Elite OL Kingsley Suamataia chooses Oregon over Utah on Tuesday night
Utah has had nine months to forget about the debacle that took place on the field at last year's Pac-12 championship game.
Needing one win to clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff for the first time, the Utes promptly forgot to show up at Levi's Stadium on December 6.
Instead, Oregon dismantled Utah 37-15 en route to winning the Rose Bowl a month later. Meanwhile, the Utes never recovered from the loss, falling to Texas 38-10 in the Alamo Bowl four weeks later.
Now Utah has lost another key battle on the gridiron to Oregon when 4-star offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia chose the Ducks over the Utes on Tuesday night.
It's another painful loss for the Utes at the hands of the Ducks, especially considering Suamataia is the top-rated prospect in the state of Utah.
This marks the second year in a row the top recruit in the state had Utah in his final grouping before electing to go with Oregon, as Noah Sewell set that standard last year. It's also the third time in four years the Utes have lost the top in-state prospect to the Ducks.
His choosing of Oregon comes as no real surprise as the Ducks were long considered the favorite to land Suamataia's services.
He's viewed as a top-10 offensive tackle and top-60 overall prospect. He's spent much of the COVID-19 pandemic-ravaged summer training with Penei Sewell, Oregon's star offensive tackle who just announced that he was foregoing his junior season of college football to prepare for the NFL draft.
Here's a complete breakdown by SI All-American director of recruiting John Garcia regarding what Suamataia can do at the next level...
Prospect: Kingsley Suamataia
Status: SI All-American Candidate
Vitals: 6-foot-4, 278 pounds
Position: Offensive Tackle
School: Orem (Utah)
Schools of Interest: Oregon, BYU and Georgia, among others.
Projected Position: Left Tackle
Frame: Athletic frame for an offensive lineman with long arms and thin ankles. Will easily continue to add mass and strength at 278 pounds.
Athleticism: Excellent balance and agility in both the run and pass game. Possesses good foot quickness and change of direction to execute his assignments. Fluid in space and has no issues on the second level or vs. smaller defenders. Easy movement skills to pull and trap, and can routinely wide-wash rushers on the edges past the quarterback in pass protection.
Instincts: Kingsley has solid instincts as a pass protector, evidenced by his ability to use his hands as a quick counter vs. rushers who attempt to stab him with an initial long arm. He also understands how to use a snatch-and-trap technique on the edge. Good vision and target-locate ability are displayed when he is asked to pull from his left tackle position.
Polish: He will need to continue refining his 45-degree set and be more disciplined in his base as a pass protector while becoming more consistent to play with a low pad level at the point of attack. After he fills out his frame, Kingsley should be ready to contribute to a college offensive line early in his career.
Bottom Line: This is an athletic lineman who has the movement skills, agility, frame and adjustability to recover to play left tackle. He also has the toughness to play guard, if need be. Kingsley fits best in a zone-blocking scheme, yet he has the foot quickness and athleticism to pull, trap, pin, seal and execute deuce blocks. He is somewhat reminiscent of former USC offensive lineman Chuma Edoga.
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