New committment. A very good RB.

[Utesbyfive]

Laython Biddle. Class of 24 I believe. I don’t see his info on 247, but man, his numbers… Comparable to Derrick Henry, in the same region of Florida.

Kept climbing and made it to the Top of the Mountain 🏔️🔴@Utah_Football @UteZone @UUtah @utahathletics @BTHS_Football pic.twitter.com/FL6DmdAgzb

— Laython Biddle (@LaythonB) February 5, 2024

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/sports/high-school/football/2024/01/04/all-first-coast-football-laython-biddle-offensive-player-of-the-year/71668724007/

[DataUte]

Looks like he had offers from Navy (committed, decommitted), AFA, USF, Stetson. In the RB room thread, someone posted he’s a 2024 PWO. Not sure if it was his size or late bloomer, but his numbers make me wonder why he didn’t have bigger offers. Perhaps our gain?

[Utesbyfive]

He looks like a hidden gem that our coaches are known for grabbing. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him with a high 3, or low 4* rating when they get around to rating him.

[Yergensen]

He’s a 2* on Rivals. Can’t find him on 247.

[Utesbyfive]

He’s going to get a re-rating. Nobody can put up those kind of numbers in a super-competitive Florida region without being at least a 3*.

[Yergensen]

It looks like he played in a smaller classification. Great numbers against small schools might be a reason he’s off radar.

[The Miami Ute]

The school he went to was rated at 4S (S stands for Suburban). The only higher rating in Florida high school football is 4M (M stands for Metro). To be rated as 4S, a high school has to have between 1,896-3,226 full-time students. How many high schools in Utah have that many students? I’d wager that not too many. So, no, I don’t think that we have to fear that he was piling up his stats versus small fry competition.

[stbone]

His hudl highlights aren’t lights-out in any athletic category. He has good speed (enough to attack the edge of defenses), but not awesome speed (He isn’t getting run down, but he isn’t blowing DB’s away either). He doesn’t show great highlight-reel shiftiness, but is almost never met square by any tackler. He doesn’t demonstrate great power, but repeatedly breaks tackles (this ties in to the fact that he is almost never met square by a tackler).

He seems to have very good vision, and strong cutting ability to take advantage of the vision. He also seems to be short enough that defenders lose sight of him in traffic. Although these are strengths, in ways, they work against him in recruiting because good vision makes a running back seem mundane. (I don’t know how many comments I have read on this page about TT being mid, when in reality he had exceptional vision that made many of his runs look easy).

Because he came out of nowhere with such a huge senior season and his style of running, I think recruiting and ranking was a bit behind for him.

[PhiladelphiaUte]

With National Letter of Intent Day coming tomorrow, who has any inside information as to who we’d most likely sign?

[Utesbyfive]

I’ve heard zilch. I haven’t even seen any buzz on UteZone.

[UtesRule]

There’s a **** DT out of SoCal who was originally committed to UDub but recently tripped to Utah and U$C. He’s deciding between us and $C.

[RedUte14]

what’s his name?

[MDUte]

Ratumana Bulabalavu

Carlsbad (Calif.) Army and Navy Academy DL Ratumana Bulabalavu de-committed from #Washington a week ago and has a pair of official visits lined up this week, including one to #Utah later today https://t.co/5UdnSDYoSU pic.twitter.com/Q4Ow5KGHXi

— Greg Biggins (@GregBiggins) January 31, 2024

[Rick]

Candidate for the all-name team at Utah if he commits. That’s as fun to say for a broadcaster as Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala or Nate Fakahafua. Come on up to the mountains Bulabalavu.

[Utegator]

Calling games at Utah should be the equivalent for a broadcaster as having a degree from Stanford for everyone else.

[MDUte]

Too bad, he just committed to SC.

BREAKING: Carlsbad (Calif.) Army and Navy Academy DL Ratumana Bulabalavu, a former #Washington signee, has committed to #USC and went in-depth on why he chose the #Trojans https://t.co/nkMsmRvafd pic.twitter.com/QBSGIoi7Ov

— Greg Biggins (@GregBiggins) February 6, 2024

[OldAsDirtUte]

Bill Riley gets a break.

[The Miami Ute]

After doing some research on Biddle I can see why he wasn’t heavily recruited. He’s originally from Kansas and I guess that he moved to Florida for his high school years. You can’t discount the production but how many short, white, middling 40 times RBs do you see highly recruited? I would venture that not too many. Here’s a blurb about him from a local paper:

Biddle, the Times-Union’s All-First Coast offensive player of the year, rushed for 2,298 yards and 26 touchdowns to earn Northeast Florida’s first state rushing championship since Yulee’s Derrick Henry in 2012. He closed his Bartram Trail career with 4,122 yards in three seasons.

Despite his feats against a schedule ranked as the second-toughest in Florida, Biddle largely escaped the notice of national recruiters until adding the Utah offer after the season’s end. He becomes the Utes’ second running back from Northeast Florida in as many years, after Middleburg’s Mike Mitchell in the 2023 class.

Here’s to hoping that he becomes another Christian McCaffrey.

[stbone]

His race is likely a huge factor in his lack of recruitment. In fairness, if he is truly a 4.5 40, that isn’t a middling time for a college (or NFL) running back. (At the combine, Zach Moss was 4.65 and TT was 4.75)

[Yergensen]

I don’t remember TT cracking 4.8 in multiple attempts.

[stbone]

Here is the link to his 4.74 40 run:
https://www.nfl.com/videos/tavion-thomas-runs-40-yard-dash-at-2023-combine

[The Miami Ute]

Last I heard he was in jail. Any updates in his situation? Sad to see a talented guy like him go on such a self-destructive path.

[The Miami Ute]

If anyone here wants to get to know more about Biddle, here’s an interview he made in December 2022 with a Jacksonville, FL TV station. Really seems like a likable kid:

All-Star Athlete: Laython Biddle

[X723]

That is great hope he loves it here………

[The Miami Ute]

I think he will. He had other offers, granted not P5, to stay in Florida but decided to come out west. There’s a video from a couple of months ago on YouTube where you can see a change in his physical development from his junior year. I also watched some of his highlights and my biggest takeaway is how low he runs to the ground compared to a guy like JJ. I’m sure that once he gets to Utah, puts on weight, and gets involved in a legit, P4 conditioning program, he’ll be a load to bring down.

[Author]

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