2015 UTAH FOOTBALL NEWS

Sr. Assoc. Athletics Dir./Communications (Football): Liz Abel 801.581.3511 label@huntsman.utah.edu

Assoc. Dir. of Communications (Asst. Football): Brooke Frederickson 801.581.8302 bfrederickson@huntsman.utah.edu
Asst. Dir. of Communications (Asst. Football): Mike DeVine 801.581.8997 mdevine@huntsman.utah.edu
Administrative Assistant: Lynde Hoopes 801.581.3510 lhoopes@huntsman.utah.edu

Feb. 4, 2015
For Immediate Release
Contact: Liz Abel, Sr. Associate Athletics Director (801-581-3511)
UTAH FOOTBALL ANNOUNCES 2015 RECRUITS
Utes sign 20 players from eight states
SALT LAKE CITYThe Utah football program added 20 players from eight states today with its 2015
signing class. Most of the scholarships were awarded to high school prospects (15), while the defensive
secondary gained the most players (6).
We feel we put together another solid recruiting class across the board, said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. Offensive linemen, wide receivers and defensive backs were our primary position needs, but we
were also able to sign quality players at other positions.
California was the most fertile recruiting ground for the Utes with 10 signees. Next was Florida with three.
The Utes announced two in-state signees and one commit each from Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Texas,
Arizona and Maryland. Since a National Letter of Intent may only be signed for the upcoming year, those
prospects who plan to serve church missions before enrolling in school did not sign letters today.
Five players are already enrolled in classes and will participate in spring camp, which starts on Mar. 24:
senior cornerback Ahmad Christian, freshman linebacker Jake Jackson, freshman safety Austin Lee, freshman defensive tackle Vaha Vainuku and freshman wide receiver Tyrone Smith.

Signing Class Roster and Bios Follow

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2015 UTAH FOOTBALL SIGNING CLASS

2015 UTAH FOOTBALL RECRUITING CLASS
Name (pronunciaon) ............................................ Pos. .... Hgt.... Wgt. ... Yr. ... Exp...Hometown/Last School
Philip Afia (ah-FEE-uh) ................................................ DB ...... 6-0 .... 175 ......Fr..... HS .... Chino Hills, Calif./Ayala HS
Marcel Brooks-Brown ................................................. RB ....... 6-0 .... 205 ......Fr..... HS .... Rio Linda, Calif./Rio Linda HS
Cory Butler ................................................................. DB ...... 5-9 .... 175 ......Jr. .... JC..... Compton, Calif./Los Angeles Harbor College
Johnny Capra .............................................................. OL ....... 6-6 .... 288 ......Fr..... HS .... Auburn, Calif./Placer HS
Nick Carman ............................................................... OL ....... 6-3 .... 274 ......Fr..... HS .... Tempe, Ariz./Mountain Pointe HS
Deniko Carter ............................................................. WR ..... 6-2 .... 173 ......Jr. .... JC..... Balmore, Md./Gavilan College
Ahmad Chrisan ......................................................... DB ...... 5-10 .. 190 ......Sr..... TR .... Jacksonville, Fla./South Carolina
Tyson Cisrow............................................................... DB ...... 6-0 .... 180 ......Fr..... HS .... Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Saint Thomas Aquinas HS
Keven Dixon ................................................................ OL ....... 6-4 .... 272 ......Fr..... HS .... Buena Park, Calif./Buena Park HS
Kyle Fulks .................................................................... DB ...... 5-8 .... 168 ......So. .. JC..... Brenham, Texas/Blinn College
Chris Hart.................................................................... DE ....... 6-1 .................238 . Fr. .... HS Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Saint Thomas Aquinas HS
Jake Jackson................................................................ LB ....... 6-3 .... 205 ......Fr..... HS .... Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS
Ausn Lee ................................................................... DB ...... 6-0 .... 187 ......Fr..... HS .... Draper, Utah/Alta HS
Darrin Paulo (pow-loe) ............................................... OL ....... 6-5 .... 315 ......Fr..... HS .... Sacramento, Calif./Grant HS
Caleb Repp ................................................................. DE ....... 6-4 .... 202 ......Fr..... HS .... Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Los Osos HS
Alfred Smith................................................................ WR ..... 5-9 .... 175 ......Fr..... HS .... Destrehan, La./Destrehan HS
Tyrone Smith .............................................................. WR ..... 6-4 .... 197 ......Fr..... HS .... Fresno, Calif./Edison HS
Vaha Vainuku (vy-ee-new-koo) ................................... DT ....... 6-3 .... 298 ......Fr..... HS .... Salt Lake City/East HS
Joseph Williams .......................................................... RB ....... 5-11 .. 200 ......Jr. .... JC..... Allentown, Pa./ASA College
George Wilson ........................................................... WR ..... 6-3 .... 185 ......Fr..... HS .... Tusn, Calif./Tusn HS

