On Friday afternoon, many Utah football fans who follow recruiting were frustrated when San Marcos, California, wide receiver Kyle Phillips, the best friend of 2018 Ute commit Jack Tuttle, announced his commitment to UCLA.
But a few hours later Utah landed a big commitment when four-star athlete Malone Mataele of Santa Margarita High School in California announced via Twitter his decision to commit to the Utes.
The 6-foot, 175-pound Mataele chose Utah over a bevy of quality programs. He held scholarship offers from most of the Pac-12, BYU and Notre Dame, among others.
He is on Scout.com's list of the Top 300 prospects in the nation for the Class of 2018 (No. 293) and becomes the second player on that list to commit to Utah, with Tuttle being the other.
At Santa Margarita, Mataele plays on both sides of the ball but told Scout that the Utes recruited him as a running back.
Mataele is the third player to pledge to the Utes as part of their 2018 class, with Highland's Hunter Lotulelei being the other.
Mataele did not immediately return a request seeking additional comment on his decision.