood High's Isi Sofele, a running back, and Asi Hosea, a safety, received in-home visits this week from SMU coaches, including head coach June Jones. Sofele and Hosea are cousins.

Sofele has said that SMU and Washington State are his two favorites. He has made an official visit to Washington State and plans a visit to SMU on Jan. 23.

-- Jay Drew

As expected, the Utes have received letters of intent from three junior college transfers. Maxwell Lacy, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound corner out of Compton College in California, Kamaron Yancy, a 5-11, 190-pound corner and Terrance Cain, a 6-foot, 188-pound quarterback out of Blinn College in Texas have signed with the Utes.
Cain was a NJCAA All-American after leading the Bucks to a 9-3 record and finishing No. 11 in the NJCAA poll.

Tis the season for football recruiting, and one local player who continues to emerge as a prospect is Austin Gumucio, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound linebacker and fullback from Grantsville High.

Gumucio recently had a home visit from Southern Utah coach Ed Lamb and linebackers coach Justin Ena. The Thunderbirds have offered a scholarship to Gumucio.

Weber State visited Grantsville on Dec. 17 and would like Gumucio to visit the campus in Ogden.

Utah State, Utah and BYU are also showing some interest, according to Grantsville coach Tony Cloward.

Gumucio ended this season as the state 3A leader in tackles and was third in the state overall with 157 tackles in 11 games. He also averaged 5.5 yards per carry.

-- Jay Drew

Gary Andersen's proclamation that he would recruit locally wasn't lip service. The new Utah State coach and outgoing Utah defensive coordinator has received four commitments over the last two days, highlighted by Jeff Manning's pledge to be an Aggie.
Of course, it's more than Manning, the highly regarded quarterback from Logan High. Andersen received a commitment from Sky View's Eric Bernsten, another commitment from Jordan's Tyler Larsen and still another commitment from West Jordan's D.J. Tialavea.
Each of the players bring something different to Utah State, as Bernsten wreaked havoc from his defensive end position with 19 sacks. Tialavea impressed as a tight end and a defensive lineman, and at 6-foot-5 is a very good athlete. Larsen is one of the best offensive linemen in the state.
All of which bodes well for Utah State in the future. Andersen has proven to be a great recruiter at previous stops, and this is proving to be no different. Sources say that Utah State is also in the running for even more players, the most prominent being Cottonwood's Isi Sofele, one of the best running backs in the state and the Tribune's Class 4A MVP.
It says something about Andersen that he's been able to lock players up this quickly in his tenure. All of the commitments are very good players and most are all-state players. Craig Anhder, the Sky View coach, said that Bernsten's commitment had more to do with Andersen than anything else. Larsen was impressed with the facilities.

-- Tony Jones

A junior college cornerback from California has orally committed to BYU and will sign with the Cougars as a mid-year transfer, the Web site totalbluesports.com is reporting today.

Lee Aguirre, a corner from Fullerton Community College, visited BYU last week. He also visited Hawaii and had narrowed his choices to BYU and the Warriors before choosing the Cougars.

Aguirre, 5-10, 185 pounds, will enroll at BYU immediately and begin taking classes in January. He will be eligible to compete in spring ball.

Aguirre is the first non-LDS player to commit to the Cougars among this year's class.

Wednesday, linebacker Jordan Atkinson of Diablo Valley Community College in Northern California committed to BYU.

-- By Jay Drew

In cased you missed it, The Tribune's Tony Jones reported on Wednesday night that Logan High quarterback Jeff Manning has committed to Utah State.

You can check out the story here.

Manning will go on an LDS Church mission first, and won't play for the Aggies until 2011. Still, it is a nice little get for new USU coach Gary Andersen, who has said he will focus on in-state recruiting.

Andersen will point to Manning's commitment as proof, but it is not like he beat Utah and/or BYU for the hometown hero. Neither the Cougars or Utes offered the 6-foot-4 senior a scholarship.

I've already gone on record saying that is a mistake, but we won't really know until 2011 or beyond.

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Latu Heimuli, the highly recruited defensive tackle from Highland High, noted in a text message that he recently visited Florida. It was likely Heimuli's last official campus visit.