Philip Afia
Defensive Back
6-0, 175, Fr.
HS
Chino Hills, Calif.
Ayala HS
First-team all-Sierra League defensive back as a junior Daily Bulletin
all-area honorable mention as a senior
three-star safety by Rivals.com and
Scout.com Rivals named him to its
2015 California Postseason Top 100
played safety, wide receiver and kicker
for Ayala HS (Calif.) in seven games
as a senior in 2014 (he missed the first
part of the season with an ankle injury),
he made 58 tackles and three interceptions also caught four passes for 68
yards (17.0 average) and one touchdown
in 2014 86 tackles and four interceptions in 10 games as a junior including field goals and PATs, he led his team
in scoring as a junior with 38 points
made 4-of-9 field goals and 29-of-32
PATs in three seasons grew up playing
soccer and had never even seen a football
game before going out for the Ayala team
as a freshman, when he was primarily a
kicker ... son of Diana Afia (pronounced
ah-fee-uh) born Nov. 8, 1996.

Marcel Brooks-Brown
Running Back
6-0, 205, Fr.
HS
Rio Linda, Calif.
Rio Linda HS
Three-star recruit by Rivals.com and
Scout.com MaxPreps All-Sac-Joaquin
Section first-team running back as a senior
in 2014 and Junior Player of the Year in
2013 Sacramento Bee first-team allMetro his junior and senior seasons and
Division II Offensive Player of the Year
in 2013 2013 Cal-Hi Sports All-State
Football Underclass in three years
on the Rio Linda HS (Calif.) varsity, he
rushed for 5,457 yards and 70 touchdowns
as a senior, he rushed 193 times for
1,972 yards (10.2 yards per carry) and 29
touchdowns, while averaging 151.7 yards
a game also had nine catches for 330
yards and four touchdowns, as well as 19
tackles and two interceptions in 2014
averaged 184.6 yards rushing his junior
year, with 212 carries for 2,031 yards (9.6
ypc) and 26 touchdowns rushed for
1,454 yards and 15 touchdowns his sophomore season scored six touchdowns
(one on a 99-yard kickoff return) and
rushed for 330 yards in Rio Linda Highs
Division III playoff win over Placer HS
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California Offensive Player of the Week for playoff win
over Placer son of Karen Brooks
born Dec. 4, 1996.

Cory Butler
Defensive Back
5-9, 175, Jr.
JC
Compton, Calif.
Los Angeles Harbor College
Four-star recruit by Scout.com and
Rivals.com will be a junior with three
years to play two No. 17 on Rivals.
com Junior College 2015 Postseason 100
Prospect Ranking No. 26 in the ESPN
JC 50 National Division-Central Conference second-team defense in 2014
as a sophomore cornerback at L.A. Harbor College, had 46 tackles (4.0 TFL),
five interceptions, six pass breakups and
a fumble recovery led L.A. Harbor in
kickoff returns (18 for 445 yards, 24.7
average, 1 TD) and punt returns (nine
for 36 yards) as a freshman at L.A.
Harbor in 2013, had 42 receptions for
583 and seven touchdowns and rushed
66 times for 327 yards (5.0 average) and
two touchdowns went to high school
at Centennial High in Compton, Calif.,
and graduated from West Adams Preparatory HS in Los Angeles born Nov.
12, 1994.

