Utah football signs another strong recruiting class; adds a total of 22 recruits

SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah completed its 2018 recruiting class Wednesday, signing 14 recruits to the program on National Signing Day.

The 14 recruits join the seven that signed during the early signing period in December, which was highlighted by four-star quarterback Jack Tuttle. The strong recruiting class ranks Utah No. 37 in the nation, according to 247Sports.com and rivals.com, and fifth in the Pac-12.

“We feel we addressed our needs with the makeup of this class,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said in a statement. “Two of our biggest areas of concentration were at defensive line and tight end and we believe we definitely helped ourselves at both of those positions.

"We were able to add some real playmakers on both sides of the ball and are anxious to begin working with this recruiting class as soon as we can," Whittingham added. "As is always the case, our assistants did a great job evaluating talent all over the country and putting together a quality group of student-athletes to join our program here at the University of Utah.”

The biggest surprise for Utah on Wednesday was that four-star wide receiver Solomon Enis, who was originally expected to sign with Penn State, flipped to Utah in the days leading up to signing day. The Phoenix native was also considering Arizona State and USC but donned the Utah hat at the end.

Enis’ signing gives Utah a boost to its wide receiver corps that lost Darren Carrington to graduation and Raelon Singleton, who decided to leave the program. Enis is joined by R.J. Hubert and Terrell Perriman. Hubert committed to Utah in 2016 but deferred his scholarship to serve a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Perriman signed during the early signing period.

Adding to the offensive side of the ball are three new tight ends, including Cole Fotheringham, Brant Kuithe and Australian Thomas Yassmin. Fotheringham, too, was a 2016 commit that served an LDS mission. Utah added to its already stacked running back corps with a pickup of three-star Devin Brumfield from Louisiana.

On the defensive side of the ball, Utah loaded up on the defensive line, signing six line players, including Jackson Cravens, David Fotu, Jeremiah Jordan, Blake Kuithe, Paul Maile and Simi Moala. Fotu is the younger brother of Leki Fotu, who is expected to step into a bigger role on the defensive line in the 2018 season.

The linebacker corps got a significant upgrade with the signing of four-star linebacker Andrew Mata’afa from San Diego. And the secondary added to its already talented group of players by signing four defensive backs, including four-star corner Tareke Lewis, who was expected to sign in 2017 but needed to complete some academic requirements.

In total, Utah signed five recruits from Utah, five from California, four from Texas and two from Florida. Utah, however, expanded their recruiting footprint by signing players from Louisiana, Georgia, and Kentucky, while continuing the pipeline in Australia.

Utah said former walk-ons Paul Toala and Matt Gay, both of which earned a scholarship during the 2017 season, will count toward the 2018 recruiting class allotment.

To watch head coach Kyle Whittingham’s press conference about signing day, click below:

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