BYU lands 2009 star

When you see a good thing, you can't pass it up.

That's become the philosophy of BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall when it comes to targeting in-state players. Mendenhall isn't shy about going out and offering early the top prospects in his own backyard, no matter how early it is. It's that aggressive approach that has helped the Cougars already land one of the best players in the class of 2009.

St. George (Utah) Snow Canyon running back Adam Timo committed to the Cougars on Saturday.

The 6-foot-1, 175-pound running back is considered by some local experts the top prospect in the state already as he made a major splash on Utah high school football late last season when he rushed for more than 1,600 yards after playing only junior varsity football the first five games of the 2007 season.

"BYU just fits me personally," said Timo, who is LSD and could take his mission before he plays at BYU.

"I think it's a great place to be both a student and an athlete. It's the right place for me to study, work hard and be a success in both football and in life."

It's easy to see the Cougars recruited Timo early. He's the Class 3A two-time defending high jump champion, winning that event this month with a leap of 7-feet. He also won the long jump with a 21-feet, 11.75 inch jump.

Playing quarterback and running back, Timo averaged 8.7 yards a rush and had a breakout game against Logan with 310 yards rushing and four touchdowns.

"I think I'm a pretty complete runner," Timo said. "I have the ability to break tackles and run through the gaps, but I'm also fast enough to run away from everybody. I run hard and go full speed on every play."