I don’t believe Rising and Bowen count. Also, we’re ranked 6th by average rating on 247 which is more informative IMO considering the difference in available scholarships.
We’ve had some great runningbacks at Utah, but Wilmore is easily the highest rated that we’ve ever had… Honestly, the Jayden Daniels loss tainted this recruiting cycle, but Rising’s transfer mostly neutralized it. We missed on some of the biggest names, but those were all long shots. Overall this was a better recruiting year than many are giving credit for. With Bam, Laumea, Rising and Wilmore…I’m feeling pretty good. Would it be better if we picked up some of the big names like Nacau and To’oto’o? Sure!…but we have to be honest with ourselves in where we rank in the pecking order, and realize that it takes a lot of time to move up. Fans are impatient. It takes a lot of time to build a reputation like the big contenders.
Hopefully, Jones will qualify on the academic side as that would be some great icing in the cake.