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SALT LAKE CITY — Head coaching hires and quarterback recruits, use caution before making outlandish projections for success at both positions.
Truth is, citing countless examples, nobody knows for sure. High school credentials, or prior accomplishment in the case of coaches, often don't mean much regarding the future.
But set your watch to it this time of year, as the college coaching carousel begins in earnest and high school juniors and seniors make pledges, the latest hotshot coach or quarterback will become stars. If it were only true.
USC's decision in 2000 to go with Pete Carroll, twice fired as an NFL coach and out of the business for more than year at the time of his hiring, created little buzz. Far down on the administration's list of candidates, Carroll won two national championships with the Trojans and followed it up by winning the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks.
On the flip side, Arizona was lauded for hiring Kevin Sumlin in 2018. The day after Arizona State beat its rival 70-7 in 2020, the now assistant at Maryland was dismissed.
Examples, good and bad, are aplenty. Chip Kelly, whose job security is in serious jeopardy at UCLA, is the latest to wallow in medocrity.
Moving on to quarterback, a position that Utah potentially bolstered this week after a junior from California went public with his college destination beginning in 2025. Recruiting services predictably fired off rounds of high praise after Wyatt Becker, a touted prospect at Sierra Canyon High, made his announcement.
Becker's high school, the place where the sons of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade played basketball, is 11-0 and playing in the CIF Southern Section semifinals this week. As expected, he's got eye-popping statistics throwing to multiple Division I prospects.
Yes, if the kid's commitment holds, it looks like the Utes reeled in a good one. Just like recruiting analysts said in recent years when Utah signed California quarterbacks Jack Tuttle and Peter Costelli.
You may remember those players, both of whom never saw any game action at Utah and left the team before their respective freshman seasons ended. Years later, neither has made a mark at the sport's highest college level.
Costelli was declared the foundation and cornerstone of Utah's recruiting class three years ago. Upon his commitment, a Utah assistant coach boasted on Twitter that it was a "GREAT day" to be a Ute. Buried on the 2021 depth chart, Costelli transferred to Troy and started this season listed on Northern Colorado's roster.
Committed to Utah! #GoUtes#UBoyz
— Wyatt Becker (@wyattbeckerqb) November 15, 2023
@Utah_Football@UtahCoachWhitt@Coach_Ludwig@RBlechen@SierraCanyonFB@bruce_bible@CoachDanny10@GregBiggins@adamgorney@AMarkhamRivals@ChadSimmons_@DemetricDWarren@SBartle247@BrandonHuffman@SteezoDsgnpic.twitter.com/kd1UGMkDr3
Tuttle's situation was more galling, considering the Utes took him over former BYU star and current New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson. Tuttle, whom one service rated as the eighth-best pro-style quarterback, also pursued by the likes of Alabama and USC.
Unfortunately for the Utes, the four-star prospect was gone before Halloween of his freshman year in 2018. He played occasionally over five years at Indiana and is now a backup at Michigan.
BYU also has its own run of would-be stars at quarterback. Topping the list are Ben Olson and Jake Heaps, both considered the game's top quarterbacks in the country in their respective senior seasons, never found glory in Provo and transferred for different reasons.
Beyond the locals, the prestigious selection of Elite 11 Finals quarterbacks (which can include some 20 players each year) has, at best, produced a litany of mixed results. Using the 2019 selections — which included BYU's Sol-Jay Maiava — as an example, nine quarterbacks transferred at least once.
Former Clemson and now Oregon State quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei, who was selected but didn't participate in the final camp, was replaced by C.J. Stroud. Bryce Young and Stroud each were first-round picks in last year's NFL draft.
None of this is to predict impending doom for Utah's latest high school quarterback gem. More to the point, it might be wise to pump the brakes on all the projected lavish praise.
But then again, gush over all those gaudy high school numbers and tantalizing stars before the name.
