'10 CA DE Justin Utupo (Notre Dame Signee)

[jason_h537]

Defensive End
Lakewood, CA; Lakewood HS

Height: 6-2
Weight: 240

Ranking
Rivals: ; Defensive Tackle (62); Rating 5.7
Scout: ; Defensive Ends (50)
ESPN: ; Defensive Ends (73); Grade 77

Statistics
Junior: 70 Tackles (47 Unassisted); 6 Sacks
Senior: 16 Sacks, 29 TFLs, 4 Forced Fumbles

Honors
Offense-Defense All-American Bowl
Los Angeles Times 2009 Lineman of The Year

Offers
Notre Dame (OV 9/5, Verbal; 7/6; Brian Polian)
Arizona
ASU
BYU
Colorado
KSU
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma State
Oregon State
San Diego State
SMU
UCLA
Utah
Washington
Washington State

 

[BGIF]

I was looking at him as a DT due to his height. His ESPN evaluation notes he plays DT in high school but he's out of position. They think he's a DE at the next level.

I don't know his level of competition but he has 78 Tackles and an amazing 30 TFLs with 10 Sacks. Almost 40% of his tackles were behind the line of scrimmage.

 

[GOLDENISTHYTATE]

He plays in a pretty good league with strong competition. Lakewood is in Southern California so there are a lot of good teams. He plays on the same team as Jesse Scroggins (QB) and Dion Bailey(DB), two players ND are heavily looking at.

 

[BGIF]

He plays in a pretty good league with strong competition. ...

Which makes those TFLs look awesome.

 

[jason_h537]

He plays in a pretty good league with strong competition. Lakewood is in Southern California so there are a lot of good teams. He plays on the same team as Jesse Scroggins (QB) and Dion Bailey(DB), two players ND are heavily looking at.

The Scroggins ship has sailed but i would not be surprised if we land Bailey. Wewill get either Bailey, Dietrich Riley, or Sean parker. With a strong season maybe even two

 

[Irishlew]

He said the Irish are up there near the top of his list along with Arizona, Washington, UCLA and Utah.

also he's Mormon, and he had concerns with ND at first. He is aware of Manti and also Polian made him feel at ease

 

[jason_h537]

Grew up a Utah fan

 

[jason_h537]

Committed to Notre Dame this morning Rivals has the story

 

[IrishInFl]

Notre Dame is a Catholic university, right? We go from never having a Mormon commit for us to 3?

 

[BGIF]

Notre Dame is a Catholic university, right? We go from never having a Mormon commit for us to 3?

They're on a mission from God!

Elwood

 

[irishfan]

Utupo picks ND - ESPN

Lakewood (Calif.) defensive lineman Justin Utupo has ended the recruiting process and is headed to South Bend.

I just committed to Notre Dame," Utupo said. "I've never been there before I've always wanted to go to Notre Dame. That has kind of been my dream school so once they offered, it was really only a matter of time.

"When I was younger, I watched that move Rudy and ever since then, I wanted to go there, even if I couldn't play football there, I just wanted to go to school there. Now to have this opportunity to go and be a part of the program, I'm just really excited about all this."

Utupo said he got the offer from the Irish about two months ago and has been doing research on the school with his parents ever since.

"My dad was especially in to Notre Dame," Utupo said. "He liked them a lot and the more research we did, the better it looked. I know it might be cold but it will be worth it to be at the school and get a great education. I knew they picked up a couple of other defensive ends as well so I didn't want to risk losing my spot there so I thought now was the best time to commit.

"UCLA was right there too and I also liked Washington, Oregon State and Nebraska. Those were the main schools I looked at but Notre Dame just had too many pluses. I called up Coach Polian this morning to commit and he was really excited and that made me feel good. I won't be taking any other visits except to Notre Dame, my commitment is strong and this is a great day for me."

 

[JeremyND07]

Another 3star recruit...sorry if I do not get too excited. I know I know...stars do not mean anything but I just wish these 3stars were fillers for this class not the foundation!

 

[BGIF]

Utupo

Utupo

His last name is spelled Utupo.

Only 1 "o".

 

[jason_h537]

3 star recruit with 4 star potential so stop kncoking the kid. He is a bit of a tweener DE/DT but can play. Did not see him coming to ND at all, didn't even know he was a fan. Very surprised but excited for him as well. Good luck at Notre Dame Justin. Go Irish

 

[IHateMarkMay]

Its spelled Utupo on rivals and Utopo on Scout. Who knows who is right?

 

[The Polish Irishman]

He is quick off the ball and has good strength. Excited to have another Irish!

 

[jason_h537]

ESPN and B&G have it at Utupo

 

[NDinL.A.]

