SALT LAKE CITY — Weber State head coach Jay Hill thinks his 2019 signing class is a good one. But just how good?

“Ask me in a couple years,” Hill said.

Weber State announced a 2019 class of 17 players on Wednesday — players Hill hopes will help fill some holes left from graduating eight all-Big Sky players last season.

Hill has seen the recruiting landscape shift since he arrived at Weber State. Rules have changed and an early-signing day has been added. That has forced programs to adjust — Hill has shown he can do that as good as anyone.

Last year, as the larger programs quickly filled their classes on during the new early-signing, Hill waited — hoping top players would stay unsigned and some of the major programs wouldn’t have spots for them. That idea worked, as Weber State was able to sign players who had Power 5 offers.

This year, those larger programs weren’t so eager to fill their classes early.

“We have had to adjust to and still have to adjust,” Hill said.

The Wildcats did again, once again coming away with what looks to be a very solid class. The 2019 class is highlighted by Dontae McMillan, a three-star athlete out of Seattle who was offered by Oregon early, and Desmond Williams, a transfer from Boise State.

Weber State kept it local, too, adding seven Utah prep players to the roster.

“We kept our trend of recruiting about two-thirds of the players that we sign are in-state,” Hill said. “I don’t see us going away from that model.”

It’s good for the in-state players and it’s been good for Weber State. The Wildcats have won back-to-back Big Sky championships and have finished in the FCS Top 10 the last two seasons.

“Once again we’re really excited for this signing class,” Hill said. “We really like the talent from top to bottom and have a great mix of offense and defense. We continue to stay true to our recruiting philosophy of a lot of recruits from Utah and supplemented from other states around the area. We’re really excited to have this group come in and see how they play.”

Weber State signing class

Maxwell Anderson. CB, Moreau Catholic HS (Hayward, Calif.)

Garrett Beck, LB, Rocky Mountain HS (Meridian, Idaho)

Josh Carter, LS, Weber HS

Justin Haase, ATH, Puyallup HS (Puyallup, Wash.)

Jakobe Harris, CB, Tennyson HS (Hayward, Calif.)

Sherwin Lavaka, LB, Snow College

Dane Leituala, FB, Taylorsville HS

Dontae McMillan, RB/ATH, Sealth HS (Seattle, Wash.)

Brandt Opheikens, LB, Weber HS

Kaufusi Pakofe, DL, Highland HS

Jacob Sharp, CB. Bethel HS (Vallejo, Calif.)

Kyle Thompson, K, American Fork HS

Raimoana Tinirauarii, WR/S, Juan Diego Catholic HS

Max Tupuola, LB, Davis HS

Spencer Watson, OL. Aberdeen HS (Springfield, Idaho)

Desmond Williams, S, Boise State

Daniel Wright Jr., RB American River JC (Vacaville, Calif.)

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