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2015 UTAH FOOTBALL SIGNING CLASS

Johnny Capra
Offensive Line
6-6, 288, Fr.
HS
Auburn, Calif.
Placer HS
MaxPreps 2014 California Division II
first-team all-state Sacramento Bee
all-metro team, honorable mention allSac-Joaquin Section and SportStars AllNorCal reserve as a senior threestar recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.
com made the Rivals.com California
Postseason Top 100 also played some
at defensive tackle and had 14 tackles
and a fumble recovery in three seasons
as a junior in 2013, he was a firstteam all-Pioneer League selection son
of Jeanine and Joey Sr. Capra younger
brother Jacob played alongside him on
the Placer HS (Calif.) offensive line.
Nick Carman
Offensive Line
6-3, 274, Fr.
HS
Tempe, Ariz.
Mountain Pointe HS
First-team Division I all-state offense
in 2014 by Arizona Football Coaches
Association (AzFCA) and azcentral
also AzFCA Top 25 as a senior No. 51
overall prospect in the state of Arizona
by azcentral honorable mention
all-state his junior season three-star
recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com
No. 10 overall prospect in Arizona
by Rivals.com 2014 Division I-II
Arizona All-Academic Honorable Mention Football Team (3.81 GPA) son of
Paula and Ken Carman born Dec. 11,
1996.
Deniko Carter
Wide Receiver
6-2, 173, Jr.
JC
Baltimore, Md.
Gavilan College
Has two years to play two ranked No.
48 overall in the 2015 ESPN Junior College 50 started college career at Dean
College in Massachusetts in 2012 then
redshirted in 2013 at Gavilan College
(Calif.) as a redshirt sophomore last
season, he averaged 88.4 yards per game
with 50 receptions for 796 yards and six
touchdowns in nine games Baltimore

Sun and Maryland Big School secondteam all-state offense his senior year
at Catonsville High in 2011 No. 55
player in Maryland coming out of high
school in 2011 by Rivals.com threestar recruit by Rivals.com 19 catches
for 537 yards and nine touchdowns in
2011 of his 15 receptions in 2010,
eight went for touchdowns two-time
all-county free safety had six interceptions and returned two of them for touchdowns competed in the Crab Bowl
All-Star game for the Baltimore all stars
also played basketball and ran track
son of Purnell Carter father played
football at Bowie State nickname is
Niko born Mar. 20, 1994.
Ahmad Christian
Defensive Back
5-10, 190, Sr.
TR
Jacksonville, Fla.
Seminole State College
Seminole State College/South Carolina
transfer enrolled in classes in January
and will participate in spring camp
has one year to play one spent last
year playing baseball at Seminole State
College ... in 42 games, he hit .253
with two home runs, 25 RBIs, 20 runs
scored and seven stolen bases from
2012-13, he played in 24 football games
at South Carolina played in all 12
regular season games as a sophomore
in 2013 and started against Georgia
eight tackles, two pass breakups and one
forced fumble in 2013 also played on
the Gamecock baseball team following
his sophomore season, finishing with
one hit in five at-bats over six games
played in 12 games as a redshirt freshman in 2012 and totaled eight tackles and
two pass breakups named SCs Most
Improved Defensive Back that spring
redshirted in 2011 prepped at Trinity
Christian Academy in Jacksonville, Fla.
as a senior in 2010, rushed for more
than 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns
also had 64 tackles, four interceptions,
two forced fumbles and two fumble
recoveries as a senior ... had a 99-yard
run, the longest in state championship
game history, against American Heritage
... ran for 866 yards (11.9 average) and
11 touchdowns as a junior in 2009 ... also
logged 40 tackles and four interceptions
and was named second-team all-state for

