SI All-American Watch List: Utah Utes commits and targets well represented
It may be the month of July, and the COVID-19 pandemic may be seriously hindering recruiting for most of the college football programs throughout the country. But for the University of Utah, head coach Kyle Whittingham and co. are off to a stellar start in recruiting compared to where they usually are this time of year.
Headlining Utah's 2021 recruiting class is quarterback Peter Costelli, one of the top-ranked passers in the country according SI All American's John Garcia. Out of Mission Viejo High School in Mission Viejo, Calif., Costelli is seen as a guy who could really rise up recruiting boards if the 2020 high school season is to take place.
Blessed with insane dual-threat capabilities, Costelli is actually most comfortable in the pocket as he often delivers the ball precisely and with a big arm as well, having no trouble throwing the deep ball — but he must get more consistent with his anticipation and throwing through tight windows.
Costelli really began to turn heads and assert himself as a top recruit during an Elite 11 Regional camp in Los Angeles in March.
According to multiple reports by SI All-American, Costelli wasn't the sharpest to begin the camp but as the week went on, he began to emerge as one of the best prospects there. As he began to settle in and get more comfortable, it allowed him to showcase his ability to throw the ball with fire and show his fluidity as an athlete.
His athleticism is off the charts, as he ran anchor for his school's 4x100-meter time, which was completed in 42.29 seconds, the second fastest time in the state. He also has a personal best of 10.82 in the 100-meter, but left more to be desired after his track and field season was canceled this past season due to COVID-19.
Costelli is rated mostly as a dual-threat quarterback primarily because of his speed, but according to John Garcia of SI All-American, Costelli could easily be a top-10 pocket passing quarterback as well and he sees Costelli as a quarterback who can run rather than a runner who can throw.
Listed below is the full breakdown of Utah's verbals commits targets on the SI All-American watch list.
OFFENSIVE COMMITS
*Peter Costelli, QB — Mission Viejo HS, Mission Viejo, CA
6-foot-3, 205 pounds
*Ricky Parks, RB — Gaither HS, Tampa, FL
5-foot-10, 192 pounds
*Deamikkio Nathan — South Grand Prairie HS, Grand Prairie, TX
6-foot, 185 pounds
DEFENSIVE COMMITS
*Trey Reynolds, LB — Queen Creek HS, Queen Creek, AZ
6-foot-2, 235 pounds
OFFENSIVE TARGETS
*Junior Alexander, WR — Kennedy Catholic HS, Burien, WA
6-foot-3, 189 pounds
*Byron Cardwell, RB — Morse HS, San Diego, CA
6-foot, 193 pounds
*Makai Cope, WR — Culver City HS, Culver City, CA
6-foot-2, 190 pounds
*Alonzo Fontenette, WR — Oaks Christian HS, Westlake Village, CA
6-foot-3, 175 pounds
*Isaia Glass, OT — Queen Creek HS, Queen Creek, AZ
6-foot-5, 245 pounds
*Velltray Jefferson, WR — Edison HS, Fresno, CA
6-foot-4, 230 pounds
*Cam'Ron Valdez, RB — Rockdale HS, Rockdale, TX
5-foot-10, 187 pounds
*Jason White, OT — Orange Lutheran HS, Orange, CA
6-foot-4, 260 pounds
*Iverson Celestine, RB — Fontainebleau HS, Mandeville, LA
5-foot-10, 198 pounds
DEFENSIVE TARGETS
*Ethan Calvert, OLB — Oaks Christian HS, Westlake Village, CA
6-foot-3, 130 pounds
*Zamajay Duncan, CB — Huntington Beach HS, Huntington Beach, CA
5-foot-10, 180 pounds
*Logan Fano, OLB — Timpview HS, Provo, UT
6-foot-4, 230 pounds
*Kahanu Kia, OLB — Punahou HS, Honolulu, HI
6-foot-2, 220 pounds
*Keleki Latu, OLB — Jesuit HS, Carmichael, CA
6-foot-6, 205 pounds
*Robert Regan Jr., CB — Orange Lutheran HS, Orange, CA
5-foot-10.5, 170 pounds
*Raam Stevenson Jr., DE — Mansfield Timberview HS, Arlington, TX
6-foot-3, 200 pounds
*Mason Tufaga, OLB — Saint Louis HS, Honolulu, HI
6-foot-1, 210 pounds
More than 1,000 student-athletes, representing every state in the country, are SI All-American candidates. Video highlights, scouting analyses and a breakdown of each player’s college verbal commitment and/or top college contenders can be found on their bio pages, broken down by state, at SIAllAmerican.com.
Over the coming weeks, SI will unveil its preseason top 10 for each of 14 position groups (kicking off with quarterbacks this week). SI will unveil its initial top 99 ranking, the SI99, on August 24.
The evaluation process will continue throughout the season “until the list of 1,000 contenders coalesces around just 25 young men who can say proudly they are the best of the best -- they are Sports Illustrated All-Americans,” said SI Director of Football Recruiting John Garcia Jr.
The candidates will be narrowed to 250 in October and 99 in November, and will culminate with 25 first-team Sports Illustrated All-Americans saluted at SI’s annual Sportsperson of the Year banquet in New York in December.
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