Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — With the summer coming to a close, arguably the busiest time of the year for recruiting has died down.
But the Utes were productive in that time, landing 16 of their 18 commitments since June 1. Utah has the No. 42 ranked recruiting class in the country, according to 247Sports, and No. 5 in the Big 12 behind TCU, UCF, Baylor and West Virginia.
The biggest recruiting victory for Utah came on Aug. 8, when the Utes landed four-star offensive tackle Aaron Dunn, who is ranked the No. 2 recruit in Utah, the No. 16 offensive tackle in the country, and the No. 157 overall recruit in the Class of 2025.
Several schools were in the mix for Dunn, such as BYU, Oregon, USC and UCLA. He took official visits to all five schools, with Utah being second to last on his visit schedule. But over a month after taking his visits, he made the decision to stay in state and commit to the Utes, regardless of pushes from Oregon and USC.
Utah also added in-state recruits Karson Kaufusi (Skyline High) on June 12, and Cyrus Polu (Desert Hills High) in St. George on June 23.
The Utes also went out of Utah and gained a commitment from four-star linebacker Christian Thatcher, out of Arbor View High in Las Vegas, Nevada. Utah beat out the efforts of Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Washington and USC for Thatcher.
Of Utah's 16 summer commitments, 13 of them are from out of state — eight of the 16 commitments are from Nevada, California or Hawaii.
In Nevada, the Utes landed three-star defensive lineman Sione Motuapuaka out of Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas on June 10. And then on June 23, they added three-star athlete J.J. Buchanan out of Coronado High in Henderson.
In California, Utah gained a commitment from three-star defensive lineman Malili Asiata (Aquinas High) in San Bernardino on June 23. On July 6, the Utes landed three-star wide receiver Tavian McNair (Centennial High) in Corona.
On July 27, Utah stayed in Southern California and added three-star defensive lineman Semi Taulanga (Mater Dei High) in Santa Ana.
Both recruits from Hawaii are brothers of Utes players: On June 16, Utah received a commitment from three-star linebacker Max Fonoimoana, the brother of Brock Fonoimoana, who is part of Utah's Class of 2023.
Utah also landed three-star athlete Mana Carvalho, the brother of Kainoa Carvalho, who is also a part of that class.
But a difficult recruiting ground that Utah has success in, however, is Texas. The Utes gained commitments from three recruits from Texas over the summer in Shelton Fuller, Jason Stokes Jr., and Nathan Tilmon, who was formerly committed to SMU.
Utah's ability to recruit in Texas is especially crucial now that the Utes are in the Big 12.
Other Big 12 schools like BYU and Texas Tech were in the mix for Fuller, and TCU and Arizona were in the mix for Stokes. With Utah winning recruiting battles over Texas schools for Texas recruits, it can make the Utes a significant recruiting threat in the Big 12.
The Utes also landed a recruit from Missouri and a recruit from Colorado. On June 13, Utah landed three-star tight end Drew Clemens (Oak Park High) in Kansas City.
On June 19, Utah gained a commitment from three-star offensive tackle Soren Shinofield (Cherry Creek High) in Englewood, Colorado.