the 1A classification as a defensive back

... two-sport athlete was a highly-touted
all-state shortstop who represented the
U.S. in an international baseball competition in Japan during the summer of
2010 ... selected in the 46th round of
the 2011 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee
Brewers recruiting sites Rivals.com,
Scout.com and 247Sports.com rated
him a three-star prospect named to
PrepStars All-Southeast Region class
born Nov. 23, 1992.
Tyson Cisrow
Defensive Back
6-0, 180, Fr.
HS
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Saint Thomas Aquinas HS
Miami Herald second-team Class 7A
all-state in 2014 No. 39 player in
Broward County by the Sun Sentinel
three-star recruit by Rivals.com
and Scout.com played safety for St.
Thomas Aquinas HS, which won the
2014 Florida Class 7A state title, the
district title and was ranked No. 1 in the
state and No. 8 in the nation in 2014 by
MaxPreps second-team all-county as
a junior when he finished with 31 tackles
(27 solo), four interceptions, three pass
breakups and a forced fumble also
plays basketball son of Deborah Hankerson born April 6, 1997.
Keven Dixon
Offensive Line
6-4, 272, Fr.
HS
Buena Park, Calif.
Buena Park HS
First-team all-CIF Southwest Division
offensive lineman as a senior in 2014
first-team all-Freeway League and
second-team all-county OL in 2014
three-star recruit by Rivals.com and
Scout.com named Buena Park HS
(Calif.) co-Lineman of the Year and
Most Improved Player as a senior also
played on the defensive line and had 43
tackles (11.0 TFL, 3.0 sacks), an interception, a pass breakup and a blocked
field goal in 2014 two career interceptions in 2011, he was Buena Parks
Freshman Lineman of the Year (OL/DL)
son of Sharon and Keven Dixon
born Jan. 16, 1997.

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Kyle Fulks
Defensive Back
5-8, 168, So.
JC
Brenham, Texas
Blinn College
Has three years to play three signed
out of Katy HS (Texas) with Baylor in
2013 before going to Blinn Community
College redshirted last season at Blinn
five tackles (0.5 sack) and a fumble
recovery as a freshman at Blinn in 2013
also had 12 receptions for 169 yards
and one TD and nine rushes for 56 yards
and two touchdowns five catches for
72 yards vs. Tyler JC three catches for
54 yards and a TD and three rushes for
51 yards vs. Cisco College national
position rankings among cornerbacks
coming out of high school: No. 44 by
247Sports.com, No. 66 by Scout.com,
No. 75 by Rivals.com ... No. 49 prospect
in Texas by Austin American-Statesman
and 247Sports.com ... Houston Top
100 by VYPE/Rivals publication ... led
Katy HS to a 16-0 season and 2012 5A
DII state championship as senior when
he finished with 26 tackles, two interceptions and a pass breakup also a
first-team all-district 19-5A wide receiver
after totaling 385 yards and five touchdowns on 16 receptions helped Katy
to 12-1 record and 2011 DII regional
semis as junior when he had 24 receptions for 408 yards and eight TDs ... 2011
all-district 19-5A as both a receiver and
all-purpose player ... member of Katys
13-1 regional finalist squad in 2010 ...
also ran track at KHS, placing second in
the 5A state meet in the 100-meter dash
(10.3) as a junior in 2012 and fourth in
the 200 meters anchored the AAU
record-breaking 4x100 relay team from
Houston Youth Track Club that ran a
40.00 born Dec. 12, 1993.
Chris Hart
Defensive End
6-1, 238, Fr.
HS
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Saint Thomas Aquinas HS
Miami Herald second-team Class 7A
all-state in 2014 No. 13 player in Broward County by the Sun Sentinel No.
56 ranked prep linebacker in the country
by Rivals.com three-star recruit by
Rivals.com and Scout.com played

