Super excited about landing the highest commit in program history

I believe he was a two-time first team all-American to boot. I’d be lying if I said I had heard of him before today (I’m not much of a recruiting follower), but looks like OSU was really counting on him to make immediate contributions and solidify their defense. This kid seems to be a huge get, but what really has me geeked is the fact that we’re steamrolling in the right direction with regard to recruiting. Stealing players from elite programs, who would have likely started day one at those schools, is something we couldn’t have dreamed of ten years ago, yet it’s becoming more and more normal. The uptick in recruiting the past few years is very encouraging.

Also, give Shah a raise. Incredible job. If we could somehow lure Erickson back into the fold, just to recruit one state, and maybe convince Steve Smith to hop on board… ah, guess I’m just dreaming a bit.

Steve Smith recruiting…

Smith: “Going to Utah would be your best path.”

Recruit: “If I go to Utah I am going to beat all your records.”

Smith: “Ok, you better ice up son, because I am about to school you.” :joy::joy::joy::joy::joy:

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Imagine, as a seventeen year old football player, having that man walk into your living room. I’d bet he’d have kids committing on the spot. Who wouldn’t want to run through a wall after discussing football with Senior.

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Senior is simply badass. Having a an NFL HOFer talking up the program is nothing but a positive.

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Yep, in addition to beating out lots of powerhouse teams for recruits, we also stole a commit from Ohio State and two from Texas, and these were kids those programs really wanted. Plus, only one of those three kids actually had any ties to Utah, so we flipped commits to those programs based entirely on our program and the strength of our recruiting pitch. That’s nuts.

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He flipped in part because his defensive coach took the BC job and never told him. He was pissed. If his coach was still at OSU, he probably would be too. Still, an amazing job by our staff to flip him.

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I’m glad to see the trend of more of the higher rated recruits staying in Utah and Utah flipping some of these out of state guys!

Wasn’t Luther Ellis up there? Hard to compare since recruiting rankings weren’t really a thing before the internet went mainstream, but I seem to remember he was pretty well known back then.