We came in and wanted to play early. That was the whole goal and it’s happening right now. – Utah wide receiver Demari Simpkins
SALT LAKE CITY — According to MapQuest, the drive from Hallandale High School in Florida to Rice-Eccles Stadium would take nearly 37 hours to complete. The estimated distance is 2,562 miles.
Simply put, it’s quite a journey.
Thanks to the primary recruiting efforts of former Utah assistant coach Dennis Erickson, three projected starters on offense — all sophomores — made the trek. Quarterback Tyler Huntley, running back Zack Moss and wide receiver Demari Simpkins have represented their alma mater well early in their careers with the Utes.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham referred to them as “The Hallandale Trio.” He couldn’t immediately recall a scenario with three guys from the same year from the same school turning out like they have in his tenure.
“They’re all here and all contributing,” Whittingham said. “...That was a good group of players that we were able to get out of there.”
Even so, having all three rise up the depth chart so quickly is somewhat of a surprise.
“I don’t know if you ever expect that,” Whittingham said. “But we knew they were very talented when we recruited them.”
Simpkins and Moss made the most impact as freshmen. Simpkins appeared in all 13 games, starting five, making 19 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown. Moss, meanwhile, played in 10 games with three starts. He rushed for 382 yards and two scores.
“We set our bar high. We wanted to come in and help this team as quickly as we possibly could,” Moss said. “We just keep working and we see what happens now.”
Huntley beat out the competition and became the backup to Troy Williams last season. However, he saw action in only four games, completing five of seven passes for 60 yards and rushing for 15 yards on nine carries.
This year, he finished ahead of Williams and is scheduled to be the starter when Utah opens the season Aug. 31 against North Dakota.
“We expected all to be playing at an early time,” Huntley said. “But God has always got that plan.”
Simpkins noted that everything is working out.
“We came in and wanted to play early. That was the whole goal and it’s happening right now,” said Simpkins, who insists he isn’t surprised. “We worked hard, talked about it a lot and it happened.”