At 249 pounds he better be blazing fast. Facing off against the 300 pound O-linemen will test him. I hope he has a successful career at Utah, and I hope he starts spending more time at the buffet.

Looks like the 2009 recruiting class is turning out well for the Utes. Keep it up!!

I guess Bronco Mendenhall didn't really want this guy, because he NEVER loses a recruit that he really wants to the Utes.

This kid probably won't start, but it is nice to be adding some depth on the D-line. Anderson likes to rotate several guys during a game to keep them fresh, so this should help out with that.

Go Utes!

Other places I have heard about this guy have him listed as about 270 lbs. so it is hard to say how big or small he is. It seems that the #'s on Rivals or Scout.com are more accurate than what they list on the Dnews and Trib. Look for him to be bigger than 249

Great news for the Utes! I want to see them be good this year along with BYU. If both teams can go into the rivalry game with 1 or no losses this years game will be one of the biggest, and actually have national meaning.

"nice job utes", Folau "Junior" Tuione is going to be with the Utes this fall so he is part of the 2008 class, not 09.

Also, I wonder if he is excited to play Oregon State, a team who he picked Utah over (he also mentioned Michigan and BYU)..

Beggars can't be choosers. The Utes needed someone for the DLine, and if he's only 250 lbs, that will have to be enough. Good luck to him.

"at this point Beggars can't be choosers".....wow, you BYU fans just can't get over this, can you? Bronco "chose" him (he just didn't accept), does that make Bronco a beggar? Why, I guess it does!

Maybe it's time you pulled out the old "well, we didn't want him anyway" line, because we all know that Bronco would never lose a recruit to Utah because he said so and Bronco's word is (quite literally) gospel to the BYU faithful.

Players guide, Trib, and rivals had him listed between 263-270 Who do we believe. He must be a decent player give the schools that made him offers.

Go UTES

As a somewhat disinterested observer from the Denver area, I have to say that the reader's comments on the sports page of this paper have gone well past childish and inane -- flat out ridiculous. What's with the all the unprovoked Bronco Mendenhall slams? "Beggars can't be choosers" was just echoing the basis of the article -- Utah picks up a late-signee to shore up the D-Line at a time of year that there are not a lot of 5 stars lining up at the door. Good job, Utah. Grow up fans.

The guy runs a 4.6 40-yard dash.....that's about as good as a lot of the offensive players at BYU....he's got the size and speed. Another good recruit. Man, it seems that Whitt is just superior to everyone else in the state at recruiting (see rivals and ranks somewhere around 55 while byu rank about 80). Looks like the tides will be changing now that both teams will have to rely on the new coach's recruits rather than the previous coaches......the Utes reign begins in 2008!!

If this kid can play like Jason Kafusi who was only 250 lbs, the coaches and fans will be very glad.

Bronco doesn't need these guys his recruiting class is full of people he stole while they are on their missions and don't realize how awful Provo is

I have it on good authority that BYU did not receuit this guy. He was offered to walk-on BYU, but took the UofU offer instead.

This is great get for the Utes. This guy has no chance of starting but might give the Utes some depth they need. It frees em up to put Newman inside. This team has a chance to be very good.

I have it on good authority that every in state recruit that Utah received, was heavily recruited by byU.

Whatever helps you sleep at night; go with it.

Good authority? Who would that be, your speculating BYU fan bishop?

Everytime an athlete chooses Utah over BYU, we hear the same thing. "BYU didn't offer him" or "BYU didn't really want him" or "BYU only offered for him to walk-on."

To hear Kewgar fans tell it, Utah is lucky to sign ANY recruits at all.

Get over yourselves.

Did you read the article? I know reading isn't a Ute fan's strong point but you ought to try it sometime. He wanted to go where he could play right away. That is another way of saying there is too much talent at BYU and I'm not good enough.

By the way Ute fans, you always complain because the D-News doesn't write any articles about the Utes and then when they do you bring up BYU anyways. The Utes will be good this year and then it is all downhill when Whittingham's recruits start coming in. The glory years are over and they weren't that impressive.

Note: most of Wittingham's recruits are already in (that's why they return 16 starters this year and played so many freshman last year). The good news for Utah is that, according to Rivals, Utah is about 30 spots ahead of the TDS in recruiting for 2008. So, what you probably meant to say, was that byU is going downhill when Bronco's recruits start to play.

Also, hasn't Bronco been involved in byU defense for a while now anyways? How does HIS defense with HIS recruits allow over 50 points to Tulsa anyways???

Another good recruit Whitt. Don't pay attention to all the jealous byU fans, they are still bitter you dumped them like your high school senior girlfriend!!!

BYU's D-line is going to be relatively thin this year compared to last year. This kid would've played plenty down at the y.

When Whittingham's recruits start playing? They already did last year after all of the injuries. Louks looked pretty good at QB, Robert Johnson is one of the best FS in the country, Nai Fotu is going to be all MWC multiple times.

The Utes glory years are still ahead of them, byU's are well behind them.

Hmmmm. What world are you living in. When was the last time BYU ever played in an important bowl game...it hasn't been in the last 20 years. IF YOUR GLORY YEARS ARE GOING 11-2 AND PLAYING IN THE LAS VEGAS BOWL, THEN ENJOY IT COUGARS BECAUSE THAT'S AS FAR AS YOU'LL EVER GO.

Not that impressive? Wait, I guess when you compare Liberty and Fiesta Bowl victories with Vegas Bowl conquests they DO pale in comparison. Thanks for bringing Utah football back down to earth.

Too much talent at BYU? It sounds like your fan base is the one that needs a reality check.

Utah football's glory years didn't do it for you? Seriously? Are you saying two years of 20-4 football is superior to two years of 22-2 football? You guys are two plays away from 18-6.

How about a little humility from the Lord's University.

Too much talent at BYU? It looks like your fan base is in need of a SERIOUS reality check. Last time I checked, USC, LSU and Oklahoma were schools with that problem. Get real.

I've seen some mention this kid's light weight for a end (249). It's important that we remember Dlinemen in college are typically much smaller than the 300 pound plus behemoths we watch on Sundays. There's even a large discrepancy of light/heavy weight at the college level. You'll most likely see the more talented 270-300+ Dlinemen playing for elite or close to elite programs. I have no numbers to back this up, but I'm confident in saying 250 lbs is probably right on average for a college football end.

If I remeber right in the 2004 season, the Utes had a good DE around 250-260 in Marques Ledbetter. Martail Burnett wasn't much bigger. If he can play and stay healthy, bring him on.

Dear byU Fan : I don't know what I enjoyed more, the grammar in your post, or lack thereof, or your incredibly ironic posting name. Please make sure you can spell a simple word before you rag on Ute fans based on your idiotic assumptions of our perceived academic inferiority.
Thanks.

This guy will definitely help the yoots to a solid 3rd place finish in the MWC. That is, if he over-achieves. And gets real lucky, yes, don't forget the luck element. And if the refs bail out the team on several calls each game again this year as in the past. And if not too many yoot players get arrested and/or kicked off the team. Wow, there really are a number of important factors that spell success for the yoots. Anyway, good luck.