Jaxson Dart

[Tednab]

Legacy kid .. getting a lot of hype , surprised Utes haven’t reached out

[Jay]

We like peter costelli more it seems like

[Utah]

Utah has and Utah talks to him multiple times a week and if he wanted to come to Utah, he’d be a Ute. 

Here is the issue: Dart was at a school that didn’t make him look good. He transferred and now looks great. Utah had their board last year and while Dart was high, Costelli was higher. Costelli wanted to come to Utah. So Utah took Costelli. 

Now that Dart has exploded, Utah is in a tough situation: Go after Dart and risk losing Costelli and ending up with nothing or be happy with the bird in the hand. 

Honestly, if Dart said he would commit to Utah and not talk to anyone else, Utah would offer a scholarship and he’d be a Ute. 

BUT, what Utah can’t do is offer Dart, go after him publically, p**s off Costelli and end up with nobody. 

Costelli is a .9115 four star QB. He is no minced meat. His scouting report says: “True dual-threat quarterback and one of the fastest players in the region, regardless of position. Projects as an impact upper tier Power 5 starter and potential NFL draft pick.”

Utah will be fine. Dart will be fine. It’s all ok. 

[SalUteopia]

Why does this sound like the Tuttle situation, or is it just my PTSD?

[Utah]

It’s not at all. This is less a QB issue than a “make the best team possible” issue. Let me explain. 

Pulling numbers out of my ass, but let’s say that 50% of 5 star players become starters, 33% of 4 star players become starters and 25% of three star players become starters. 

If you are USC or Ohio State, where you get twenty 4 or 5 star players, you are getting 10 players who can start for you each year. If you are Utah, where you get 2-5 four star players and no 5 star players, you are getting 6-8 players who can start for you each year. 

So, a team like USC can afford to take 2+ QB’s because odds are they won’t “miss” on their other players. 

Utah, on the other hand, can’t afford to take 2 QB’s because if they “miss” on an OL (or they get hurt like the last two years) they are screwed. Utah would be better served to take one QB and put the extra scholarship towards taking another three star project that might or might not pan out. 

If you take two QB’s a year, that is 10 QB’s in a five year cycle. All for a position that will only play 2 of those 10 players. 10 initials gone. 10 scholarships wasted. You’d be better served taking five QB’s in a five year cycle, having 2-3 of those QB’s play and taking five additional players that can turn in to Blackmon or Burgess. 

Utah found a QB they liked. He was their top priority and they got him. It’s that simple. How different would everything be right now if Costelli was playing? Utah is happy. If Whitt is happy, I’m happy. 

Look at our QB room:

Bentley – 4 stars, Rising – 4 stars, Costelli – 4 stars, Justice – 3 stars. We are in a good spot. Better than we have ever been. 

[CB]

My IQ just skyrocketed reading this comment. I agree with you, Costelli is no slouch. His ceiling is thru the roof (pun intended) and while I do love Dart and think he’s going to be a great QB, we have Costelli who was our first commit of this class. He is all in on Utah, we need to be all in on him. I think Costelli will be the better QB between the 2. If Dart wasn’t an in-state kid, would we really be freaking out about not offering him? Probably not. I get the desire to want to protect the in-state kids at all costs, but Costelli will be a great Ute and it’s not worth going after a good in-state QB when we already have the 9th best Dual Threat in the country sold on Utah.

[Stone]

Let’s hope Costelli is more committed to Utah than Tuttle. Tuttle did everything right publicly (in terms of trying to recruit others to Utah, showing up at the airport for Covey, etc.), so hard as an outsider to really know who is “all in.” But Tuttle obviously was not. 

If signing Dart would not conflict with signing Costelli, I would be on board (there is always a place on the team for an athletic 6′ 3″ high school star QB… just ask Hansen). But it sounds like it would. So we hope for the best and hope the coaching staff got the right guy.

[PhiladelphiaUte]

Chase Hansen was a GREAT comparison.  Dart is ALREADY at the right playing weight for SS and FS (which if I’m not mistaken, was where his father played), and just below the minimum recommended weight for a LB.

[Onlyu]

“Utah” knows what he’s (or she’s) talking about…plenty of contact between the two parties and plenty of understanding about what is on or off the table and why.

Costelli is a stud. Dart is a stud. Lessons learned from the Tuttle situation BUT THIS ISN’T that. Not close. By the way no one had offered Dart heading into this year minus a handful of lesser programs so many were waiting to see if he was going to step up which he clearly has. One way or the other we will have an incredible QB room moving forward.

In all honesty the question is: unless you were convinced that a player you may or may not covet would ACCEPT an offer why would you risk potentially losing the guy who was number 1 on your board and already committed by offering or announcing said offer. Too much at risk in that scenario IMO.

This staff has learned and improved on their recruiting philosophies each year as a P5 program. From identifying diamonds in the rough early and losing them to the bigger programs to not making deals with helicopter dads to bringing in top 30 classes. Because of that I trust that they know what they’re doing.

[MDUte]

Onlyu if you had to name the starting QB this year, can you say who you’d go with and why? I can see a strong case made for both Bentley and Rising…just curious about your opinion. And also, how high is the risk of losing Rising to the portal if he’s not named the starter?

[Onlyu]

I think the experience Bentley brings is almost impossible to ignore. He’s a likely draft pick so he’s highly capable and as long as the season goes off as expected I don’t think he returns next Fall. I believe that Ludwig absolutely loves what he brings to the table so he’s my guess to start game one. The additional time has been huge for Jake to learn the system as well. There is a lot of love for Rising both here and in the program. He’s really good but so is Jake and 3 years as a starting SEC QB trumps most of what Cam brings to the table.

That’s not a knock on Rising or Lisk (who also might not return next Fall) because both are very capable. I do think that if Jake struggles out of the gate there would be a quick hook because of the talent in the room.

IMO Rising will not leave because it’s almost certain that Bentley leaves after these 7 or 8 games and Cam will still be a Soph next fall so nothing has really changed for him. If by chance Jake played this season and then decided to come back next Fall I guess there would be the possibility of Cam entering the portal but he would still have 2 years as the starter so even then I think he’s here to stay.

[MDUte]

Great to hear, thanks so much!

[Tednab]

Always good to hear the inside info; definitely brings clarity. Thanks guys

[Author]

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