Highland coach Brody Benson has said that Heimuli is "totally wide open" and doesn't have a favorite right now.

It has also been confirmed that Utah is rising on Heimuli's favorites list though, after the Utes weren't even the picture a few months ago.

Nebraska is also on that list, and Cornhusker coaches were in Salt Lake City earlier this week visiting Heimuli at his school and home.

-- Jay Drew

BYU football coaches landed one of the junior college linebackers they were recruiting on Wednesday, but lost the other to Illinois.

Jordan Atkinson, a 6-foot-2, 235-pound linebacker from Diablo Valley Community College in Northern California committed to BYU and will sign his national letter of intent with the Cougars before the week is over.

However, Aaron Gress, a linebacker from College of The Sequoias in California, signed with the Illini on Wednesday.

Both players are mid-year transfers and will begin taking classes at their chosen four-year schools in January.

Gress, 6-2 and 228 pounds, had narrowed his choices to BYU and Illinois. He also visited Marshall and was being recruited by Nevada, Kansas State and Minnesota.

BYU has also offered a scholarship to cornerback Lee Aguirre from Fullerton Junior College in California. A member of the Fullerton staff said Aguirre will make his decision known on Thursday.

He has narrowed his choices to BYU and Hawaii.

Snow College quarterback Jon Eastman has orally committed to Colorado State and will sign a national letter of intent with the Rams as early as today.

Eastman, who played at Hillcrest High in Midvale before going on an LDS Church mission to Brazil, has already graduated and will be a mid-year transfer to CSU.

Utah State and Wyoming also expressed interest in Eastman, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound quarterback who missed several Snow games with a foot injury.

He completed 67 percent of his passes and helped the Badgers go 11-0 before they lost to Butler Community College in the Top of the Mountains Bowl in Sandy.

A Cottonwood High football lineman has a favorite school.

No, John Martinez hasn't decided between USC and UCLA.

Cottonwood's Percy Taumoleau, a 6-foot-4, 330-pound offensive lineman told Rivals.com recently that Arkansas is in the lead for his services.

Taumoleau recently played well at the Hawaii Prep Classic and his stock continues to rise among college football recruiters.

Taumoleau has offers from Washington State, Arizona, Hawaii and Arkansas. He plans to visit Arkansas on Jan. 9 and Washington State on Jan. 17.

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Pleasant Grove volleyball star Brooke McAlister, who has signed to play for Utah, is the 2008-09 Utah Gatorade Player of the Year in volleyball.

McAlister, a 6-foot-1 senior outside hitter, had a .331 hitting percentage and averaged 7.9 digs per match in leading the Vikings to the 5A state championship game. She has a 3.48 GPA.

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Southern Utah basketball coach Roger Reid announced today that junior guard Eules Thompson has been dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules. Thompson's departure presumably opens up a scholarship for the Thunderbirds, who recently signed a pair of Australians.

"It has always been my policy that what happens with the team stays within the team," Reid said, indicating he will have no further comment on the matter.

-- Jay Drew

Curtis Brown was a star running back for BYU a few years ago, but it appears that his brother is headed elsewhere.

Kenny Brown, a cornerback at College of the Canyons in Valencia, Calif., will sign with UNLV on Wednesday as a mid-year transfer.

It was UNLV coach Mike Sanford's 14th commitment. Of his 14 recruits, six are defensive backs.

Curtis Brown is BYU's all-time leading rusher with 3,221 yards. He played for BYU in 2002 and from 2004-06.

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Linebacker/tight end Kyle Van Noy of McQueen High in Reno, Nev., has pretty much narrowed his list to two schools: BYU and Arizona State.

Van Noy visited ASU last weekend and will make his official campus visit to BYU on Jan. 10.

The 6-foot-4, 202-pound Van Noy is being recruited to play several different positions in college.

"I love that ASU is recruiting me as an athlete," he told devilsdigest.com. "It gives me a lot of different opportunities to see the field. I really like the ASU coaches and how they recruit me. They don't overdo it like a lot of other schools."

