A quiet National Signing Day has become the norm for Power Four programs across the country, and that proved to be the case for the Utah Utes.
The Utes signed just one player — edge rusher Max Fonoimoana — during Wednesday’s national signing day, bringing their 2025 class total to 22 total high school signees.
Fonoimoana — 6-foot-3, 220-pounds, according to 247 Sports — committed to Utah back in January 2024 and officially signed on Wednesday. He will serve a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before enrolling at Utah.
After his mission, Fonoimoana will join his brother, Brock, a safety who was part of the 2023 class and is returning home from a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this year, and safety Mana Carvalho, his high school teammate.
Other than the official signing of Fonoimoana, Utah did all of its work back in December, inking the other 21 high school signees during the early signing period on Dec. 4. Over the years, the early signing period has become the de facto national signing day for Power Four schools, with the vast majority of players signing then. This provides multiple benefits to programs, giving them a better sense of their incoming roster before the fall transfer portal window opens, and giving players a chance to graduate high school early, enroll in spring semester and join the team as early as winter workouts.
After some postseason rating adjustments to some of Utah’s signees, 247Sports composite rankings slots the Utes’ 2025 class at No. 5 in the 16-team Big 12 Conference, behind Colorado and ahead of West Virginia. Utah’s recruiting class ranks No. 40 nationally, according to 247Sports.
Headlining the class is Texas running back Raycine Guillory, Nevada linebacker Christian Thatcher, Desert Hills linebacker Cyrus Polu and Nevada wide receiver JJ Buchanan.
Guillory, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound running back who rushed for 1,299 yards and 24 touchdowns this season, was a big early signing day win for the Utes after he chose them over Ole Miss and a lengthy offer sheet that included Texas, TCU, Miami, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Ohio State and USC. He’s rated a four-star at ESPN and Rivals.
Christian Thatcher, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound linebacker, became Nevada’s all-time tackles leader with 443 career tackles this season. He chose the Utes over an offer sheet that included Colorado, Arizona State, Cal, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas A&M, Tennessee, USC and Washington.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Polu, one of the top recruits in the state of Utah and a Deseret News 4A first team member this season, chose the Utes over UCLA, Washington, BYU, Arizona State, Cal, Michigan State and Stanford.
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Buchanan, who was a two-way star at Coronado High, had 58 receptions for 1,009 yards and 11 touchdowns, plus 61 tackles, two sacks, one interception and two pass breakups. Utah will likely play him at receiver to start. Buchanan chose the Utes over Cal, BYU, Iowa State, Dartmouth and Cornell.
While Polu is the only 247Sports consensus four-star player in Utah’s 2025 recruiting class, Guillory (ESPN and Rivals), Thatcher (ESPN and Rivals), and Buchanan (247Sports) all garnered four-star rankings via recruiting services.
Other players that have a four-star rating on at least one major recruiting service are cornerback Jason Stokes (On3), quarterback Wyatt Becker (ESPN), defensive lineman Karson Kaufusi (Rivals), defensive lineman Pupualii Sepulona (247Sports) safety Shelton Fuller (On3), cornerback Deon Mays (Rivals) and wide receiver Bryson Baker (On3).
Below is the full list of 2025 signees for Utah.
Utah’s 2025 high school signing class
- Cyrus Polu, LB, 247Sports composite four-star, 6-2, 205 pounds, Desert Hills High, St. George, Utah.
- Christian Thatcher, LB, 247Sports composite three-star, 6-2, 205 pounds, Arbor View High, Las Vegas, Nevada.
- Raycine Guillory, RB, 247Sports composite three-star, 5-10, 180 pounds, Aledo High, Aledo, Texas.
- Wyatt Becker, QB, 247Sports composite three-star, 6-1, 180 pounds, Sierra Canyon High, Chatsworth, California.
- JJ Buchanan, S and WR, 247Sports composite three-star, 6-4, 200 pounds, Coronado High, Henderson, Nevada.
- Deon Mays, CB, 247Sports composite three-star, 6-1, 175 pounds, Arlington High, Arlington, Texas.
- Karson Kaufusi, DL, 247Sports composite three-star, 6-4, 252 pounds, Skyline High, Salt Lake City, Utah.
- Jason Stokes Jr., CB, 247Sports composite three-star, 6-1, 175 pounds, Weiss High, Pflugerville, Texas.
- Shelton Fuller, CB, 247Sports composite three-star, 6-0, 185 pounds, Del Valle High, El Paso, Texas.
- Daniel Bray, RB, 247Sports composite three-star, 5-9, 165 pounds, North Crowley High, Fort Worth, Texas.
- Nathan Tilmon, S, 247Sports composite three-star, 6-0, 185 pounds, Mansfield Timberview High, Arlington, Texas.
- Jamarian Ficklin, QB, 247Sports composite three-star, 6-1, 185 pounds, Muskogee High, Muskogee, Oklahoma.
- Soren Shinofield, OT, 247Sports composite three-star, 6-6, 275 pounds, Cherry Creek High, Englewood, Colorado.
- Mana Carvalho, S, 247Sports composite three-star, 5-11, 165 pounds, Kahuku High, Kahuku, Hawaii.
- Drew Clemens, TE, 247Sports composite three-star, 6-4, 215 pounds, Oak Park High, Kansas City, Missouri.
- Malili Asiata, DL, 247Sports composite three-star, 6-5, 330 pounds, Aquinas High, San Bernardino, California.
- Semi Taulanga, DL, 247Sports composite three-star, 5-11, 300 pounds, Mater Dei High, Santa Ana, California.
- Max Fonoimoana, DL, 247Sports composite three-star, 6-3, 220 pounds, Kahuku High, Kahuku, Hawaii.
- Dillon Curtis, K, 6-2, 185 pounds, Murray High, Salt Lake City, Utah.
- Pupualii Sepulona, DE, 247Sports three-star, 6-2, 260 pounds, St. Louis High, Honolulu, Hawaii.
- Nick Hallock, OT, 247Sports three-star, 6-5, 250 pounds, Bingham High, South Jordan, Utah.
- Sione Motuapuaka, DL, 247Sports three-star, 6-1, 280 pounds, Bishop Gorman High, Las Vegas, Nevada.