BYU, Utah football need to secure the borders


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SALT LAKE CITY — Another one has pledged to skip town, following a path that no longer has become the least traveled.

Brighton High star senior receiver Simi Fehoko is the latest Utah football player to bypass the opportunity to play before his family and friends. Instead of taking scholarship offers from either Utah or BYU, he recently committed to play at Stanford.

Fehoko's decision should not come as a shock, with Stanford offering one of the country's better combinations of top-level football and a terrific education. But in what is becoming commonplace, his choice delivers a blow to the recruiting efforts of Utah and BYU, both of whom have lost several players over the last few years to the likes of Oregon, USC, UCLA, Oregon and Michigan State.

The exodus likely won't be slowing down anytime soon, especially as more players continue to go out of state. College coaches from around the country now frequently make recruiting trips to Utah. And with former BYU quarterback Steve Sarkisian at USC and longtime Utah coach Gary Andersen at Oregon State, rival recruiters have strong ties to the state.

"We have kids coming out of Utah that can play with anybody in the country," said Dave Peck, the former Bingham coach. "It's not a secret anymore."

Utah, BYU, and to a lesser extent Utah State, had better find a way to seal the state's borders as much as possible. For several reasons, keeping the local talent home is the most important aspect of any college football program.

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For most of three decades, with LaVell Edwards as the coach, BYU owned the Utah recruiting landscape. But then Utah hired Ron McBride, who resurrected a putrid program by largely signing in-state players. Some 20 years later, Andersen copied McBride's philosophy and turned Utah State into a respectable program.

Now age 75, McBride still has his pulse on the Utah college and high school football scene. His thoughts on recruiting could sound more as a warning to the in-state programs.

"In order for you to continue to have a great football program you need to control the in-state players," he said. "If there's 10 top recruits, hopefully you can get eight of them. That's a very important stat. If you get in-state players at your university, they care a lot more about winning and losing because they were born and raised in this state."

Securing the talent of the top Utah players might be more important for BYU, which has a smaller recruiting base than public universities due to its religious affiliation. Bronco Mendenhall and his staff face more difficult restrictions on multiple levels.

Now a member of the Pac-12, and coming off its first winning season in conference play, Utah can cast a much wider recruiting net. But the Utes are also deeply concerned about getting in-state players, going so far as to produce a video on the subject with the coaches.

"Utah is a much more heavily recruited state than it has been," McBride said. "As more people come in and recruit here, they find the caliber of the athlete in the state here is excellent."

Peck doesn't see players leaving the state as a trend as much as it is a personal decision in each case. During three decades as a coach in Utah, he advised players to make the choice based on all aspects.

Unless specifically asked, Peck always shied away from making specific recommendations. But he never had a problem promoting all of the in-state schools.

"I do think it's important to try to keep our top-tier kids in Utah," Peck said. "I am definitely totally sold on our kids playing in Utah."

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