He also told the site: "It's going to be a tough choice between ASU and BYU," he admitted. "I'm going to make my decision after my visit to BYU. I'm gonna do what my heart tells me."

Van Noy is LDS but has said he isn't planning on going on a church mission.

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BYU has made scholarship offers to three junior college players from California junior colleges: defensive back Lee Aguirre, linebacker Aaron Gress and linebacker Jordan Atkinson.

A source close to the coaching staff said that Atkinson is almost a lock to commit to the Cougars and sign on Wednesday when the signing period for mid-year transfers begins.

It appears that BYU is battling Hawaii for Aguirre and Illinois and others for Gress.

Atkinson is LDS; Aguirre and Gress are not.

The Utah Utes received an oral commitment from a player that could turn out to be one of its best, as Kamaron Yancy, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound, corner out of Pierce College in California has committed to the Utes.
Yancy committed to Cal out of out high school, but had to go to a junior college when Cal didn't give him credit for one of his classes. While at Pierce, Yancy had a change of heart and decided the Utes were a better fit for him.
Arizona State and UCLA were other schools that he said interested him.
Yancy plans to sign in the midyear junior college transfer signing period, which starts Wednesday.
Yancy was a high school senior in 2002, but delayed going to college because he needed to work to support his family. Signing with Utah has been a long time coming, he said.
"I'm excited, Utah has a lot of things going for it," he said.

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
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
Terrance Cain, 6-foot-0, 188-pound QB out of Blinn Community College in Brenham, Texas
Maxwell Lacy, 6-3, 210-pound corner out of Compton College, Calif.
Siosaia Tuipulotu, 6-2, 285-pound defensive tackle out of Trinity High in Euless, Texas
Victor Spikes, 6-1, 205-pound safety out of Fort Bend Marshall, Missouri City, Texas
Jordan Wynn, a 6-foot-2, 178-pound quarterback out of Oceanside, Calif.
Kapua Sai, 6-foot-5, 322-pound offensive lineman out of St. Louis H.S. in Honolulu
Beau Burton, 5-foot-10, 205-pound running back out of Saguaro H.S. in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Kamaron Yancy, 5-foot-11, 190-pound corner out of Pierce College, Calif.

2010
Joe Kruger, 6-8, 245-pound defensive end/tight end out of Timpanogos High

Terrance Cain, a 6-foot, 188-pound quarterback at Blinn Community College in Brenham, Texas, has committed to Utah.
Cain, who was scheduled to visit Kansas State but cancelled his visit and committed to the Utes, chose Utah because of the strength of the overall program, he said.
"Coaches, players and academics, it was all a good program," he said. "It's a good program and I want to go somewhere I can continue my success."
Cain also considered SMU.
The Utes have parted ways with two recruits in recent weeks.
Travis Cobb, a receiver at Blinn College, is headed to Arizona instead of Utah while Chris Brown, a receiver out of Newbury Park, Calif., who was slowed by back problems in the fall is looking at Washington and San Diego State among other schools.
Brown said he wanted to come to Utah, but things just didn't work out for him.
"My lower back is healed and I'm 100 percent, that isn't it," he said. "Everything happens for a reason."
Cain gives the Utes 15 commitments toward their 2009 class.

The Utes could be in the running for a big-time instate recruit too. Latu Heimuli, a 6-foot-3, 295-pound defensive end at Highland High who was thought to be headed out of state, possibly to Nebraska or Florida, said Sunday that Utah is "definitely still a possibility" for him. Heimuli paid the Utes a visit on Friday before he left for an official visit to Florida. He confirmed his interest in the Utes Sunday, while he was still in Florida.


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
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
Terrance Cain, 6-foot-, 188-pound QB out of Blinn Community College in Brenham, Texas
Maxwell Lacy, 6-3, 210-pound corner out of Compton College, Calif.
Siosaia Tuipulotu, 6-2, 285-pound defensive tackle out of Trinity High in Euless, Texas
Victor Spikes, 6-1, 205-pound safety out of Fort Bend Marshall, Missouri City, Texas
Jordan Wynn, a 6-foot-2, 178-pound quarterback out of Oceanside, Calif.
Kapua Sai, 6-foot-5, 322-pound offensive lineman out of St. Louis H.S. in Honolulu
Beau Burton, 5-10, 205-pound running back out of Saguaro H.S. in Scottsdale, Ariz.

