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SALT LAKE CITY -- National Letter of Intent day, or Signing Day, has come and gone and the big five in the state of Utah are beginning to fill out their rosters with young high school prospects.
Brigham Young, Utah, Utah State, Weber State, and Southern Utah have all made some big plays in the recruiting game, and their months of study, analysis, and meetings have now culminated in a handful of players looking to become the next sensation to play in the big leagues. Take a look at the rundown of the day's events:
BYU
A strong 2012 pool for BYU is headlined by a group of stalwart quarterbacks, two of which are returning from serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Taysom Hill, at 6-2 and 210 pounds, had originally committed to Stanford before serving a mission in Sydney, Australia, and is rated the No. 1 QB prospect in the state of Idaho by Rivals.com.
Hill will be joined by fellow return missionary Ammon Olsen. Olsen, at 6-foot-3 and 198 pounds, led Alta High to a 2008 state championship, then played his freshman year at Southern Utah before serving a mission in Mexico City. Tanner Mangum rounds out the three quarterback prospects. The 6-foot-3, 195 pound quarterback from Eagle, Idaho, was the No. 3 QB prospect in the country according to Rivals.com, and is expected to serve a mission before joining the team.
In addition to the quarterback class, 14 other prospects were signed, with 10 of those on the defensive side, and four more offensive players. Five of the 10 defensive recruits are linebackers, including 5-foot-11, 225-pound Butch Pau'u from Anaheim, Ca., who is ranked as the No. 20 linebacker in the nation on Rivals.com. Two defensive backs and three defensive lineman make up the remainder of the Cougars' defensive recruits.
On the offensive side, two wide receivers, one offensive lineman, and running back Jamaal Williams from Fontana, Ca., join the three recruited quarterbacks.
CLICK HERE to read more about BYU's 2012 signing class.
Utah
Two big-name quarterbacks signed on with the Utes on Wednesday. Chase Hansen of Lone Peak High School, and Travis Wilson of San Clemente High School in California, both signed their letters and plan on playing for Utah. Hansen is the No. 20 QB in the nation according to Rivals.com, and Wilson came in as the No. 11 pro-style quarterback in the country.
Other big names on the offensive side included Cedrick Poutasi, No. 2 offensive guard in Nevada and 4-star prospect according to Rivals.com. Joining Poutasi on the line will be 6-foot-8, 360-pound Carlos Lozano from East Los Angeles College, and 6-foot-4, 240-pound J.J. Dielman from Phoenix, Arizona.
On the defensive front, 5-foot-9 170-pound Justin Thomas signed for the Utes as the No. 20 cornerback in the country. Big defensive tackle Visesio Salt, at 6-foot-3, 340-pounds, will join two other defensive tackles, and 6- foot-3 linebacker Jake Jackson comes alongside a total of 10 players recruited from California schools.
Utah's 26 recruits found an even balance, with 13 on the offensive side and 13 on defense. Eight offensive tackles, two wide receivers, one running back and two quarterbacks make up the offensive recruits, while three defensive backs, five defensive ends, three defensive tackles and two linebackers are on the defensive side.
CLICK HERE to read more about Utah's 2012 signing class.
Utah State
A comparatively small recruiting class of 15 prospects made up the 2012 signing day for the Aggies. Of those 15, 11 were on the offensive side, and four defensive players were recruited.
Quarterback Jeff Manning returns from an LDS mission to play for Utah State after leading Logan High School to a 3A state title in his junior year. Two other return missionaries, defensive lineman Eric Berntston and linebacker Travis Parrish, will also join the Aggies for spring ball.
Other highlights of the 11 offensive recruits include 6- foot-5, 230-pound wide receiver Dwayne Lorick from West Hills College in Coalinga, Ca., and 5-foot-9, 170-pound running back Tavarreon Dickerson from Arlington, Texas, a unanimous all-district MVP. The offensive class included five offensive linemen, and three additional wide receivers.
The defensive recruits were made up of two cornerbacks, one linebacker, and one safety/linebacker. 6-foot, 170- pound cornerback Devonta Glover-Wright joins the Aggies out of Eastern Arizona Community College, and safety/linebacker Nick Vigil played running back and strong safety at Fremont High School, where he helped the Silverwolves along to a Utah 5A runner-up finish in his senior year.
CLICK HERE to read more about Utah State's 2012 signing class.
Weber State
A recruiting class of 18 players will be joining the Wildcats in 2012 under new head coach John L. Smith. Of those, 10 players will be on the offensive side, including six players on the offensive line, two quarterbacks, one wide receiver and one tight end. Eight players will join Weber State on the defense.
Leading the offensive recruiting class is 6-foot-1, 193- pound quarterback Braden Corpus, who threw for threw for over 1900 yards and 16 touchdowns with no interceptions as a senior out of Boras High School in Boise, Idaho. Offensive linemen prospects include 6-foot-5, 250-pound Maxwell Curtis from Mountain View High School in Idaho, and 6-foot-1, 300-pound Joe Hawkins from Vero Beach, Florida.
Three defensive linemen, two safeties, a linebacker and two cornerbacks make up the defensive side of the ball in the Wildcats 2012 recruiting class. Among those is 6-foot- 5, 235-pound A.J. Wilcox out of Syracuse High School, whose brother Jared played four seasons as an offensive lineman at Weber State from 2006-2009.
CLICK HERE to read more about Weber State's 2012 signing class.
Southern Utah
The Thunderbirds kept things mostly in-house on Wednesday by signing 20 out of their 28 prospects from schools in Utah. The group of Southern Utah recruits consists of an estimated 11 defensive players and 17 offensive players. Several recruited atheletes have yet-to-be-determined positions on the team.
Headlining the defensive class is highly touted 315-pound defensive lineman Peterson "P.J." Taeao out of Las Vegas. Five other defensive lineman will join Taeao, as well as one defensive back, one linebacker, and one cornerback.
On the offensive side, two quarterbacks, two wide receivers, and two running backs will join the Thunderbirds. The pair of wide receivers -- Cole Payne from Orem High School, and Martavius Redmond from West Jordan High School -- both hail from Utah schools, as well as the two running backs Christian Taele and Brian Scott. Joining them from Colfax High School in California is 6- foot-5 quarterback Austin Young.
CLICK HERE to read more about Southern Utah's 2012 signing class.
