Utah Emerging As Intriguing Candidate For 2021 Prospect Makai Cope
For how good a coaching staff may do recruiting a certain player, there's arguably nothing more powerful than when others commitments are recruiting them.
That appears to be the case for three-star wide receiver Makai Cope out of Culver City, Calif. While he has yet to narrow down his decisions amongst his 13 college offers, Utah has been emerging as a very intriguing candidate to land his services...
... And a large part of that has to do with four-star quarterback Peter Costelli, the highest-rated commit of Utah's 2021 recruiting class.
Costelli and Cope have been working out together and begun to develop a serious connection that could play massive dividends should he elect to join Costelli in Salt Lake City
As a high-end academic kid, Cope is very interested in programs that fit his academic background, which is why Utah finds itself in a good spot. Over the past few months, whenever Cope's name has come up, as has Utah's and there's a reason for that.
A few of Cope's early favorites in the recruiting process have begun to fill up on wide receivers already, this narrowing his options for him. As of now, Utah only has Deamikkio Nathan committed from that position, although they did just pick up a commitment from tight end Isaac Vaha.
Here's a complete breakdown by SI All-American Recruiting Director John Garcia Jr. regarding what Cope can do at the next level...
Prospect: WR Makai Cope
Projected Position: Wide Receiver
Status: SI All-American Candidate
Vitals: 6-foot-2, 190 pounds
School: Culver City (Calif.)
Schools of Interest: Stanford, Arizona State, Kansas State, Michigan, USC, Utah, UNLV and Northwestern.
Frame: Slender but dense build with ideal arm length. Long, sprinter-like legs.
Athleticism: Cope can stop and start on a dime, and use his long strides to high step last-ditch arm tackles he just created for himself. He covers 10 yards in his first five strides off the line; he’s explosive from zero momentum. No surprise he has a track background.
Instincts: No stranger to the middle of the field, frequently running crossing routes and weaving through traffic on tunnel screens. Unaffected by contact immediately after the catch.
Polish: He’ll be making a big leap in terms of the level of competition at the next level, but he did have success during one-on-ones at various unpadded camps. His skill set and high-point ability are most effective out wide and deeper downfield on 50/50 balls.
Bottom Line: Cope isn’t fast-twitch, but has enough juice in his feet to work for his style of play. We’ll be on the lookout for more precise route running in his senior season, and, of course, that signature sidestep.
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