Whoa, almost 20 yards per catch??? I like this. Plus he's got size and speed. Great pickup. Looks like Whit is at it again.

good catch WHIT !!!
GO UTES

It looks like Whittingham and the Utes are playing the recruiting game very well.

The future looks bright for the Utes.

Nice pickup for the U.

Great addition, he will be safe as long as he does not serve a mission!!!!!!!!!

Whitt is by far the best recruiter we've had at the U for decades. His defenses were always stout when he was the defensive coordinator and now that he's at the helm, he's recruiting awesome offensive talent as well.

Congrats to the boys down south on the 2 wins in the last 3 years. They all came with the previous coaches recruits!! Urban didn't recruit at Utah...he was eying BCS conference jobs the whole time. Now that Witt's recruits are getting in place, you'll now be sorry for letting Whitt slip through your hands. Bronco is terrible at recruiting!!!! Great recruit Whitt.....AGAIN!!!

BYU didn't win the last two games, they lucked into them. Utah is building a lasting, significant program. Look for big things during the 08 campaign. With recruiting classes like this, Utah and Boise State are the two Non-BCS programs to watch in the next five years.

I urge fellow Utes to not get to preoccupied with recruits that are years away from helping us or a rivalry game that wont be played for six months. It is about Michigan, Michigan, Michigan, Michigan, Michigan. Get your popcorn ready, If we get that one the table sets up nicely.

I don't know if I can say Coach Whit is a better recruiter than Bronco, because Bronco's recruiting philosophy obviously differs, but Whit does seem to have a penchant for getting better athletes.

He's also pulling most of these guys from the grasps of Pac-10 programs, which is another testament to his recruiting ability. I make no guarantees, but with the Utes schedule and undeniable potential, the '08 Utes may have the opportunity to turn some BCS heads.

Whit is doing a great job recruiting, but Michael is right. We get that win against Michigan, and I see the U going back to a BCS game.

These recruits will continue to help us out in the future, and I can see us getting a national championship if we can make it to back to back BCS bowls. That's a bit optomistic, I know, but a fella can dream, can't he?

GO UTES!
BEAT MICHIGAN!!!

Wow! Good job Whit got a guy who scored three touchdowns. Whats next a RB who ran for 80 yards. Keeping dreaming ugly stepsisters.

I agree with itake uteduece! This kid isn't even special enough to shine on the field in high school and you ute fans are already drooling all over him. Give me a break! BYU has the better recruits and you know it. And yes, you might beat Michigan if you have another performance like the one against Louisville. But you still can't beat the scum of the MWC, ie Air Force and UNLV. In fact, they killed you last year. So, keep drooling all over this kid. He might even catch a grand total of three touchdowns for you in the future. And keep dreaming about beating the Cougs this year. You guys have no shot!

I thought BYU fans never bothered commenting on Ute articles. I thought they were above hating on the Utes.

Anyway, do you or "itake utedeuce" know anything about high school football? Could the reason this kid only scored three touchdowns is because he plays in an option system or his quarterback can't throw more than 20 yards, or because he was a junior and had others playing in front of him? The answer is yes, yes, and yes. The talent in high school sports varies so much it's hard for a lot of guys to stand out. Ask Kevin Curtis, who went unrecruited out of high school, shines in college, and is now in the NFL.

Understand what you're talking about before you start an argument, please.

Whit is a better recruiter than bronco, Utah has much better athlete's on the field than any other non-bcs schools hands down. Everyone thinks that whit has been living off of meyer's recruits but that is wrong, bronco has. Meyer never recruited when he was here, he brought in two guys johnson and casteel. Bronco has lived off crowton's recruits, the guy was not a head coach but he is a great recruiter and obviously the best offensive coordinator in the country. All the players the past two years, besides hall and unga which were not even originally recruited by byu, were crowton's recruits. Most returned from missions which means they were crowton's recruits. Lets see this year with byu's defense loosing everyone how good they are, then tell me who is better. Utah had to start several freshman last year because of injury's and they did great, could byu do that, probably not.

GO UTES!!