2010
Joe Kruger, 6-8, 245-pound defensive end/tight end out of Timpanogos High

BYU's football recruits from Timpview High won't be the only ones who will be able to say they helped lead their team to a state championship.

Mitch Mathews, a receiver from Southridge High in Beaverton, Ore., recently helped his team win the 6A (largest division) state title in Oregon. Mathews committed to BYU last June.

The receiver suffered a broken leg in the first game of the season last September. But he returned in time to play in Southridge's last seven games (two regular-season games and five playoff games).

In those seven games, Mathews caught 26 passes for 475 yards and seven touchdowns.

The Skyhawks defeated Lake Oswego 35-21 for their school's first-ever state football championship at Reser Stadium.

-- Jay Drew

Bountiful High offensive lineman Darren Denucci, a 6-foot-5, 265-pound center, is getting in-home visits this week from Southern Utah and Weber State. SUU's Ed Lamb and Al Pupunu were to visit tonight and Weber's Ron McBride and Don Eck visited earlier in the week.

Denucci is also drawing some interest from Arizona and Oregon State. He leaves on Dec. 28 to play in the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl, a high school all-star game.

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BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall said Friday night that the Cougars have offered scholarships to three junior college players. Juco players who are eligible to be mid-year transfers can begin signing on Wednesday.

For more on that, check out our BYU sports blog by going here.

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One of the high school football stars that BYU is recruiting heavily, Kyle Van Noy of Reno, Nev., is visited Arizona State this weekend. Arizona State tight ends coach Dan Cozzetto made an in-home visit to Van Noy and his family on Wednesday.

Van Noy, a 6-foot-4, 202-pound athlete, led his McQueen High team to the Nevada 4A state championship. He has said that BYU and Arizona State currently lead the pack for his services.

Van Noy has already visited Colorado and is scheduled to visit BYU on Jan. 10 and UCLA on Jan. 17.

-- Jay Drew

The son of one of BYU's all-time greatest golfers has chosen the school his father played for.

Fremont High's Zac Blair, son of former BYU all-American Jimmy Blair, has signed a national letter of intent to play for the Cougars.

BYU also signed Tommy Higham, a senior at Shelley High School in Idaho and widely considered that state's top junior golfer.

Blair led Fremont to two state championships and was named All-State all four years of his high school career.

He was named a 2008 Honorable Mention All-American and tied for 17th at the 2008 Polo Jr. Classic. Blair came in second at the Golf Pride Jr. Classic and tied for the No. 22 spot at the 2008 Footjoy Invitational. He also tied for ninth at the Wellstone Communities Junior at Craig Ranch.

"We hope these guys will continue to play in competitive tournaments to gain more experience and then come in here ready to work hard for us," BYU golf coach Bruce Brockbank said.

-- Jay Drew

Talented Utah high school basketball players don't leave the state to play college basketball all that often, but when they do, they go to.........Nebraska.

OK, not all the time. But the Cornhusker hoops program recently signed its second Utahn in about 15 years.

West Jordan High senior Rayes Gallegos signed with Nebraska and coach Doc Sadler last week. The 6-foot-2 shooting guard had committed to the Cornhuskers a few months ago.

The last time a Utahn signed with Nebraska, he went on to become one of the top 10 scorers in school history. That was Skyline High's Jaron Boone, son of Utah Jazz broadcaster Ron Boone.

Gallegos had a solid junior season for coach Scott Briggs at West Jordan, but he really blossomed on the summer AAU circuit while playing for Utah Pump-N-Run White. He averaged close to 25 points a game and was rated as the No. 53 shooting guard in the country by Scout.com.

Gallegos helped the Jaguars go 16-7 last year and averaged 10.5 points a game.

-- Jay Drew

Timpview High lineman Xavier Su'a-Filo, one of the most heavily recruited high school football players in the country, dealt with a different kind of scouts last weekend when he was scheduled to visit UCLA to watch the Bruins play rival USC.

