The BYU Cougars have 18 football commitments for their 210 signing class while the Utes only have eight, what is the deal? Shouldn't the Utes be the ones loading up on talent after all the momentum of the undefeated season?

Don't panic, says Morgan Scalley, Utah's assistant who is the recruiting coordinator.

While NCAA rules prevent Scalley from talking about specific players until they sign, he can speak in general terms and in general, he says he is extremely happy with the way things are going and that the Utes are getting commitments faster than in the past.

"No question this is one of our faster pace recruiting seasons," he said. "We're doing well in Texas and to do that this early is a good sign."

So far, the Utes have five commitments out of the Lone Star state, a number that is just one short of the amount of players signed from Texas in the Utes' 2009 class.

Scalley said the exposure from the Sugar Bowl has helped "big time," when competing against other top programs for athletes.

"There is still a perception out there of what Utah is, and it's tough to get the top guys, it really is, but we're breaking down that perception," Scalley said.

Joseph Smith, a 5-11, 185-pound corner out of Norco, Calif., is the Utes' latest commitment and said he wanted to commit early to ease the stress of the recruiting process.

"I checked it out at Utah and liked it," he said. "They've got a good football team and program."

He might be one of the last to commit to the Utes for a while since Scalley indicated many of the Utes' commitments probably won't come until the season has started. He doesn't want to rush things. "We don't want to necessarily fill up quickly," he said. "There are guys who are good football players who could come calling that we didn't have a shot at early on. A lot of our gems are guys who signed late."

Scalley isn't interested in comparing stars or ratings of the players the Utes have received commitments from thus far either and cautioned fans from doing the same.

"We trust our own evaluations," he said.

 

2010 Utah commitments

Brian Blechen, 6-3, 190-pound quarterback out of Moorpark, Calif.

Princeton Collins, 6-foot, 190-pound running back out of Westwood H.S. in Round Rock, Texas

Jacoby Hale, 6-1, 195-pound linebacker out of Central High in Beaumont Texas 

Josh Huff, 5-10, 185-pound running back out of Aldine Nimitz in Houston, Texas 

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

Darian Lazard, 6-0, 170-pound wide receiver out of Pearland, Texas 

Terrell Reese, 6-2, 190-pound WR/safety out of from Brenham H.S. in Texas

Joseph Smith, 5-11, 185-pound corner out of Norco, Calif.  

 Story ran earlier in the week on Alex Smith on ESPN.com, in case you missed it.

 The BYU Cougars have 18 football commitments for their 210 signing class while the Utes only have eight, what is the deal? Shouldn't the Utes be the ones loading up on talent after all the momentum of the undefeated season?

 Don't panic, says Morgan Scalley, Utah's assistant who is the recruiting coordinator.

 While NCAA rules prevent Scalley from talking about specific players until they sign, he can speak in general terms and in general, he says he is extremely happy with the way things are going and that the Utes are getting commitments faster than in the past.

 "No question this is one of our faster pace recruiting seasons," he said. "We're doing well in Texas and to do that this early is a good sign."

 So far, the Utes have five commitments out of the Lone Star state, a number that is just one short of the amount of players signed from Texas in the Utes' 2009 class.

 Scalley said the exposure from the Sugar Bowl has helped "big time," when competing against other top programs for athletes.

 "There is still a perception out there of what Utah is, and it's tough to get the top guys, it really is, but we're breaking down that perception," Scalley said.

 Joseph Smith, a 5-11, 185-pound corner out of Norco, Calif., is the Utes' latest commitment and said he wanted to commit early to ease the stress of the recruiting process.

 "I checked it out at Utah and liked it," he said. "They've got a good football team and program."

 He might be one of the last to commit to the Utes for a while since Scalley indicated many of the Utes' commitments probably won't come until the season has started. He doesn't want to rush things.

 "We don't want to necessarily fill up quickly," he said. "There are guys who are good football players who could come calling that we didn't have a shot at early on. A lot of our gems are guys who signed late."

 Scalley isn't interested in comparing stars or ratings of the players the Utes have received commitments from thus far either and cautioned fans from doing the same.