I think it is great that Whit got someone who he believes in. I also hope he pans out for ya'll and set an NCAA record for TD as long as he is shut out in all BYU games. I hope you beat Michigan and don't lose until the BYU game. Two teams at 11-0 that would be great. As long as BYU wins ;->

"Smith caught 31 passes for 594 yards and three touchdowns last season. He also rushed for a score."

That makes it FOUR TDs, not three. I guess one doesn't need to know basic arithmetic to be a zoobie.

They were both hired the same year so how can you say one has been living off the previous coaches recruits and the other isn't. Utah will probably beat michigan because michigan is switching to a spread offense and I'm not sure that michigan has a Pat White on their team yet. Utah and TCU need to take care of business in the conference so that there can be a meaningful three way conference race this year.

Big time programs play in big time games....period. Lets compare non-conference games this year between Utah & BYU.

BYU: Northern Iowa(shakin in your boots...I know), Washington, UCLA, & Utah State.

Utah: Michigan(yes, THE Michigan), Utah State, Weber State, Oregon State.

Have fun watching the Junior Varsity Northern Iowa team in Provo while Utah is taking on a REAL opponent. The only thing that will be said of BYU IF (most important word here) gets to a BCS game will be that the backed out of a game with a respectable Nevada and got a JV team on the schedule. YOU WON'T GET RESPECT UNTIL YOU RESPECT YOURSELF ENOUGH TO PLAY REAL OPPONENTS!!!

Go Utes. Keep the good recruits coming and keep up schedeling opponents like REAL men, not looking for the smaller kids to pick on.

I wouldn't call utah state and weber state great schedules, First game comparison. And where did you get that BYU backed out of a game with Nevada? They backed out of a game with us and gave no other choice but to quickly find somebody, anybody to fill the date... get your facts straight, you moron!

COmpletely shows your idiocy with your yewt education

I am not sure how you can say that BYU and Utah have much different schedules. They each play a terrible Utah St. team. They each play a 1-AA team. And at least Northern Iowa was 12-1 last year and went to the final 8 in 1-AA while Weber St. was 5-6. The they each play two BCS conference teams who are fairly decent. You never know how middle of the pack BCS teams will be year to year. Look at Louisville last year, they were supposed to be great and finished 6-6. I guess my point is that the schedules are very similar.

I agree the schedules are similar, but the Michigan game presents a greater opportunity for the Utes to catch the nation's attention. It's the Big House. It's tradition filled Michigan. So the schedules are similar, but Utah has the better chance leave a favorable impression on the ever so important national pundits.

This is not a criticism. In some strange way you could probably take it as a compliment, but why would anyone know Northern Iowa's 1-AA schedule results and post season finish from a year ago? Are the summer months really that boring for some that research into future 1-AA opponents becomes entertainment in June?

...and those who agree with them: Do a little research. The kid played in a run first offense which ran for 3-4000 yards and passed for just over 1000. He had most of those receiving yards and the few touchdowns through the air. That is pretty significant for a Junior in an offense that doesnt pass much. Take a close look his senior year. 6'1", 200 + and 4.5 - 4.6 speed, that is pretty good for a kid that is going to get better.
Dont be a hater, TDS may be effectively coaching their talent but Utah CLEARLY has better athletes. The key is to get the most out of that talent. Time will tell.
Great pick up Utes!

Michigan(9-4) and Oregon State(9-4) were way better than UCLA(6-7) and Washington(4-9) last year.

Ask any college football expert what is tougher: Season opener AT Michigan and vs. Oregon State on a short week OR at Washington after a tune-up against Northern Iowa and then UCLA at home, and they will tell you that the Utes have the more difficult non-conference schedule, by far.

Note to byu fans: You sound SOOOOOOO PATHETIC when you try to validate playing Northern Iowa by saying "our D-1AA opponent is better than your D-1AA opponent." It's still a D-1AA team.

...coach whit. Sounds like all this new "talent" you're bringing in will help you get a solid out-right 3rd place MWC finish instead of tying for 3rd place again.