According to Bruin Report Online's Trace Pierson, Su'a-Filo skipped his official visit to UCLA because he was finalizing his Eagle Scout project. Su'a-Filo said he will re-schedule the visit for January.

Cottonwood High lineman John Martinez, the No. 3-ranked offensive guard in the country, did visit UCLA over the weekend. The Bruin Report Online says it hears that the feeling is that Martinez is headed to USC.

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Kylin Munoz, the volleyball star from Monroe High in Washington who has signed with BYU's women's volleyball program, was recently named the Player of the Year in Washington prep volleyball.

The 6-1 outside hitter is ranked as the No. 6 senior recruit in the nation for the class of 2009 by prepvolleyball.com. She is one of 24 seniors nationwide who has been named to the AVCA All-America team.

Munoz narrowed her choices to Washington and BYU before choosing the Cougars.

"I am a Mormon, but that wasn't the major reason I chose BYU," Munoz told the Seattle Times. "I want to experience being on my own. I still enjoy doing my own thing."

-- Jay Drew

It's no secret that BYU will probably have to turn to the junior college ranks for some defensive back help, especially at cornerback.

But it appears the Cougars are also after some linebacker help from the juco ranks as well.

Aaron Gress, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker from College of the Sequoias in California is visiting BYU this week (Tuesday through Thursday) and says he has a scholarship offer from the Cougars.

Gress also visited Marshall and has an offered from the Thundering Herd. He will visit Illinois this weekend.

The sophomore had 70 tackles and one interception for the Giants in 2008. He had 65 tackles and a sack as a freshman, according to JCfootball.com.

"BYU offered me a while ago, so I'm looking forward to checking them out a little bit," he told Scott Eklund.

He will have three years to play two because he has not used a redshirt year yet.

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Brandon Gurney of totalbluesports.com is reporting that the Cougars are also interested in Lee Aguirre, a cornerback at Fullerton Junior College in California. Aguirre recorded 17 interceptions the past two seasons at Fullerton.

The 5-10, 185-pound corner runs a 4.51 40. He reportedly has offers from Hawaii, Akron and Idaho State, but told Gurney that BYU is "my favorite school right now."

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BYU's battle to get Jake Heaps, the junior quarterback from Skyline High in Washington, probably just got a little tougher recently when the University of Washington hired former Cougar Steve Sarkisian to be its new head football coach.

Right after Sarkisian was introduced as Washington's coach, he drove 35 minutes to the east to meet with Heaps' high school coach, Mat Taylor.

Senior wide receiver Gino Simone will be one of Sarkisian's primary recruiting targets, along with Heaps and sophomore Kasen Williams. Washington has offered all three, although Simone has orally committed to Washington State.

Heaps, who is LDS, could be the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the country next year. The players recently led Skyline to the 3A state championship in Washington.

-- Jay Drew

Couple more signings to report that slipped through the cracks when they were announced a few weeks ago.

BYU's golf team has signed Tommy Higham, a senior from Shelley High School in Idaho.

Higham is a two-time high school state champion in Idaho and an IGA Junior Champion.

"I'm very impressed with him as an individual," BYU coach Bruce Brockbank said. "He's had a lot of success, he's traveled and gotten some experience, and he's a great student and a great kid."

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Speaking of golf, former Lone Peak High star Annie (Thurman) Young is the new women's golf coach at Oklahoma State. Young played for Oklahoma State during her college career. The program in Stillwater is considered one of the best in the country.

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BYU's men's tennis team recently signed a pair of high school standouts, including one from Utah.

Brighton High's Spencer Smith and Ricardo Campos of Mexico City, Mexico, recently said they will be Cougars.

Smith has dominated the United State Tennis Association's Intermountain Region, winning 13 consecutive sectional titles and remaining unbeaten in the region for the past two and a half years. He has represented Brighton well with three state championships at the No. 1 singles position for the Bengals.

The Brighton standout has also garnered national recognition with a singles ranking as high as No. 18 and a doubles ranking as high as No. 4 in the country. He has earned two third-place doubles finishes as well as making quarterfinal singles appearances in three national championships.

