Checking in on the top 10 local football recruits


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SALT LAKE CITY — With high school football state playoffs this weekend, we thought we would look at the top 10 recruits from Utah and see how their seasons are going. These rankings come from 247sports.com.

1. Porter Gustin, Salem Hills High School

Gustin is a five-star outside linebacker who is 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds. Gustin is uncommitted, but his top schools are USC, Notre Dame, Arizona State, Florida State, LSU, Ohio State and UCLA. Salem Hills is 9-1 on the season. Gustin averages 12.4 tackles per game. He also has 8.5 sacks and two interceptions. He plays quarterback for Salem Hills and has thrown 23 touchdowns this season. Despite being LDS and living so close to BYU, the Cougars haven’t offered Gustin a scholarship. Salem Hills enters the state playoffs as a No. 2 seed and will take on Highland High School on Friday.

2. Osa Masina, Brighton High School

Masina is a four-star outside linebacker recruit standing at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds. Masina has had many offers, but his top schools are USC, Wisconsin, Arizona State, Michigan and UCLA. Brighton is 8-1 on the season. Masina has totaled 74 tackles and 7.5 sacks. In Brighton’s triple overtime win against Jordan, Masina had two touchdowns, including the game-winner. Brighton is currently second in Region 3 behind Bingham and will play Syracuse in the first round. Masina was recently honored by the National Football Foundation. He is expected to announce his decision of where to play at the Army All-American All-Star Game in December.

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3. Christian Folau, East High School

Folau is a four-star inside linebacker who is 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds. He was originally committed to Stanford but then decommitted. His strongest interest is now Wisconsin. East is 5-5 on the season and will take on No.1 seed Timpview on Friday. Friday’s game is sure to be a battle as it is a rematch of last year’s championship where Timpview defeated East 33-28.

4. Austin Kafentzis, Jordan High School

Kafentzis is a dual-threat quarterback standing at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds. He is committed to Wisconsin. Kafentzis has led Jordan to a 7-3 season. In Jordan’s triple overtime loss to Brighton, he had six touchdowns and 498 yards. He also has rushed for 1,620 yards this season. Jordan is the third seed coming out of Region 3 and will take on Davis on Friday.

5. Andre James, Herriman High School

James is a 6-foot-5, 275-pound offensive tackle. He is committed to UCLA. Herriman is 7-3 on the season and third in Region 4 and will play West in the first round of the state playoffs. James has also gained interest from schools such as Arizona State, Arkansas, Miami, Nebraska and Utah.

6. James Empey, American Fork High School

Jordan quarterback Austin Kafentzis just gets the pass off ahead of the rush by Brighton's Cody Barton as Jordan and Brighton play Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014, in Sandy. Brighton won 78-76 in overtime. (Credit: Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News)
Jordan quarterback Austin Kafentzis just gets the pass off ahead of the rush by Brighton's Cody Barton as Jordan and Brighton play Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014, in Sandy. Brighton won 78-76 in overtime. (Credit: Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News)

Empey is an offensive guard standing at 6-foot-4 and 270 pounds. He has offers from all in-state schools, Boise State, Nevada, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State and Oregon. American Fork’s only in-state loss of the season comes from Brighton. Last week, American Fork traveled to play at Eastside Catholic, Washington, and lost 20-13. Empey has 39 tackles on the year and 2.5 sacks. American Fork is the No. 1 seed coming out of Region 4 and will play Hillcrest on Saturday.

7. Dayan Lake, Northridge High School

Lake is a 5-foot-10, 185-pound cornerback and is committed to BYU. Northridge hasn’t had the best season but Lake has rushed for 833 yards this season with eight rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown. On the defensive side he also had 34 tackles to go along with a sack and two interceptions.

8. Branden Bowen, Corner Canyon High School

Bowen is a 6-foot-7, 330-pound offensive tackle. He is committed to play at Utah. Corner Canyon is undefeated this season, beating all of its opponents by an average of 21 points. Bowen has also received interest from Ohio State, Boise State, BYU and Colorado. Corner Canyon is a 4A favorite heading into the state tournament and will play Box Elder on Friday.

9. Zayne Anderson, Stansbury High School

Anderson is both a running back and safety. He is committed to Utah State and is 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds. Stansbury has had one loss on the season. Anderson also had interest from BYU. Stansbury will play the winner of the Dixie/Uintah game in the first round of the 3AA playoffs.

10. Jeremiah Ieremia, Hurricane High School

Ieremia is an inside linebacker who is 6-foot-1 and 228 pounds. Ieremia committed to BYU this past September. He also had interest from Washington, Boise State, Oregon State and Utah State. Ieremia has 12 touchdowns, 75 tackles and a sack and interception on the season. Hurricane plays Park City in the first round of the 3AA playoffs on Friday.

To look at the all the state playoff brackets, check uhsaa.org.

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