Utah was one of 11 college football teams to pick up a commitment from a high school recruit during the national broadcast of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio on Saturday.
Defensive tackle Joseph Faifili, a 6-foot-3, 294-pounder who helped Kahuku High win the state title in Hawaii but has since transferred to Granger High in West Valley City, made his intentions known during NBC's coverage of the game. He's expected to sign a letter of intent next month.
Considered a "three-star" recruit by Scout.com, Faifili chose the Utes over offers from several schools including Arizona, Arizona State, BYU , Colorado, Oregon State and Washington.
Of the 14 other recruits announcing their choices during the prep all-star game, USC picked up the most commitments with four. Penn State had two, while California, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, UCLA each had one.
Utah added another "three-star recruit" over the weekend when running back R.J. Stanford of Chino High in California committed to the Utes. The 6-foot, 185-pound tailback rushed for 2,923 yards over the past two seasons.
"I'm a young version of Reggie Bush but just call me R.J. Stanford," he told Rivals.com.
Utah's recruiting efforts continue with seven players scheduled to visit this weekend and 12 more slated to come a week later.
E-mail: dirk@desnews.com