Levani Damuni is returning to the Beehive State.
The Ridgeline High product, who played linebacker for four seasons at Stanford, announced on social media Wednesday that he is transferring to play for the Utah Utes.
Damuni announced on Dec. 2 that he was entering the transfer portal, becoming one of many Stanford players to do so following the sudden resignation of head coach David Shaw following the team’s loss in its regular season finale against BYU.
That the 6-foot-2, 242-pound Damuni is returning to Utah isn’t altogether surprising, although his school of choice could be seen as such, as his father Waqa has worked in the Utah State athletic department for many years and his uncle Jack and cousin Raider are part of the BYU football program.
In Levani Damuni, the Utes are getting a player who played in 31 games for Stanford and has been a starter since he was a sophomore.
In 2022, he was a team captain and had 76 tackles, two forced fumbles, two pass deflections, a sack and an interception.
Damuni will be a graduate transfer, and thus has one year of eligibility remaining.