Campos, who attended school in Mexico City, also received accolades throughout his junior career. He has been Mexico's national champion in both singles and doubles and has won ten national doubles titles since the age of 12.

-- Jay Drew

A linebacker from Milpitas High near San Jose, Calif., that BYU was recruiting heavily has orally committed to Cal.

Steven Fanua, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound senior, told the Bears he is headed their way after they beat Washington on Saturday, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Fanua, who is LDS, is undecided on whether he will go on an LDS Church mission during his time with Cal. Along with BYU, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, UNLV and Fresno State had offered scholarships to the hard-hitting linebacker.

Fanua had 131 tackles and four sacks his senior season.

The Cougars are still in the running for another prized LDS linebacker, Kyle Van Noy of McQueen High in Reno, Nev. Van Noy led his high school team to a 13-12 win in the Nevada state championship game on Saturday.

-- Jay Drew

The Salt Lake Metro club basketball organization has been selected by adidas Womanhood Girls Grassroots Basketball for sponsorship. SL Metro is one of just 30 teams nationally to be chosen to represent adidas.

The sponsorship means Metro will attend at least two adidas-sponsored national tournaments:

* The Spring Classic-West in Las Vegas April 17-19

* The Womanhood Championships, July 9-12 at College Station, Texas

SL Metro has 44 of its former players currently competing in women's college basketball across the country. Twenty players have signed Division I scholarships.

For information, call coach Dave Hammer at (801) 486-3931 or send an email to saltlakemetro hoops@comcast.net

Congratulations to Alta High quarterback Ammon Olsen, who today was named the 2008-09 Utah Football Player of the Year by Gatorade.

Olsen has not made his college choice yet, but he has an offer from Southern Utah University.

By the way, Gatorade's Idaho Player of the Year is quarterback Taysom Hill of Pocatello's Highland High. Hill was recruited by BYU, but has committed to Stanford.

Olsen and Hill are now finalists for the prestigious Gatorade National Football Player of the Year award to be announced in December.

Olsen, 6-foot-4, 195, completed 193-of-306 passes for 3,201 yards and 35 touchdowns this season, leading the Hawks (12-1) to the Class 5A state championship. In the 21-17 state-final win over Bingham, Olsen accounted for all three touchdowns, including the game-winning score on a 2-yard run with 34 seconds remaining. He also rushed for 801 yards and 11 touchdowns on 117 carries this fall.

He has a 3.9 GPA and is an Eagle Scout.

BYU kicker Justin Sorensen, set to leave on an LDS Church mission to Macon, Georgia early next year, was last year's Utah Player of the Year.

BYU baseball coach Vance Law has announced the signings of three junior college players and three high school stars.

The high school players who signed earlier this month and will join the Cougars next year are Chunner Nyberg, a 5-11 pitcher from Dixie High in St. George; Jared Snow, a 5-8 outfielder from Riverside, Calif; and Chris Capper, a 6-1 pitcher from Glendale, Ariz.

The juco transfers are Ryan Bernal, an outfielder at Salt Lake Community College; Coltin White, a pitcher/outfielder from Mesa Community College in Arizona; and Tyler Curtis a pitcher from the College of Southern Idaho.

Bernal is from Grand Junction, Colo., and began his career at Mesa State. He led SLCC with a .331 batting average last year.

Curtis, from West Jordan, Utah, prepped at Taylorsville High. He had a 3-3 record with a 3.69 ERA at CSI, with 42 strikeouts in 46.1 innings.

White batted .517 and had a 6-2 record as a high schooler at Mountain View High in Arizona.

Nyberg is the son of former BYU football receiver Brent Nyberg. He had an 11-1 record and a 1.45 ERA last year for Dixie.

Snow is a senior at King High in Riverside, Calif. He batted .440 as a junior and was second-team all-CIF.

Capper was a second-team all-region selection as a junior at Arrowhead High in Glendale, Ariz.

-- Jay Drew

A few random tidbits for you as high school football recruiting starts to heat up again with most states having finished or finishing their seasons this weekend.

It appears that Richard Wilson, the tight end from Spanish Fork who committed to BYU in October, is still talking to some other schools.

