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It was kind of glossed over due to the game against Michigan, but Utah landed 2016 three-star defensive back Ohaji Hawkins from Winter Haven (Winter Haven, Fla.). Given his height (6' 2"), he will draw comparisons to former Utah defensive backs like Sean Smith, Keith McGill, and Eric Rowe, who were all bigger defensive backs. At only 170 pounds, Hawkins will need to add at least 30 pounds to play in the Pac-12. Utah has an excellent strength and conditioning staff that can put plenty of good weight on Hawkins to get him bulked up. He could likely play safety or cornerback for the Utah defense.
In his film*, Hawkins shows great ball skills. He is able to highpoint the football and out-jump the receiver for the ball. One important responsibility of Utah defensive backs is helping to stop the run. Hawkins, especially if he adds weight, seems like he could be valuable to the defense in stopping the run.
I really like that Utah is adding another prospect from Florida. It helps to build Utah's brand in the Sunshine State. While Utah is not pulling four-star prospects in from Florida yet, the more Florida players they add, the better name recognition Utah will have and thus give Utah a better chance to pull in an elite prospect from Florida.
While all major recruiting site still have 2017 Provo (Provo, Utah) wide receiver Ty Jones as a hard commit to Utah, our colleagues at Vanquish the Foe wrote an article that Jones may be flipping his commitment to BYU. Jones is from Provo and has been retweeting several BYU-related tweets in the past few days. Below is a tweet from BYU commit, Bingham (South Jordan, Utah) quarterback Keaton Torre about Jones.
The news I just got from @Baller2Ty We are making some moves quickly!!
— KT_10 + 7 (@keaton_torre) September 14, 2015
Jones would definitely be a loss. Keeping good hometown prospects home at Utah is necessary for Utah football recruiting. Jones also has great size, standing 6' 4" tall. Jones displays skills coaches want in a college wide receiver, he runs nice routes, high points the football and catches the football well. Losing a commit to an in-state rival is never a good thing either. The situation with Jones is worth monitoring.