Around The Hill, 1/27/2022: Recruit Ratings Bumps, Football Uniform Awards, Big 10 Scheduling

Get comfortable because we’ve got a hefty dose of links for you today!

In Football News...

• This video was brought to my attention yesterday. Britain Covey has used his NIL to promote mental health awareness and the group Bridle Up Hope. Give the video a watch to learn about why this is important to Britain Covey and what Bridle Up Hope does.

• Utah made a scholarship offer to 2023 4-star QB Mack Howard out of Mississippi. Howard currently holds offers from Kansas, Louisville, Houston, Cincinnati, Arkansas State, and Middle Tennessee State.

• Jaylon Glover was featured as one of 4 runningbacks who found the best fit with their new program. You can read about him and the other runningbacks (one of them is headed to USC) here.
• Lets go! Cam Rising getting some respect.

• 247 Sports performed their final recruit ratings adjustment of the year. Several Utah Recruits received rating increases. Utah’s current average recruit rating for the 2022 class is an all-time high 0.8745 (#35 in the country). This is now the fourth year in a row that Utah has set an all-time high average recruit ranking. The rankings are undoubtedly something to celebrate, and you can read more about why there is reason for excitement for the entire Utah signing class here.
• In 247 Sports recruit rating updates, Utah signee LB Lander Barton was received a major rank increase to a 97 overall in 247’s rankings. This puts Barton at #40 overall in the country per 247 Sports (only the top 32 recruits receive 5-star status). The 97 ranking places him as the highest-ranked commit in Utah history per 247. In the composite ranking (essentially an average of major recruiting outlets rankings), Barton ranks as the #5 highest ranked commit in Utah history behind only Clark Phillips III, James Aiono, Ethan Calvert, and Jaylon Johnson.

• In 247 Sports recruit rating updates, Utah signee ATH Tao Johnson was upgraded to a 90 overall and 4-star status in 247’s rankings.
• In 247 Sports recruit rating updates, Utah signee DE Ka’eo Akana was upgraded to a 90 overall and 4-star status in 247’s rankings.
• Uniform Authority named the Utah Football USS Salt Lake City uniforms as the “Best America Tribute” Uniform of the 2021 season. The award is for “a uniform that honors a moment in US history or the servicemen and women who risk their lives for the stars and stripes”.

• I missed this one yesterday but Utah also came in at #6 in Uniform Authority’s “Best Throwback” category.

• The Utah-BYU game uniforms came in at #5 in Uniform Authority’s “Best Uniform Matchups” category.

• Former Utah captain and long snapper Keegan Markgraf shared an update in his recovery from a torn ACL and meniscus. Here’s hoping an NFL team gives him a shot.

• Brad Crawford of 247 Sports predicted Utah QB Cam Rising to be the 2022 Pac-12 Player of the Year. He even mentions the possibility of a Heisman campaign. Read more about it here.

Around The Pac-12...

• The Big 10 is discussing eliminating conferences and switching to an 8-game conference schedule to allow an extra non-conference game to schedule with an Alliance member (ACC or Pac-12). You can read more about it here. Personally, I would love to see the Pac-12 make a similar move.

In Basketball News...

• The Runnin’ Utes had a rough go of it last night. Perhaps the lone bright spot was that Branden Carlson played for the first time since his appendectomy. If you missed it or couldn’t bear to watch until the end, give Block U’s game thread a quick read to get caught up on the action of last night.

In Gymnastics News...

• Several current and former Red Rocks were honored by the state of Utah for their performance in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Other Utah Sports News...

• The women’s basketball team lost a close one to #19 Oregon.

• Utah Swim & Dive Team is back in action this weekend against BYU.

• Check out some photos from the recent Ski invitational.