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Mone picking up weight and interest

The scholarship offers listed next to his name seem to be only things that haven't radically changed for Salt Lake City Highland junior Bryan Mone in the last six months. A player that was once listed as a 255-pound defensive end, Mone now tips the scales at 315. And his position? Well, that's changing too.
These days, the beefed-up Mone spends his Friday nights alternating between end and defensive tackle. And to hear the 2014 prospect's high school coach, Brody Benson, talk about the slow position change is to know it was only a matter of time.
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Mone's days playing on the outside were always numbered. That was obvious from the jump.
"He's gained about 60 pounds from last year," Benson said. "It's mostly in his blood. You look at his dad, and his dad is enormous man. We kind of knew it was coming.
Coaches are, of course, prone to gush when it comes to their players. Benson says he believes the 6-foot-4 Mone has the chance to be every bit as good as NFL Pro Bowl tackle and Highland High alum Haloti Ngata. Bias aside, though, the Utah-based junior is making waves. It's only a matter of time before other schools join the offer party, which currently consist of Utah, BYU, Michigan and Utah State.
You can feel the interest building.
"Bryan has had a lot of correspondence from Oregon, Nebraska, Florida State, Alabama and Georgia," Benson said. "To be honest with you, we haven't really done a ton as far as getting him out there. Coaches have seen him while they are out here looking at my 2014 kids."
Benson praises Mone to the 10th degree and defends his statements emphatically. The Highland head coach knows how the compassion to Haloti sounds, but the man who coached both players stands by it. When pressed, his opinion only becomes stronger.
"It's a bold statement. I understand that," Benson said. "But Bryan really is that good of a player and he's that good of a kid. I could put him in a rack right now, and he could still do six or eight pull-ups at 315 pounds."
Mone plays both sides of the ball at Highland, though, his future at the next level is likely at defensive tackle.
According to Benson, Mone has no upcoming unofficial visits and plans to slow-play his recruitment before participating in the camp circuit this summer.
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