High School football in Utah to be played this fall
The stars of Utah will be able to shine one last time on the gridiron this upcoming fall.
According to the Utah High School Activities Association, the Board of Trustees held a meeting last Thursday via Zoom and the main agenda on the docket was the upcoming high school fall sports schedule.
In a unanimous ruling, the board voted to approve the participation of fall sports — which means that high school football prospects like Kingsley Suamataia, Logan Fano and Isaac Vaha have one more opportunity to not only shine in front of college scouts but also win state championships.
The Utah fall sports schedule also includes cross country, volleyball, girls soccer, girls tennis, baseball (for 1A schools) and boys golf.
Utah is still in a four-color color-code risk phase, which means that each county is designated a certain color and the certain restrictions that come with it.
- Red – High Risk
- Orange – Moderate Risk
- Yellow – Low Risk
- Green – New Normal
Programs will be required to clean and sanitize all facilities and equipment, while also practicing social distancing as much as possible. Some will be allowed to hold fans in the bleachers while others may play every game on the road. More restrictions and precautions are expected the closer we get to the season.
Utah will be the first state in the nation to kickoff the 2020 high school football season when it begins on Aug. 13.
As of right now, the Utes have one prospect from the state of Utah committed to the program in three-star defensive end Viliami Pouha.
The Utes are also in the running for numerous in state prospects, most notably in Suamataia, Fano, Vaha, Michael Mokofisi and Jeffrey Bassa, five of the top 10 prospects in the state. While Suamataia is most closely linked to Oregon, Utah is considered one of the favorites to land Fano, Vaha, Mokofisi and Bassa.
Having these kids able to play their senior season is a huge win for the Utes because it allows the coaches to have a much stronger presence in their specific recruitments, a major win.
Utah may also be in a much better advantage recruiting wise because the state is allowing its high schools to play in the football, rather than January like most of the other states. So there have been rumors of high schools stars from other states transferring to the state of Utah so they can play a senior season of football before entering college early.
The UHSAA has made it known that with the expected influx of out-of-state players coming to pay high school football this fall, each player will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The state transfer rules are expected to be the same.
However it all plays out, this was a huge win for not only the state of Utah, but the Utes as well.
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