Utah's major college football coaches were smiling Wednesday morning over their success in signing new recruits on national letter of intent day.
Wednesday was the first day schools were allowed by the NCAA to sign players for next year. Several players were signed in the morning, with more expected in the afternoon and later in the week.BYU Coach LaVell Edwards signed a few "blue-chip" players, including a first-team all-American quarterback from California and a pair of all-American linemen from Texas and Idaho.
"Overall we feel good with this group," said Edwards. "More so than in recent years, this year is fairly balanced."
As he promised, Ron McBride, Utah's new coach, recruited speedy receivers and all-around athletes for the defense. They grabbed two fast wide receivers, plus a former track star-turned linebacker and a body-builder-turned defensive end, not to mention an all-state running back from Arizona.
Utah State Coach Chuck Shelton said, "This is the best year we've ever had. The last two years were very good but this is the first year we have competed against some big schools for players."
The top players signed by the Aggies included Marcus Daley, an offensive lineman out of Illinois pursued by several other schools and running back Roger Grant, the California JC Player of the Year.
Weber State signed 18 players early Wednesday including Jantz Afuvia, a linebacker out of Bonneville.
"We're really tickled with the whole group we've got," said Wildcat Coach Dave Arslanian, who expects to sign a few more players.
BYU
The Cougars claimed two of the three quarterbacks that they were pursuing the most - Ryan Hancock, 6-2, 210 pounds from Monte Vista High in Cupertine, Calif.; and Brock Spencer, 6-4, 195 pouns from Clearfield High in Clearfield.
A first-team All-America honoree among some recruiting lists who chose BYU over Miami and several Pac-10 teams, Hancock passed for 3,599 yards and 41 TDs while completing 233 of 411 passes for 56.6 percent. He also earned county and state player-of-the-year honors.
A QB and kicking specialist who received 4A all-state honors in Utah, Spencer threw for 2,654 yards in two sasons and was recruited by Arizona, Arizona State, USC, Utah State and Weber State as well.
The other QB that the Cougars were considering was Steve Clements of Huntsville, Texas, who passed for 3,059 yards and 30 TDs this season for an all-time Class 5A passing record of 7,551 career yards and 69 TDs. Clements opted to sign with Texas.
BYU signed two highly touted defensive lineman - both earning second-team All-America honors - in Scott Sralla, 6-5, 270 pounds of Kerrville High in Kerrville, Texas; and Randy Brock, 6-5, 250 pounds of Madison High in Rexburg.
Another defensive lineman joining the Cougars was Travis Hall, a 6-6, 230-pound 4A all-state player from West Jordan High in West Jordan.
Daley was one of several linebackers linking up with BYU, which has vacancies at that position due to graduation. Kevin Nicholl, a 6-4, 220-pounder from Mesa Community College signed Wednesday.
Another JC transfer who signed early with the Coguars was Dixie College's Scott Brumfield, a 6-9, 325-pound All-American offensive lineman from Spanish Fork.
Others signing letters-of-intent Wednesday with BYU included James Harvey, a 5-9, 170-pound defensive back from Willis High in Willis, Texas; Todd Jorgensen, a 6-5, 210-pound tight end from Bonneville High in Idaho Falls; Larry Harmer, a 6-5, 250-pound offensive lineman from Olympus High in Salt Lake City; Barrett Clark, a 6-2, 215-pound tight end from Breckenridge High in Breckenridge, Texas; Justin Yarro, a 6-3, 240-pound offensive lineman from Loyola High in Pacific Palisades, Calif; and Tim Nowatzke, a 6-2, 180-pound wide receiver from Michigan City High in Chicago.
Utah
The Utes signed two exceptional high school recruits in Barry Bacon, an all-state running back from Arizona, and Vernon Shaver, an All-America wide receiver from San Diego.
Bacon, 6-foot-1, 215 pounds with 4.5 speed, rushed for more than 1,500 yards last fall for Suharo High School in Tucson and earned first-team all-state honors. Shaver, 5-11, 170 pounds, earned All-CIF honors and was named Super Prep All-America as a senior. Dubbed `Electric Man,' he caught 23 touchdown passes.
The Utes signed another speedy wide receiver from Southern California - Kevin Pratt, a transfer from El Camino College. Pratt, 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, caught 45 passes for 624 yards and four touchdowns last season. A track man, he has run 10.39 for 100 meters.
Pratt was half of a prolific passing combination at El Camino. As reported last week, the Utes have signed El Camino quarterback Frank Dolce, a first-team junior college All-American last season. Dolce lost just one game as a starter during his two years at El Camino. The Warriors were 10-0 and tied for No. 1 in the nation until their loss in the Orange County Bowl.
Trying to bolster their weak defense, the Utes signed Anthony Davis, a junior college All-America linebacker from Spokane Falls College. Davis, 6-1, 222 pounds, is a former three-sport high school athlete. He has run 100 meters in 10.8 and thrown the shot put 59 feet.
The Utes also signed a pair of linemen from Glendale College - Vince Lobendahn, a 6-foot-5, 260-pound sophomore from Carson, Calif., and Rick Verbalaitis, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound sophomore from Phoenix. According to Ute officials, Lobendahn comes to Utah after playing just one year of football. The former bodybuilder had eight sacks last season and has run 4.75 for 40 yards. Verbalaitis, who is listed as both an offensive and defensive lineman by the Utes, played tight end, tackle and guard at Glendale JC.
The Utes were expected later today to announce the signing of Lance Scott, a 6-5 center from Taylorsville High School, and Jason Woods, a 6-4, 220-pound quarterback who is transferring from Lamar.
