ESPN West recruiting Blog

Posted by Greg Biggins

Standout defensive tackle Latu Heimuli (Salt Lake City, Utah./ Highland) took all five of his official visits, but it was one he didn't officially visit that ended up getting him.

He took official visits to Nebraska, Washington State, Florida, Arizona and Colorado. He also had offers from UCLA, Cal, Arizona State, BYU, Oregon State and a few others but decided to stay close to home and committed to Utah.

"I got it done on Sunday," Heimuli said. "I talked things over with my family and we all decided Utah was the best place for me. I never visited officially but I've been to Utah several times on unofficial visits and I know a lot about the school already.

"I know a lot of people already at Utah and I really like the coaching staff a lot. I'm comfortable there, that's the main thing and I know they'll develop me as a player and a person."

Who's still on the board?
It's about a month away from Signing Day and there are still several talented players who have yet to make a college commitment. Here's a look at a handful of uncommitted players and what schools have the best chance to land them.

Devon Kennard, 6-foot-3, 260 pounds, DL, Desert Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Kennard has narrowed his choices to USC, Cal and Texas and officially visited all three. The talented pass rusher had USC and Arizona State leading back in the summer and then Cal emerged as a major player. Kennard then visited Texas and loved his time in Austin, but the buzz right now is USC is now back on top. Kennard will have Cal and USC head coaches in for home visits and his announcement could come in a few weeks.

Manti Te'o, 6-2, 230, LB, Punahou School (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Te'o has visited UCLA and Notre Dame and will take January visits to BYU, Stanford and USC. For the last two years, Te'o was rumored to be leaning to BYU or USC and I still feel that's the case. The interesting thing with Te'o is I've talked to recruits who have committed to USC and BYU and both feel strongly that the linebacker is heading their way. If I had to name a leader right now, it sounds like the Cougars are in the driver's seat but with the Trojans getting the final visit the week before Signing Day, anything can happen.

Rolando Jefferson, 6-2, 190, WR and Cliff Harris, 6-0, 165, DB, Edison (Fresno, Calif.)
We put Jefferson and Harris together for two reasons. They're from the same school and both have a lot of work to do in order to qualify. At this point, Harris has a much better shot at making it and if he does, look for him to sign with Oregon. Jefferson, the best receiver I've seen in the West this year, is likely JUCO bound. Look for him to end up at College of Sequoias (Visalia, Calif.) and in two years, be recruited by every school in the country.

Corey Adams, 6-3, 285, DL, Saguaro (Ariz.)
Adams was supposed to announce his college choice from among USC, Arizona State and Ohio State at the Under Armour All-American game last weekend. Adams decided to hold off saying he just didn't know who to pick and he didn't want to rush a decision. Few prospects have played things closer to the vest than Adams this year. No one really knows for sure what he's going to do. Ohio State is his childhood favorite, ASU is the local favorite and USC wowed him on his official visit. This one is just too close to call.

Michael Philipp, 6-3, 320, OL, Arroyo Valley (San Bernardino, Calif.)
When it comes to keeping your cards to yourself, you can put Philipp in the same category as Adams. The lineman took official visits to Cal, UCLA and Oregon and will trip to Stanford and Oregon State this month. Back in the summer, the Cardinal were the team to beat. Then early on during the season, UCLA was rumored to be on top. Philipp loved his visit to Oregon and the Ducks are a real player in this one as well. The last time I talked with Philipp, he said he would likely wait until close to Signing Day before making his decision.

Adam Hall, 6-4, 195, ATH, Palo Verde (Ariz.)
I talked about Hall Monday morning but for a quick recap, he's down to Arizona, Cal and Oregon. He'll visit Oregon either (Jan 9 or 16) but the Cats look good right now.

Xavier Su'a-Filo, 6-4, 285, OL, Timpview (Provo, Utah) Su'a-Filo is another player who has kept a lot of people guessing on where he will wind up. The lineman has visited LSU, USC and Utah and will trip to BYU and UCLA in the next two weeks. I heard LSU was the team to beat for some time and Tigers assistant coach Gary Crowton has strong ties to Utah after coaching at BYU. Another interesting wrinkle is he's very good friends with USC commit John Martinez and the two have talked about playing together. I've never bought in to package deals as they rarely happen but Su'a-Filo has a high interest in the Trojans regardless of Martinez's influence. BYU also has a very solid shot here and will be visiting this weekend with several Cougars commitments who will be working him hard.

Markus Wheaton, 5-11, 170, WR, Chandler (Ariz.)
I'm not surprised too often in recruiting because you basically expect the unexpected. Saying that, it will be a little surprising if Wheaton ends up anywhere other than Oregon. Wheaton visited Oregon, Cal and Colorado and will trip to UCLA this coming weekend. He was raised a Ducks fan after the success of his older cousin Kenny Wheaton, a former Oregon All-American. If anyone can pull off the upset here, it's Cal but Oregon does look pretty solid.

Tyler Gaffney, 6-0, 210, RB, Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, Calif.)
Gaffney had a monster senior season and his performance in the Div II state championship game all but locked up the state player of the year. He has already visited Notre Dame and will head to Stanford and USC in the next two weeks. Those close to Gaffney have said this will come down to the two Pac-10 schools and right now, it's too close to call. The Cardinal have a similar back in Toby Gerhart and have told Gaffney they plan to use him the same way. At USC, Gaffney said he would likely be used more as a fullback in the Stanly Havili mold but added that won't factor in to his decision.

Kevin Greene, 6-3, 220, DL, Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep. (San Francisco, Calif.)
Greene has already visited Washington State and Colorado and will check out USC and Arizona State later this month. He has already ruled out the Buffs and said he will decide among the three Pac-10 schools following his final visit. USC leads big here and I'm actually surprised he hasn't committed to the Trojans already. Greene has liked USC for some time and it moved to the top of his list the second it offered him. Look for the talented pass rusher to commit to USC either on, or shortly after, his visit there.

Nik Abele, 6-6, 250, OL, Irvine (Calif.)
Abele is a specimen who opened a lot of eyes at the USC Rising Stars camp in the summer. Although he didn't earn an offer from the Trojans, several other schools jumped on the bandwagon and he took visits to Colorado, Utah and Arizona State. Abele will visit UCLA this weekend and has talked about visiting Oregon State or Cal for his final visit. The last time I spoke with Abele, he said the visits were growing on him and added there's a strong chance the visit to Westwood will be his last. The Bruins have done a great job recruiting Abele and assuming he enjoys his visit, look for him to announce for UCLA shortly afterwards.

Kyle Van Noy, 6-4, 200, ATH, McQueen H.S. (Reno, Nev.)
Van Noy is one of the most versatile players in the region and could end up on either side of the ball in college. Van Noy has already visited Colorado and Arizona State and will visit BYU and UCLA in the next two weeks. I've always gotten the feeling that Van Noy wanted to stay home and play for the Cougars and that feeling has only gotten stronger in recent months. Barring something crazy happening, look for Van Noy to announce for BYU after his final visit.

Michael Clay, 5-11, 205, LB, Bellarmine College Prep (San Jose, Calif.)
Clay is a talented outside linebacker and reminds me a lot of former Stanford 'backer Michael Okwo. Clay tripped to Colorado and will visit his other finalist, Oregon, this coming weekend. Clay said he plans to announce his college choice January 13, which is his mother's birthday. Heading into the visit to Eugene, it sounds like the Ducks hold a slight lead and they could really seal the deal with a strong trip this weekend.