Grammar alert: Hey little yoot brothers, did you notice the use of the word "you're" in my post? No? Go back and see if you can find it. Yes! "You're" means "you are" and is different than "your", which has another meaning! Here are some others for you: their, there, and they're. Yes, they all sound the same but they're all different in their meanings and there is a right way to use each one. Go find a Cougar fan and he or she will help you look them up in a dictionary. That's all the time I can spare right now to help you finish up your U of U PhD's. Good luck.

Nerd alert: Grammar lesson, sweet!

One quick note for you: I believe you are supposed to capitalize the first letter of a proper noun. i.e. "Coach Whit" and "Ute"

It's funny that BYU fans would make fun of Coach Whittingham's recruiting.

Who had the higher ranked recruiting class this year despite signing ELEVEN(11) fewer players? UTAH, that's who!

I knew that a "whit"-less yoot fan would try to make a clever comment about "coach whit" not being capitalized. There's a reason those words were not capitalized but you don't get it as you have so aptly demonstrated. Typical yoot fan.

GO COUGARS!!!

Re: re Re: Nice job: HA! I knew you were trying to be disrespectful by not capitalizing Whittingham's name. You, on the other hand, had no idea I was mocking you and you're idiotic grammar lesson and NOT actually pointing out your mistakes.

Commenting on someone's spelling or grammar errors is the LAMEST rebuttal around. It is the last resort of someone that has nothing of value to add to the discussion.

Notice that you had nothing to say about the Utes recruiting class being better than BYU's? What could you say? Nothing.

Imagine if Utah had the full 25 scholarships to give out this past February. Instead of having the #60 class vs. BYU having the #82 recruiting class, Utah might have brought in a top 40 class this year.

Enjoy the fall from the top as bronco has to start using more and more of his own guys, meanwhile the Utes will enjoy the climb to the top as Kyle uses more and more of his guys.

Utah 34 BYU 23

Sorry, one untested, promising recruit shouldn't cause all this fuss. Maybe all Cougs should wear red ribbons and all Utes should wear blue ones. You don't see Brian Johnson or Max Hall making fools out of themselves. Why can't the fans act more like the athletes? Pacifiers anyone??

I find it interesting how tough people like to sound with the faceless advantage of internet posting. There's probably some similar psychological principle that inspires road rage and its ugly younger siblings. I'm willing to bet we wouldn't say stuff like this to each other in person.

It's too bad that posts like this have to become an outlet for the least common denominator.

Go Utes (It's also disrespectful to a tribal nation to make mock spellings)

Go MWC

Perhaps the fans of the team down south can only be respectful of those who are "white and delightsome".

I'm still disappointed with the mediocrity we've seen the past few years from Whit. He gets great athletes and does very little with them. Too many of my fellow colleagues are ok with 7-4 and 8-3 campaigns. It isn't ok to lose to Air Force, UNLV and BYU the way we did. I'm sorry but I am sick and tired of being mediocre. Whit started looking like McBride last year. Stop making excuses and give us achampionship team this year or step down to defensive coodinator. Many of us are not happy with Poinsettia Bowl (type) appearances. Also, stop scheduling Weber State as a favor for your past buddy. The stadium will be quite empty that particular Saturday. Do you expect Weber State (another commuter school) to fill the stands. They don't bring 5,000 to their own games.

Sincerely,

Bothered by Mediocrity Ute Fan

Get a pair of glasses. Whittingham has had to overcome more adversity these last three years than most coaches encounter in 10 years.

'05: 18 year old QB as the starter was bad enough but then he got injured in the 10th game.

'06: Best QB redshirts due to the previously mentioned injury, and the Utes had absolutely NO running game.

'07: The team was ravaged by injuries and the Utes still won 9 games.

Whittingham is a great coach that has had bad circumstances but has produced good results. The Utes will do great things under Whittingham in the years to come.

Go Utes!

As a Ute fan, I am alarmed at the ignorance of my fellow Utes here. BCS 08 for Utah? Wow. We should be worried about winning our conference.

Don't get me wrong, I think Whit is the better coach, but Utah will not see a BCS game anytime in the foreseeable future. We do have a shot at beating Michigan, (but only because they will have an off year.) However that is the point - we have a shot at beating every team we play, but we still end up getting killed by UNLV or New Mexico or some other weak MWC team.