Utah State
The Aggies, who were planning on signing 25 players before the day was over, signed perhaps their biggest catch early in the day when Daley, a 6-foot-5, 270-pound lineman from Lake Villa, Illinois inked a letter of intent. Daley was recruited by such schools as Illinois, Missouri and SMU.
They already had signed six junior college transfers and added to the list who signed last year. The JC transfers include running backs Roger Grant, Floyd Foreman and Sean Hampton, quarterback Brad Fitzmaurice out of Jefferson City, Mo., and offensive lineman Kip Loy and Charlie Smith. Lex Stoehr, a quarterback from Citrus Heights, Calif., is the player who signed last year, but is on this year's list.
The Aggies, who concentrated most of their efforts in Northern California, signed Jason Burge, a 6-5, 200-pound linebacker from Bingham and Paul Gustafson, a 6-1, 170-pound defensive back from Casper, Wyoming. Top California players include Willie Jackson, a defensive back from Oakland and Tony Volkman, a defensive lineman from Bellflower.
Weber State
Unlike in past years when they announced their recruits a day or two after the first signing day, second-year coach Dave Arslanian announced 18 signees Wednesday morning. More than half of the new players were interior linemen.
Arslanian was especially excited about Afuvia, a hometown player who committed early and Tau Papua, a defensive lineman from Highland High School.
Other top players the Wildcats signed include Brad Otton, a quarterback from Tumwater, Washington, John Gray, a center from Ricks College, and John Hirschi, a defensive lineman from Cyprus.
Here is list of players who signed with Utah colleges Wednesday morning:
BYU
Randy Brock, DL, 6-5, 250, Rexburg, ID
Barrett Clark, TE, 6-2, 215, Breckenridge, TX
Neal Daley, LB, 6-4, 220, Bend, OR.
Travis Hall, DL, 6-6, 230, West Jordan (West Jordan)
Ryan Hancock, QB, 6-2, 210, Cupertino, CA
James Harvey, DB, 5-9, 170, Willis, TX
Larry Harmer, OL, 6-5, 250, Salt Lake City (Olympus)
Todd Jorgensen, TE, 6-5, 210, Idaho Falls, ID
Tim Nowatzke, WR, 6-2, 180, Chicago, IL
Brock Spencer, QB, 6-4, 195, Clearfield (Clearfield)
Scott Sralla, DL, 6-5, 270, Kerrville, TX
Justin Yarro, OL, 6-3, 240, Pacific Palisades, CA
JC signings
Scott Brumfield, OT, 6-9, 325, Dixie College (Spanish Fork)
Scott Giles, OLB, 6-4, 225, Snow College (Provo)
Jared Leavitt, OLB, 6-4, 237, Soda Springs ID
Kevin Nicholl, LB, 6-4, 220, Mesa, AZ
UTAH
Barry Bacon, RB, 6-1, 215, Tucson, AZ
Vernon Shaver, WR, 5-11, 170, San Diego, CA
JC signings
Anthony Davis, LB, 6-1, 222, Spokane Falls, WA
Frank Dolce, QB, 6-1, 190, Culver City, CA
Vince Lobendahn, DL, 6-5, 260, Carson, CA
Kevin Pratt, WR, 5-10, 170, El Camino, CA
Rick Verbalaitis, DL, 6-3, 245, Phoenix, AZ
UTAH STATE
Jason Burge, LB, 6-5, 200, Riverton (Bingham)
Dave Castleberry, OL, 6-4, 240, Kenwood, CA
Marcus Daley, OL, 6-5, 270, Lake Villa, IL
Paul Gustafson, DB, 6-1, 170, Casper, WY
Willie Jackson, LB, 6-0, 220, Oakland, CA
Adam Klukowski, OL, 6-6, 260, Ramona, CA
Lex Stoehr, QB, 6-1, 185, Citrus Heights, CA
Tony Volkman, OL, 6-5, 240, Bellflower, CA
JC signings
Brad Fitzmaurice, QB, 6-1, 190, Jefferson City, MO
Floyd Foreman, RB, 5-10, 175, San Jose, CA
Roger Grant, RB, 5-10, 190, Chico, CA
Sean Hampton, RB, 5-10, 205, Sylmar, CA
Kip Loy, OL, 6-2, 275, Salen OR
Charlie Smith, OL, 6-5, 285, Crown Point, IN
WEBER STATE
Jantz Afuvia, LB, 6-0, 215, Ogden (Bonneville)
Bill Allen, OL, 6-5, 205, Fairbanks, AK
Ryan Guske, OL, 6-5, 265, Houston, TX
Scott Hale, OL, 6-4, 260, Plain City (Weber)
Chad Hancock, TE, 6-4, 195, Tooele (Tooele)
John Hirschi, DL, 6-3, 220, West Jordan (Cyprus)
Marcus Johnson, WR, 5-8, 165, Missouri City, TX
Trent Keele, DL, 6-5, 215, Castle Dale (Emery)
Brad Otton, QB, 6-4, 180, Tumwater, WA.
Tau Pupua, DL, 6-5, 235, Salt Lake City (Highland)
Obie Spanic, DL, 6-5, 250, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Weston Weaver, DL, 6-5, 245, Bridgeland (Union)
JC signings
Mike Edge, OL, 6-4, 270, Riverside, CA
Neil Gray, C, 6-4, 255, Lehi (Ricks JC)
Kevin Keith, LB, 6-0, 220, Miami, Oklahoma
Mike Middlebrook, OL, 6-4, 270, Mission Viejo, CA
Chaka Milby, DL, 6-4, 230, Valencia, CA
Mike Moore, DE, 6-3, 242, San Diego, CA