Utah had to fight off USC to hang on to Herriman HS (Herriman, Utah) defensive end Leki Fotu, but the hard worked paid off with Fotu signing with Utah. Fotu has a rugby background, so he is very athletic especially for his excellent size (6-7, 275). Since he has not been playing football for a long time, Fotu is raw, but he has an incredibly high ceiling. Landing Fotu over USC is a big recruiting win for Utah. In the last few years, local recruits who got a USC offer, did not end up at Utah. In addition to Utah and USC, Fotu also had offers from BYU and Oklahoma State.
Fotu's star ratings are all over the place. He is rated a a four-star recruit and the top recruit in the state of Utah by 247Sports, a three-star recruit by ESPN and Scout, and a two-star recruit by Rivals. Any recruit that is pursued heavily by USC has to be pretty good. I think Fotu has the potential to shine for Utah, but he is raw, so it may take him a few years to develop first. This is a very nice get for Utah on a by and large underrated prospect.