linebacker for St. Thomas Aquinas HS,

which won the 2014 Florida Class 7A
state title, the district title and was ranked
No. 1 in the state and No. 8 in the nation
in 2014 by MaxPreps second-team
all-county as a junior when he had 45
tackles, 13.0 TFL, 7.5 sacks, two forced
fumbles and one fumble recovery also
plays basketball son of Sandra and
LaVester Hart born Feb. 28, 1997.
Jake Jackson
Linebacker
6-3, 205, Fr.
HS
Encinitas, Calif.
La Costa Canyon HS
Initially signed in 2012 but first served
an LDS church mission to San Antonio,
Texas has enrolled in classes and will
participate in spring camp first-team
All-Avocado West League and All-San
Diego Section defense as a senior in
2011 won player of the week three
times linebacker and tight end made
103 tackles with 11 sacks and had 20
receptions for 362 yards in 2011 as
a junior, he had 31 receptions for 424
yards and four touchdowns chosen
as the tight end for the San Diego CIF
All-Star team that played in the PrepStar
California Classic All-Star Game
team awards included Mavericks Player
of the Week, Offensive Player of the
Week and Hit of the Week La Costa
Canyon High (Calif.) won the league title
two years in a row made the Principals List all four years son of Chris
and Johnna Jackson both parents went
to BYU two brothers and one sister
hobbies include beach volleyball, skiing
and wakeboarding born Oct. 11, 1993
in Provo, Utah.
Austin Lee
Defensive Back
6-0, 187, Fr.
HS
Draper, Utah
Alta HS
Initially signed in 2012 but first served
an LDS church mission to Tulsa, Okla.
has enrolled in classes and will
participate in spring camp two-time
first-team all-state safety (2010-11)
lettered all four years at Alta High (Utah)
and played as a freshman on Altas
2008 5A state championship team

Alta won the region title in 2009 and

2011 three-year starter as a junior,
he totaled 101 tackles, two sacks, one
interception, 14 pass breakups and two
forced fumbles his senior year, he led
Alta with 41 tackles, a half sack, an interception, 9 pass breakups and a fumble
recovery made the all-tournament
team at the 2009 and 2010 Badger Elite
Tournament in Las Vegas (named one of
the top 21 overall performers) honor
roll student son of Doug and Jan Lee
father played baseball at Utah, lettering in 1984 grandfather Gordon Lee
played football at Utah from 1959-61
and coached the Ute running backs from
1964-65 has two brothers and one
sister enjoys snowboarding and wakeboarding born Dec. 16, 1993.
Darrin Paulo
Offensive Line
6-5, 315, Fr.
HS
Sacramento, Calif.
Grant HS
MaxPreps second-team all-state in 2014
MaxPreps all-Norcal first-team offensive tackle 2014 and second team in
2013 2014 Sacramento Bee all-Metro
Offensive Lineman of the Year in
the Delta Valley Conference his junior
season three-star recruit by Rivals.
com and Scout.com No. 62 ranked
offensive tackle by Rivals.com helped
Grant HS (Calif.) to a 14-1 record his
senior year placed second in discus
throw (1842) at the 2014 CIF state track
and field championship had a 566.25
best in the shot put son of Jane and
Lee Paulo (pronounced pow-loe) born
Mar. 6, 1997.
Caleb Repp
Defensive End
6-4, 202, Fr.
HS
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Los Osos HS
Played wide receiver in high school, but
Utes want to try him at defensive end
three-star recruit by Rivals.com and
Scout.com as a senior at Los Osos HS
(Calif.), had 34 receptions for 498 yards
and five touchdowns due to a broken
hand, he played in just six games in
2014, when he averaged 83.0 yards per
game also had five tackles and two in-

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2015 UTAH FOOTBALL SIGNING CLASS