I don't see us ever getting over the hump, and unfortunately I fear the past few years may be a trend: Utah mediocre; BYU dominating the MWC.

When Urban Meyer left, Utah football died. Seriously, we had one, maybe two great years, which seems more like an anomaly than a trend.

You're an ignorant idiot. I'm serious. One, may be two great years? You must be a cougar writing as a ute. Only cougars can be so ignorant. They can afford to be at that poor excuse for a school in Provo.

I have my glasses on and see the same as you. In fact, I see what's happening better than you do.

It sounds like you are making excuses for Whit. There is no excuse for losing to "lesser" programs like Air Force and UNLV. Also, to lose two games to BYU on flawed, last second plays should have never happened. You obviously enjoy being ridiculed by idiotic Cougar fans simply due to lucky plays. You are obviously ok with being an upper mediocre team. I'm so excited about going to the Ft. Worth Subway Bowl. We should have 10-2, 11-1, 12-0 teams.

FINALLY!!! Even dumb yoot fans can see there downward spiraling football program. The 2nd Coming must be right around the corner. Hopefully not until after we destroy the yoots at there house in November.

GOOOOOOOO COUGARS!!!!!!!!!

To "Nice job | 7:24 p.m. June 12, 2008"

RE: "re: Johnny Ute | 6:10 a.m. June 17, 2008":

"Grammar alert:...their, there, and they're. Yes, they all sound the same but they're all different in their meanings and there is a right way to use each one. Go find a Cougar fan and he or she will help you look them up in a dictionary."

I guess we CAN'T "find a Cougar fan" intelligent enough to determine the correct usage of the homophones "there" and "their", even after the grammar/spelling lesson you provided. No typo in his/her post. S/he did it TWICE!

*snicker*

Which brings me to --> "re: Johnny Ute | 6:10 a.m. June 17, 2008":

Cougar fans, posing as Ute fans with an inferiority complex (as in "Johnny Ute | 1:09 p.m. June 16, 2008"), ONLY FOOL COUGAR FANS! Poetic actually, since the author's intent was to establish a sense of credibility by claiming to be a "Ute Fan" looking up to their (that's right, "their") rivals, only to dupe one of their own (YOU), making them (especially YOU) LOOK STUPID!!!

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

GO UTES!!!

Ute fans, don't you have to win your conference title before you can get a BCS bid? BYU hasn't lost a conference game since the Nixon administration - or at least that must be what it feels like to you.

Let's just hope utah does beat Michigan. They'll still lose to UNLV or Wyoming or Air Force (or all three), but at least a win against Michigan will validate BYU's BCS chances a little more after they pound utah and finish another undefeated conference season.

Your women's gymnastics team is pretty good. Better go get your season tickets for that, because supremacy in football and basketball resides in Provo - NOW and for a long time coming.

no matter who the yoots are going to get, they still wont ever get as many good recruits as BYU.BYU has the better recruits and you know it. BYU is going to dominate them this year on your turf u yoot fans better watch out cause you guys are in for a long dreadful season.

GO COUGARS

I could care less about what recruit a team gets. It is what they do and how much heart they have. For the most part the Celtics had the same people they did last year when they were fighting for last place and look at what they did to one of the best players to ever play the game.

Call it what you will but the last two BYU Utah games came down to grit and determination not skill. Not Luck. Just determination!!!

Just look at the QB's both Johnson (great QB) and Hall had shoulder seperations but only one missed part of one game inspite of worse injury. Heart in the end is all that matters.

Utah is in the top 4 most interesting teams of only 4 recruits in which 3 players have Utah listed at #4 and 1 player listing Utah @ #3, leaving 0 recuits that have Utah in the top 2. (According to scout.com.)

Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were on that team last year? Don't think so. Garnett carried the T-wolves to the western finals a few years ago and he is still one of the five best players in the NBA. It didn't come down to heart and grit, it came down to which team had the better stars.

Hall's shoulder seperation wasn't worse than Johnson's. Did Hall's require off-season surgery? No, it did not.

Hall's seperation was a grade one; Johnson's was a grade three. Three is higher than one, for you cougar fans.