This is a shocker! This literally came from left field. I haven't even looked at his film yet or anything, so I'm interested in learning more about him. He's not too far from my home so I'll look at his schedule and try to get out to watch him.

And Jeremy, I feel you about 3*, but this is how recruiting classes are filled out bro. Look USC's classes, they have plenty of 3* guys, including this year. For us, the 5 * guys are waiting to see how we do this year. If this kid's a playa, and the staff certainly feels he is, it's a great get. Let's welcome him first, and let's get some more info. The satff wanted him, so I'm excited to get this kid. Hopefully he pans out...

EDIT: Even better, he's a solid, solid commit, who's coming to ND for the right reasons. His family is behind the decision, and HE FITS A POSITION OF EXTREME NEED...D-LINE! ND has been sorely lacking in recruiting this position in comparison to the top schools (i.e. USC, FL and Alabama, all of whom have signed 14-15 D-linemen over the past 4 years, while ND only signed 9).

 

[jason_h537]

Notre Dame does'nt come to Cali to recruit shit players. Just look at who we have gotten from the state under Weis and who we have offered.

 

[BGIF]

Justin Utupo

Justin Utupo

Rankings
Rivals: 3 Star, NR SDE, 5.5 Rating
Scout: 3 Star, #48 DT
ESPN: 77 (a grade of 80 makes the ESPN Watchlist)

The ESPN evaluation notes that he plays DT in high school but is a likely DE in college. They like his abiltiy to deal with blockers, strong tackler, and good push. They point out if he develops he could be a swing man.


Last year he had 78 tackles, 30 TFL, 10 sacks. Almost 40% of his tackles were for a loss. TFLs were a glaring sign of ND's lack of penetration last season. If he and Mendoza develop his body, he could fill a role like Ethan Johnson does now on the DLine, either inside or outside.

 

[loweND]

Does anybody remember when he was offered. It was some time ago right? Maybe this is a guy who doesn't have a lot of stars, but was still part of the Plan A group.

 

[jason_h537]

No i believe he was offered during the 2nd evaluation period. Got his along with Dion Bailey's i believe. He is very similiar to TJ Clemmings, maybe not the physical specimen Clemmings was, but certianly a similar type of player with better technique

 

[NDinL.A.]

Does anybody remember when he was offered. It was some time ago right? Maybe this is a guy who doesn't have a lot of stars, but was still part of the Plan A group.

He was offered only a couple of months ago.

He knew that the position was filling fast, with Martin and Leuders already committed. But what does this say for the rest of our D-Line class? Is it bye bye Chance Carter? I think you can pretty much close the book on him. And then with Beau Allen and Gaston, I think we'll take the first one who commits, and Gaston has said he'd be visiting this weekend. And then I think we'd save spots for Nix and/or Smith, if we can get them into the fold. That would round out one helluva defensive line, in a dream world, that is. Smith has recently said he will visit ND, and I can't imagine 2 5-star studs in Martin and Smith rushing the QB side by side for 3-4 years together at ND. Damn!

 

[ndftbl]

I agree with the 3-star comment

I agree with the 3-star comment

Another 3star recruit...sorry if I do not get too excited. I know I know...stars do not mean anything but I just wish these 3stars were fillers for this class not the foundation!

Remember, he is not just a three star, he is the lowest possible 3-star, at 5.5

To give you a feel, both Turkovich and Duncan were Rivals' 5.5 players (or, translated, C+ Div 1 players), and both struggled mightily, at least until their final season.

The Rivals system basically works this way, with a 6.1 athlete meaning a can't miss superstar. 6.0 and 5.9 athletes are also considered can't miss.

6.1 = 5-star = A+

6.0 = 4-star = A
5.9 = 4-star = A-
5.8 = 4-star = B+

5.7 = 3-star = B
5.6 = 3-star = B-
5.5 = 3-star = C+

etc.

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

Welcome Justin! Go Irish!

 

[BGIF]

Its spelled Utupo on rivals and Utopo on Scout. Who knows who is right?

That why I checked his H.S roster before posting the spelling.

 

[Pinoy QB]

Dang!!! you guys are strait up killing the kid's confidence. Hey I played Football with lots of Samoans in Carson High. They play with passion & heart I tell ya, may not be fast but when they hit ya watch out. Unleashed the beast.

 

[Jason Pham]

Profile updated.

 

[GOLDENISTHYTATE]

He also has been doing a lot of camping this summer and has seen his stock do nothing but soar. While I understand the lack of excitement for someone who doesn't have the same hype as Leuders or Martin, I can guarantee this kid has faced tougher competition in high school and his ranking should only increase if he has a strong senior showing.

 

[Pinoy QB]

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