 "We trust our own evaluations," he said.

 

2010 Utah commitments

Brian Blechen, 6-3, 190-pound quarterback out of Moorpark, Calif.

Princeton Collins, 6-foot, 190-pound running back out of Westwood H.S. in Round Rock, Texas

Jacoby Hale, 6-1, 195-pound linebacker out of Central High in Beaumont Texas 

Josh Huff, 5-10, 185-pound running back out of Aldine Nimitz in Houston, Texas 

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

Darian Lazard, 6-0, 170-pound wide receiver out of Pearland, Texas 

Terrell Reese, 6-2, 190-pound WR/safety out of from Brenham H.S. in Texas

Joseph Smith, 5-11, 185-pound corner out of Norco, Calif.  

 Story ran earlier in the week on Alex Smith on ESPN.com, in case you missed it.

Checked in with Doug Elisaia, Utah's strength and conditioning coach to see how things are going now that the Utes are a few weeks into their summer workouts.

 Overall, he is pleased with the group of 102 players he has in the program. (No James Aiono isn't here yet, he's expected to arrive in August).

 "We're doing the same thing we've done the last three or four years," he said. "We're doing a lot of things based on speed. We've recruited a lot of speed and that's evident with the guys coming in, there is a lot of speed that came in with the freshmen class. Our young guys are impressive. They get faster and faster every year."

The Utes are following a schedule of running twice a week in the mornings and lifting in the afternoons. Wednesdays are recovery days while Thursdays emphasize change of direction and speed acceleration in the runs and plyometrics in the afternoon to build the players' explosiveness and power.

 Other challenging drills are used as well to not only push the players' bodies but to get them accustomed mentally to challenges.

"We do a lot of mental toughness drills in the weight room and running through different obstacle courses," he said. "It challenges the team camaraderie and we push them to where their body wants to quit, but the mind overcomes so when they get to that point on the field they can push through."

 Developing that team camaraderie is often an under-estimated aspect of summer workouts, Elisaia said.

"People don't realize how huge it is," he said. "There are so many different characters and personalities and really in the summer you want to work all that out of the way and get everyone on a common goal. That way when you get everyone in here for 2-a-days, they understand what they are doing and they know why they are here and they can hit the ground running."

Developing those goals and chemistry is even more important this season, Elisaia said, because the Utes lost many of the players who served as leaders on the 2008 team and the effect that the Sugar Bowl victory still has on the team. "We're working on it a lot more this year than last year," he said. "We're trying to develop some new leadership and get their minds off the Sugar Bowl and moving on. These kids are reminded every day about the Sugar Bowl when they're in public and we're trying to wash it out of their brains."

Elisaia hesitated to single any players out for their hard work, characterizing the whole group as working hard so far.

"I'm impressed with the whole class in general," he said.

Elisaia said he didn't develop his training program around any one specific, but tailored it to the needs he sees in the Utes. "Certain guys need more speed work and position work, some guys needed more strength," he said. "It's specific to what our needs are every year."

 The Utes will get about a week off for the Fourth of July holiday, then return and work out until the end of July when they'll get another break before two-a-days start the first week of August.

The Mountain West Conference's hopes of changing the format in which teams are selected for the Bowl Championship Series were rejected by BCS presidential oversight committee Wednesday, but the fight may not be over for the MWC.
MWC commissioner Craig Thompson, who has led the push for a change in the BCS at the urging of the league schools, will discuss options with the MWC Board of Directors and decide the league's next move.
"The Mountain West appreciates the thorough review that each conference gave our reform proposal," Thompson said in a statement Thursday. "However, the MWC continues to believe that there are fundamental flaws in the BCS system that need to be addressed. We will take yesterday's action under advisement and consider our next steps."
The presidential oversight committee rejected the MWC's proposal for an 8-team playoff and a 12-member selection committee based on a lack of "overall support."
The committee's decision isn't surprising since the BCS and ESPN have agreed to a four-year, $500 million deal in November that will keep the current system intact.
The MWC pushed for reform after the Utes went undefeated but were left out of the national championship. Utah finished the season No. 2 in the Associated Press final poll and No. 4 in the USA Today/Coaches poll.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham voted his team No. 1.
Utah athletic director Chris Hill said Thursday he wasn't surprised by the decision.
"I hope there will be continued discussions about postseason football in the future," he said.

