Utah State’s 2021 football recruiting class will largely come together in February during the annual national signing day, as new head coach Blake Anderson settles into the situation in Logan.
The Aggies’ lone high school signee Wednesday — the first day of the early signing period — was Sky View cornerback Isaac Larsen. Larsen, who played on both sides of the ball as a Bobcat, is rated a three-star prospect by 247 Sports and was a Deseret News 4A first-team All-State honoree this season.
“I feel like the Aggies are getting a steal in Isaac,” Sky View coach Chris Howell told the Deseret News in the fall. “He is one of the fastest kids I have ever coached or coached against. I feel like the sky is the limit for him.”
Three other players filled out the Aggies’ four-man early signing class, all returned missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after signing with the program in previous years. They include defensive linemen Johnson Hansen and Seni Tuiaki, both of whom prepped at East, and linebacker Sione Moa of Weber.
All three will enroll at Utah State in the 2021 spring semester; Larsen will not.
Three other in-state players are committed to USU as part of their 2021 class, but none of them signed with the program Wednesday. They include Box Elder athlete Parker Buchanan, Pine View defensive end Rick Mua’e and Bingham defensive end Tupou Maile, rated the No. 21 prospect in the state, according to 247 Sports.
For now, Anderson will focus on getting acclimated to the Utah football scene, and finding inroads to recruiting in the Beehive State.
“We’ve got to start at home. If you look statistically, there’s typically about 25-30 Division I players signed in the state every year,” Anderson said during a Utah State Q&A session posted online Monday night. “We’re not going to get all those guys — there’s enough Division I schools that they’re going to get spread out — but we’ve got to be competitive in that recruiting process.”
Utah State’s 2021 recruiting class
Prospects who signed a National Letter of Intent with Utah State on Wednesday:
Isaac Larsen — 5-11, 160, DB — Smithfield (Sky View High)
Players returning to the program following church missions
Johnson Hansen — 6-3, 270, DL — Salt Lake City (East High), originally signed with Utah State in 2018
Sione Moa — 6-1, 210, LB — Ogden (Weber High), originally signed with Utah in 2019
Seni Tuiaki — 6-2, 250, DL — Salt Lake City (East High), originally signed with Utah State in 2018