terceptions his senior year 27 catches
for 502 yards (18.6 yards per catch) and
seven touchdowns as a junior also
plays basketball and runs track best
times included 11.65 (100 meters), 22.17
(200 meters) and 48.83 (400 meters)
son of Sharon and Gary Repp born
Mar. 6, 1996.
Alfred Smith
Wide Receiver
5-9, 175, Fr.
HS
Destrehan, La.
Destrehan HS
Times-Picayune 2015 Prospect Ranking
Nifty 50 2013 New Orleans Metro
Area first-team all-district 2014 St.
Charles Herald Guide second-team alldistrict three-star recruit by Rivals.
com and Scout.com listed as the No.
8 offensive performer at the May 2014
Rivals Camp Series in New Orleans
helped Destrehan HS (La.) to a 14-1
record and 7-0 league mark as a senior
in 2014 when he had 42 catches for 563
yards and six touchdowns 54 receptions for 873 yards and eight touchdowns
as a junior in 2013 Destrehan reached
the Class 5A semifinals in 2013 nicknamed Tarzan.
Tyrone Smith
Wide Receiver
6-4, 197, Fr.
HS
Fresno, Calif.
Edison HS
Enrolled in school on Feb. 4 and will
participate in spring ball did not play
last year while completing academic
requirements CentralValleyFootball.
coms Peoples Choice All-Valley second
team as a senior in 2013 named to the
2014 City County All-Star Game 20
catches for 437 yards as a senior at Edison HS (Calif.) in 2013 four catches
for 131 yards with two touchdowns in
win over Sanger Edison went 9-2 in
2013 14 catches for 324 yards in 2012
also played basketball and ran track
born Sept. 3, 1996.

Vaha Vainuku
Defensive Tackle
6-3, 298, Fr.
HS
Salt Lake City
East HS
Originally signed with Utah in 2012 before leaving on a church mission to Oakland, Calif. has enrolled in classes and
will participate in spring camp twotime all-state offensive lineman (201011) will play defensive tackle at Utah
anchored a line at East High (Utah) that
produced four 1,000-yard rushers from
2010-11 ... also lettered in basketball
and track and field 2011 Utah 4A
state shot put champion (50-03.25)
only child is the son of Vaha and Siupeli
Vainuku (pronounced vy-ee-new-koo)
cousin Soma Vainuku played football for
USC born Oct. 21, 1993.
Joseph Williams
Running Back
5-11, 200, Jr.
JC
Allentown, Pa.
ASA College
Played at UConn in 2012 before transferring to ASA College in Brooklyn, N.Y.,
where he played last season has two
years to play two 2014 second-team
NJCAA All-American as a sophomore at
ASA first-team all-Northeast Football
Conference in 2014 led the Northeast Football Conference in rushing and
ranked fourth in the nation, averaging
156.1 yards per game 163 carries
for 1,093 yards (6.7 average) and seven
touchdowns in seven games in 2014
also had 16 receptions for 237 yards and
three touchdowns his sophomore season
led the conference in all-purpose
yards, averaging 199.0 yards a game
conference Offensive Player of the Week
vs. Monroe College as a true freshman at UConn in 2012, he played in nine
games, rushing three times for six yards
(all against Temple) ... spent the fall 2011
semester at Fork Union (Va.) Military
Academy after graduating from Emmaus HS (Pa.) in the spring of 2011 ...
at Emmaus, rushed for 1,243 yards as a

senior and was second team all-area and

first team all-Lehigh Valley Conference
... track standout won the LVC outdoor
track titles in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash full name is Joseph Sterling
Williams ... born Sept. 4, 1993.
George Wilson
Wide Receiver
6-3, 185, Fr.
HS
Tustin, Calif.
Tustin HS
MaxPreps 2014 California Division II
second-team all-state, Orange County
Register all-county and Southern Section
all-Southwest Division as a cornerback
played in Polynesian All-Star game in
Oceanside, Calif., in January played
receiver and corner for Tustin HS (Calif.)
four-star recruit by 247Sports.com
and ranked the No. 41 recruit in California three-star recruit by Rivals.
com and Scout.com made Rivals.com
California Postseason 100 rated No.
8 by Rivals.com for his performance at
the Huntington Beach 7-on-7 camp and
No. 6 at the UCLA elite camp in 2014
six interceptions his senior season
filled in for injured Tustin quarterback
in two games in 2014 28 receptions
for 552 yards and five touchdowns his
junior year also plays basketball and
scored 19 points in Tustin win over No.
3-ranked Foothill this season son of
Anna Mariner full name is George
Siaosi Wilson born Jan. 25, 1997.

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