2019 Utah Football Utes Complete 2019 Recruiting Class Feb. 6, 2019 Utah Football Completes 2019 Signing Class Nine recruits commit on National Signing Day SALT LAKE CITY—The Utah football staff received commitments from nine recruits today on National Signing Day. Twelve others signed National Letters of Intent during the early signing period (Dec. 19-Jan. 15). “We feel we definitely improved our roster with this year’s recruiting class,” said Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham. “Although we didn’t have as many scholarships available to give as we normally do, we were able to sign a strong group of players across the board. We expect to sign 3-4 more players in the coming days who will add to the class. As always, our assistants continue to do a great job evaluating talent across the country, bringing in student-athletes from eight different states.” The 2019 class includes 19 freshman and three transfers. The offensive line gained the most players with six followed by five defensive backs. Ten players were added on offense, 10 players were added on defense and one special teams player (punter Ben Lennon). The Utes added six players from California, four from Utah, two from Texas and one from Florida, New Jersey, Nevada, Oklahoma and Arizona as well as players from Australia and England. Eight members of this year’s signing class are already enrolled in school and participating in team activities: Donte Banton, Keaton Bills, Manny Bowen, Luke Felix-Fualalo, Semisi Lauaki, Lennon, Johnny Maea and Cameron Rising. For complete biographical information on the new class, see pages 2-5 or visit https://www.utahutes.com/nsd19. utahutes.com • facebook: uathletics • twitter: @utahathletics 1 Utah Football Notes 2019 UTAH FOOTBALL RECRUITING CLASS Name (pronunciation) .................................. Pos. ...........Hgt. ..........Wgt. .............Yr. ........... Exp. ..........Hometown/Last School Donte Banton (don-tay) .................................. WR .............6-0 ............189 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............Lauderhill, Fla./Deerfield Beach HS Micah Bernard (muh-ky) ................................. RB ..............5-11...........188 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............Long Beach, Calif./Gahr HS Keaton Bills ..................................................... DL ..............6-4 ............260 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............Draper, Utah/Corner Canyon HS Manny Bowen (bo-en) .................................... LB...............6-2 ............231 ..............Sr. ............ TR .............Barnegat, N.J./Penn State Luke Felix-Fualalo (foo-a-lah-lo) ..................... OL ..............6-7 ............302 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............Brisbane, Australia/Mater Dei HS (Calif.) Falcon Kaumatule (cow-muh-tool-ay) ............. OL ..............6-7 ............232 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............Las Vegas/Bishop Gorman HS Semisi Lauaki (sa-meese-ee lao-walk-ee) ..... DL ..............6-2 ............235 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............Hawthorne, Calif./Leuzinger HS Sataoa Laumea (sah-tau-ah lau-may-uh) ....... OL ..............6-4 ............300 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............Rialto, Calif./Eisenhower HS Ben Lennon .................................................... P .................6-2 ............199 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............Viewbank, Australia/Swinburne Univ. Aaron Lowe .................................................... DB ..............6-0 ............179 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............Mesquite, Texas/West Mesquite HS Johnny Maea (ma-ay-ah) ............................... OL ..............6-4 ............305 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............Salt Lake City/East HS JaTravis McCloud ........................................... DB ..............5-11...........186 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............Tulsa, Okla./Union HS Bamidele Olaseni (bam-ih-deli oh-lah-senny) OL ..............6-7 ............332 ..............Jr. ............ JC..............London, England/Garden City CC Simote Pepa (see-mo-tay peppa) ................... DL ..............6-2 ............337 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............South Jordan, Utah/Bingham HS LaCarea Pleasant-Johnson (la-car-ee-ay) ..... DB ..............6-1 ............161 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............Phoenix, Ariz./Mountain Pointe HS Drew Rawls .................................................... DB ..............6-0 ............184 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............Beaumont, Texas/West Brook HS Cameron Rising .............................................. QB ..............6-1 ............233 ..............Fr. ............ TR .............Ventura, Calif./Texas Junior Tafuna (tah-foona) ............................... LB...............6-2 ............235 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............Taylorsville, Utah/Bingham HS Marist Talavou (mare-ist tal-uh-vo) ................. OL ..............6-2 ............320 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............Norwalk, Calif./St. John Bosco HS Sione Vaki (see-oh-nee vah-key) ................... DB ..............6-0 ............200 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............Antioch, Calif./Liberty HS Jordan Wilmore .............................................. RB ..............5-8 ............199 ..............Fr. ............ HS .............Inglewood, Calif./Lawndale HS Donte Banton Micah Bernard Keaton Bills Wide Receiver Running Back Defensive Line 6-0, 189, Fr. 5-11, 188, Fr. 6-4, 260, Fr. HS HS HS Lauderhill, Fla. Long Beach, Calif. Draper, Utah Deerfield Beach HS Gahr HS Corner Canyon HS Three-star recruit by 247Sports and Rivals … led 2017 All-CIF Southern Section Division 10 … Originally signed in 2016 before serving a church all wide receivers in the 40-yard dash (4.58) at 2017 Cal-Hi junior all-state … two-time all-area, mission … Deseret News 4A first-team all-state in The Opening Miami Regional (2018) … helped earning first-team honors and Area Offensive 2015 at Corner Canyon HS … Salt Lake Tribune Deerfield HS (Fla.) to district football titles in Player of the Year as a junior in 2017 … three- all-state second team defensive lineman and 2017 and 2018 … attended Boyd Anderson HS star recruit by Rivals and 247sports … 100 honorable mention offensive lineman … Region as a sophomore and played on the football team carries for 716 yards and nine touchdowns as a 7 Defensive MVP … first-team all-region in 2014 … son of Janet Banton … two brothers and one Gahr HS senior in 2018 … averaged 7.2 yards and second-team all-region in 2013 ... No. 2 sister … name is pronounced don-tay. per carry and 71.6 yards per game … also had defensive end in the state of Utah by Scout and 606 yards receiving with six touchdowns for No. 15 overall prospect by Rivals … three-star 1,322 all-purpose yards … 259 carries for 2,411 recruit by Scout, Rivals and 247Sports … 141 yards and 27 TD as a junior, when he averaged career tackles with 8.0 sacks … 69 tackles, 6.0 9.3 yards per carry and 200.9 yards per game sacks and 10 quarterback hurries as a senior … 10 100-yard rushing games in 2017 … also … 46 tackles and 4.0 sacks in 2014 included an had 23 receptions for 191 yards receiving as a 11-tackle, two-sack performance against Woods junior … SoCal Prep Legends Boys Athlete of the Cross … 26 tackles and a sack as a sophomore Week after a 224-yard rushing, three touchdown … also played baseball and threw the javelin … performance against St. Anthony … participated son of Steve and Karen Bills … has 10 siblings: in track and basketball … name is pronounced four brothers and five sisters … full name is muh-ky. Keaton Leavitt Bills. utahutes.com • facebook: uathletics • twitter: @utahathletics 2 2019 Utah Football Notes Manny Bowen Academy’s (Fla.) 41-game winning streak with Sataoa Laumea Linebacker a 28-24 victory … didn’t start playing football Offensive Line 6-2, 231, Sr. until his junior year in 2017 … played rugby in 6-4, 300, Fr. TR Australia … son of Denise Felix … mother was HS Barnegat, N.J. a professional netball player … three brothers Rialto, Calif. Penn State … named after Luke Skywalker of the Star Wars Eisenhower HS trilogy … full name is Luke Sione Felix-Fualalo Played in 35 games with 21 starts in three (pronounced foo-a-lah-lo). All-CIF Southern Section Division 10 Offensive seasons at Penn State (2015-17) ... career stats Player of the Year for Eisenhower HS … four- include 134 tackles (12.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks), three Falcon Kaumatule star recruit by 247Sports … first-team all-area pass breakups and two forced fumbles … 51 Offensive Line and first-team All-Citrus Belt League as a junior tackles (3.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks) in nine games in 6-7, 232, Fr. in 2017 … 2017 Cal-Hi Sports junior all-state … 2017 ranked fifth on the team … also had a pass HS invited to the 2019 Polynesian Bowl … four-year breakup and a forced fumble … season-high Las Vegas, Nev. varsity player for Eisenhower HS … also played nine tackles and a forced fumble against Ohio Bishop Gorman HS defensive tackle with 19 tackles (4.0 TFL, 2.0 State … 68 tackles in 2016 with 8.5 TFL (tied for sacks), a forced fumble and blocked PAT as a second on the team) and 2.0 sacks … two pass Played defensive end and tight end at Bishop senior … 21 tackles (6.0 TFL, 6.0 sacks), two breakups … career-high 12 tackles against Ohio Gorman HS (Nev.) … 17 tackles (2.0 TFL, forced fumbles and a fumble recovery as a junior State … 2016 Academic All-Big Ten … played as 1.5