According to the Web site canesports.com, which covers Miami football, Wilson says the Canes aren't totally out of his recruiting picture.

"Miami's still in contact with me, still sends me mail and I still email them often," Wilson told the site. "Right now I'm with the Cougars, but if things change I might go visit Miami."

Wilson reportedly said that if there are any coaching staff changes at BYU he might change his mind. None are on the horizon, that I am aware of. Offensive coordinator Robert Anae is the coach who mostly works with tight ends at BYU.

Wilson caught 43 passes for 845 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2008. The Dons were eliminated in the first round of the 5A playoffs.

Wilson told the site that BYU's tight end [Dennis Pitta] was "leading the nation in receiving yards for three weeks in a row" and he likes the way the Cougars utilize their tight ends.

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Two of the top three uncommitted linemen in the state -- Timpview's Xavier Su'a-Filo and Cottonwood's John Martinez -- visited USC last weekend to watch the Trojans wallop Notre Dame.

Former Cottonwood star Stanley Havili, a USC fullback, was the players' host on Saturday.

According to Brandon Huffman of Scout.com, USC, UCLA and LSU are the three schools Martinez is still considering. He will visit UCLA this weekend when the Bruins play host to the Trojans.

Martinez' father, Steve, told the site that John might announce his decision at the UnderArmour All-America Game in Orlando in January. He has also talked about waiting until Signing Day in February.

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Manti Te'o, the linebacker from Punahou High in Honolulu, Haw., received in-home visits this week from both Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis and BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall.

-- Jay Drew

Ever since Oceanside, Calif., quarterback Jordan Wynn de-committed from Colorado and committed to the Utes, Utah has cooled on quarterback Keith Price out of Bellflower, Calif. Price originally committed to Washington but decided to keep looking after the coaching shakeup. He has visited Oregon and was supposed to visit Utah, but said he hasn't heard much from the Utes recently.
"Coaches told me they are considering bringing in two freshmen, but I haven't heard much since they got the other guy," he said. "That is Ok, I know how it goes and I understand."
Price said he isn't writing off the Utes just yet, and is watching the coaching situation at Washington closely. He said he is still very interested in the Huskies and wants to meet the new coach, whoever he is, before he makes a decision.
He's particularly interested if that new coach is Utah's Kyle Whittingham.
"If that ended up happening, that would be perfect," he said. "I know he wanted me anyway and from everything I hear, he is a great guy. I know he is a winner."
- Lya Wodraska

Here is a good article on Keith Price if you'd like to learn more about him.

Weber State's men's and women's golf programs continue to mine local talent to keep themselves competitive in the Big Sky Conference.

Weber State women's golf coach Jeff Smith recently signed Amanda Snyder of Syracuse High to a national letter of intent.

"Amanda is one of the best players ever to come out of Northern Utah," said Smith in a school news release. "She had many choices on where to play her collegiate golf and we are very lucky to have her choose Weber State."

Snyder earned three varsity golf letters, two with Clearfield High School and two with Syracuse High, the school she will graduate from. Her stroke average last season with the Titans was 73.0, and she earned Region 1 medalist honors. She was named to the All-State First Team after tying for second place in the State 4A-5A tournament.

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Weber State men's golf coach Dave Kearl recently signed Casey Halliday of Brighton High and Joseph Wight of Box Elder High.

"We are really happy to sign these two players," said Kearl. "They are among the cream of the crop in this year's senior class. I have been watching them play for a long time and feel really fortunate to have them coming to Weber State. They are both great golfers and quality individuals."

Wight has won 22 junior golf tournaments, was runner-up in 14 events, and finished in the top ten 80 times during his junior golf career. Three times he finished as the top ranked player in his UJGA age group, was runner-up once, and finished in the UJGA top ten every one of his nine years of competition.

Halliday earned four letters while with Brighton and was named the team's Player of the Year in 2008. He earned Region 2 Individual medalist honors in 2008 after shooting an aggregate five-under-par 355 over five rounds, capped by a 67 over the final 18-holes. He finished seventh at the State tournament with a one-under-par 143 and was named to the 5A All-State Team.