So what are your thoughts, is this topic dead in the water? At least for the next couple of years until the ESPN/BCS deal is almost over, or should the league keep pressing?

Some late news tonight that shouldn't come as much of a surprise, the BCS has rejected the MWC's playoff proposal. Here is an early version of the story:

Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson made his case for his playoff plan to other schools, conferences and even government officials, but in the end his hard efforts weren't enough to sway the powerful presidents in the Bowl Championship Series to change their format.
On Wednesday, the BCS presidents rejected the MWC's proposal for an eight-team playoff plan that would have allowed greater access to the national championship game for teams hailing from the non-BCS conferences.
The BCS presidential oversight committee rejected the concept during a teleconference.
"There was no overall support for the proposal, although some conferences were interested in considering certain elements of it in the future - particularly those related to revenue, access and governance of the BCS arrangement," said University of Oregon president David Frohnmayer, the outgoing committee chairman.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, who voted his team No. 1 after the Utes finished the 2008 season 13-0 including a 31-17 win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, was on vacation and unavailable for comment.
The Utes finished No. 2 in the Associated Press poll and No. 4 in the final USA Today/Coaches poll.
Thompson's plan called for some radical changes, including using a 12-person committee to decide the eight teams that would make the playoffs instead of polls and computers.
While the committee had said it would consider parts of the MWC plan, the rejection was almost expected since the BCS and ESPN agreed to a 4-year, $500 million deal in November that would keep the present system intact.
The agreement didn't deter Thompson from pushing for reform, saying there were "fundamental flaws in the system."

More details can be found here on how Utah's latest commitment, Brian Blechen, made himself known to the football world.

Hello all, back from vacation so I' back to posting.

I caught up with former receiver Freddie Brown today, who was drafted by Cincinnati in the seventh round and signed a 4-year deal with the Bengals last week.
Currently he is in Cincinnati, getting some final workouts in with the rest of the rookies before he heads home to California July 1 for a well-earned break.
"Being here is a great fit," he said. "I feel comfortable here. There is a lot of talent at this level and I'm playing all three positions and just trying to get better every day. There is a lot of information but it's fun and I'm still learning a lot."
Despite signing a 4-year deal, Brown is very aware that his contract isn't guaranteed and is determined to keep bringing the hard efforts that made him one of the most improved Utah players for the 2008 season. Not that he needed a reminder of how quickly NFL careers can change, he got one nevertheless when the Bengals waived this week Mario Urrutia, a receiver drafted in the seventh round last year.
"I don't want to be complacent or satisfied with what has happened," Brown said. "I want to still keep getting better. As many good things as my position coach or offensive coordinator might say, I'm just using it as motivation to work harder. That is the approach I'm taking."
Brown said he has learned to run with the ball more, but he is getting the offense down.
"As long as I can find a way to create separation between myself and the defender and create a window to the quarterback I'll be fine," he said.
Listed as 6-foot-4, 215-pounds at Utah, Brown said he is down to about 209-211, the range in which the team wants him to remain. Losing a few pounds wasn't too hard thanks to all the workouts he has been doing.
He participated in a rookie camp the first of May, then had a few weeks of training, strength and conditioning and meetings with the team and is coming off a 3-day mandatory minicamp. He is finishing up the strength and conditioning program that runs until Thursday. He'll get some down time after the rookie symposium that starts Saturday in Florida.
Training camps open in mid-July.
He has had a busy schedule, but has managed to stay in touch with current and former Utes.
"That is the one thing I'm going to miss, the guys who were my teammates, the coaching staff and the people and environment at Utah," he said. "Over those four years I had a tremendous learning experiences and established some great relationships and had a great education. I took a lot of that with me to this level. Obviously the talent is at the highest level here and the speed of the game is different, but I'm excited about the experience."

