Dallas Vakalahi, Aliki Vimahi, just as good as Tanuvasa, and they can tackle.

[Ute Dub]

We’re going to be fine. Vakalahi was a True Freshman last year and graded just as good as Tanuvasa, played in more games and is way ahead of where Tanuvasa was as a Freshman….like by a mile.

https://x.com/GlassHalfUte/status/1873887819724444134

[JGore]

While I’m certainly not happy about losing Tanuvasa to Provo Community College, I do like that Utah’s not buying into the idea that they have to win the headline war over TDS in December. I’m just fine with them winning offseason championships- in fact, their fanbase seems to thrive on it.

I’m sure for the # TDS threw at Tanuvasa, Utah can go and get 2 slightly less talented/hungrier and healthier prospects to play in the DT rotation and as the OP mentioned, we’ve already got some promising underclassmen that have shown they can play near or above his level. So why hamstring the NIL budget just to keep him outta Provo? Tanuvasa played a full season in ‘23 but in ‘22 & ‘24 he only managed 11 total games. Hopefully TDS just overpaid for a guy that’s gonna play in half their games.

Again, while it sucks to lose a contributor to that school, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Whitt is content to let them overpay for guys that he feels are replaceable. And my last 2 cents- I think it’s pretty pathetic that TDS’s offseason plan seemed to revolve around poaching Utah’s talent. Calhoun listed them as the first team to make him an offer and they spent the ENTIRE portal window tampering with Snowden, trying everything they could to pry him from Utah. They also obviously spent some time illegally contacting Clegg while he was on his mission. Kids don’t just come home and flip in 48-72 hours after being gone for 24 months. I count keeping Snowden as the biggest victory of the offseason as it certainly sounds like he was TDS’ “Plan A” for the offseason.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Winning matters. We poached them when they were down now it’s their turn. They have an advantage with the LDS kids especially the RMs. We have an advantage of non LDS kids. Money can trump both.

[DataUte]

As much as I don’t like it, I don’t think contacting missionaries is technically tampering. Ethically, probably, but poaching kids that are sign and send is a little easier with the influence of friends, mission presidents, etc. connecting with the kid coming off an experience they claim can be continued in the TDS environment, which appeals to some (even though I felt you can have a similar, if not better, experience at Utah if you know how to find it – by choice).

Agree on the other stuff – we don’t need to overpay. We have a track record of finding good talent, especially those that are hungry, and forming a good defensive unit. There’s always surprises along the DL.

I hate the open portal window ‘discussions’ (tampering) of players that might not even be in the portal, trying to lure them. They need to start ‘prosecuting’ those cases. The UConn coach has said he knows who is tampering and will take all actions in his power to hold them resppnsible. NCAA is a joke. We need a new oversight group, maybe the CFP takes over and Saban in the commissioner. There needs to be NIL, portal, cap rules, etc.

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