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Utah focuses on line of scrimmage, defensive secondary with 2017 recruits

Posted at 7:30 PM, Feb 01, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-01 21:30:19-05

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utes brought in 19 new recruits for National Signing Day Wednesday, focusing on the offensive and defensive lines as well as the defensive secondary.

The 14 incoming freshman and five junior college transfers are primarily from out of state, but the list includes some athletes from Utah.

“Our main objective with this recruiting class was to focus on both sides of the line of scrimmage and the defensive secondary,” Coach Kyle Whittingham said in a press release. “We feel we were able to accomplish that as well as sign a quality class across the board. It’s great to get impact players off the Islands again and Texas and California were both good to us as well. Our instate class actually has six players, when you figure in push forward players and a returned missionary, and we are very pleased with our local talent.”

Utah natives Bapa Falemaka and Julian Blackmon are among the new signees, and fellow Utahn Chayden Johnston will report to the team this summer after serving a religious mission.

Six of the new recruits are from California, four are from Texas, three are from Utah, and three are from Hawaii. Arizona, Florida and Ohio each contributed one player each. The 19 players join mid-year signees Corrion Ballard and Tyquez Hampton, who are already in school and participating in off-season conditioning with the team.

The full list of players and biographical information for each are available in the PDF embedded below:

University of Utah 2017 recruiting class by kstumarkgreen on Scribd