The University of Utah has found the ultimate way to recycle pieces of the old turf that has been in Rice-Eccles Stadium since 2002 - by selling it.
Come July 1, 350 pieces of the turf that has covered the floor of the stadium will go on sale at 8 a.m. for $99 through the University of Utah Campus Store.
The pieces are about 13 inches long and about 10 inches wide and will be enclosed in a wooden box, which will be numbered and include a sticker of Rice-Eccles Stadium, a short description of the 2004 and 2008 undefeated seasons and the signature of Rice-Eccles Stadium director Mark Burk.
The old turf is being replaced by a new version of the FieldTurf.
Mike Cherry, the marketing director for the bookstore, said the pieces will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Altogether 450 pieces were made, with 100 of them being reserved for team officials and dignitaries.
The signature and sticker with an embossed medallion seal were designed to discourage counterfeiting of what Cherry anticipates will become a sought-after collector's item.
"We could have sold thousands and thousands of pieces, but we wanted to make a nice collectors' item for Ute fans that are just crazy," Cherry said. "We thought the best way to do that is limit the amount of items available to the public."
Some of the pieces have white on them while most are green, Cherry said. Crews that ripped up the turf were instructed to save the pieces in best condition, so there is no way of knowing the original location of the turf.
Cherry said none of the pieces have red in them, so fans can forget owning part of the 'Block U,' that was at midfield.
The turf that wasn't saved has already been destroyed, Cherry said.
The money generated from the sales will be used to help cover the costs of the new turf, estimated at being between $700,000-to- $900,000.
Fans can only hope the new turf will see as many historic wins as the old turf did.
"It's really going to be a part of university history," Cherry said. "The perfect seasons of 2004 and 2008 is what makes it so valuable. Both teams were BCS busters and Utah is the only team to do it twice, that makes it very valuable."

Caught up with former Ute receiver Bradon Godfrey after his first practice with the Atlanta Falcons Wednesday. He was still in a bit of a daze being with the Falcons. He got the call Tuesday morning and was in Atlanta by Tuesday night.
He has a lot of catching up to do, but said the team is being patient with him and he is being patient with himself.
"It's a lot of information coming at me fast, but I got in and got some reps," he said. "It's all been positive. I feel like I can catch up and the coaches and everyone are helping me."

Godfrey attended Buffalo's minicamp, then played the waiting game until Atlanta called him a few weeks ago and brought him in for some workouts. "They brought several other receivers and told us they were just looking to sign one more," Godfrey said. "They worked us all out for a day and sent everybody home except me and one other guy (Miami receiver Khalil Jones). They went through things with us and then that night they told me they were going to offer the other guy because he has more size."
Godfrey was understandably disappointed, but was told to stay ready because the Falcons were going to keep him on a short list. He kept working out, and got the call to come back when linebacker Brock Christopher from Missouri was let go which opened up a roster spot.
"It has all happened so fast, I haven't even really had time to sit down and think about things," Godfrey said of his sudden introduction to the NFL. "There is a lot of talent here, but for the most part I don't feel like I'm in over my head. I'm comfortable. The talent level is high, but they obviously brought me out for a reason and felt good enough about me."

The biggest difference he has noticed so far, from college to the NFL, is the energy level.
"It's really fast-paced," he said. "Everybody brings a lot of energy. People do this for a living, but it's what they love so they bring a lot of enthusiasm out onto the field. From high school to college and college to the NFL, it's a new level of excitement."

The Utes have had their first brush with the law in a while with sophomore linebacker Mo Neal being arrested for fighting in a bar.
Last year was a relatively trouble-free season thanks I believe in part to the strong leadership and focus key seniors gave the team.
As is his usual policy, coach Kyle Whittingham is going to wait and see how the case plays out in the judicial system before deciding what and if any punishment should be given to Neal from the Utes.
In the meantime, here is hoping this year's seniors get the guys together during the summer workouts (which started this week) and develop a focus much like last year's team had so that Neal's incident is an isolated one, not a sign of things to come.