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Utah Hopes To Land Top Recruits On Signing Day

Mountain West teams typically do not wait until signing day hoping to get highly regarded recruits.  Usually they are out of the running quickly and settle for players that may have fallen through the cracks in the recruiting process.  

Utah is facing a different situation though.  Currently four highly rated players are deciding if they want to play for the University of Utah or elsewhere.  The decisions by these four guys can turn Utah's decent recruiting class into an excellent one.  Here is an overview of the players Utah is hoping to get on signing day:

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Ricky Heimuli

Heimuli is a big guy who can really move.  He is a defensive tackle that is a beast on the pass rush.  He is a local kid out of Brighton High School in Salt Lake City who is the highest regarded recruit in the state of Utah.  Rivals ranks him the 8th best defensive tackle in the country.  He would be a huge pickup for Utah and can likely make an immediate impact.

He has received offers from powerhouse schools like USC, Oklahoma and Nebraska.  Today he trimmed his list to Utah, Oregon and UCLA.  

Heimuli will make his decision tomorrow at 10:30 a.m.  I expect him to choose Utah.  


John Cullen 

Cullen is an offensive tackle out of Fullerton Community College in California.  He has great size at 6'6'' 280 lbs and would likely replace All American Zane Beadles.  Rivals ranks him the third best junior college player in the country.  Cullen has had offers from elite programs such as USC, Tennessee, Miami and Oklahoma.   

John Cullen has narrowed his large list of offers to four schools:  Utah, USC, Oklahoma and Kansas State.  He took an official visit to the University of Utah on January 22.  He also attended Utah's Poinsettia Bowl.  He likes that he got along well with Utah's players.  

Cullen will make his decision tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.  This would be great pickup for Utah, but I expect him to choose USC.  

 

V.J. Fehoko

Although Fehoko lacks ideal height at linebacker, he is a tenacious athlete and is very strong.  He is a great pass rusher and can fit perfectly into the Utah defensive scheme.  Rivals.com ranks him as the 8th best inside linebacker in the country.

Fehoko has been highly recruited with offers from BCS schools like Texas Tech, Tennessee, Nebraska, UCLA and West Virginia.  He had narrowed his list to Utah, Hawaii and Utah State but Utah State has pulled his scholarship and offered it to another linebacker.  Utah and Hawaii remains on his list.

Fehoko will make his decision tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.  I would be very surprised if he does not choose Utah.


Lucky Radley

Radley is another speedster that the Utes are going after.  He runs a 4.43 forty and is a very elusive back.  In high school he also played linebacker, but schools are recruiting him just for his offense.  Utah is recruiting him as a running back and slot receiver but may allow him to play defense.  Utah may even allow him to play as a true freshman.

Radley has received offers from Michigan, Clemson, Texas Tech and North Carolina.  He has narrowed his list to three which includes Utah, Texas Tech and North Carolina.  Utah is the only school on his list that has mentioned him playing defense.  

Radley will make his selection tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.  Utah has a very good shot at landing Radley but he has expressed a lot of interest in Texas Tech.  I do expect him to choose Utah though because he can play early and has a chance to play on defense.

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