Utah LB racking up early offers

It looks like a good year for talent in Utah for the class of 2008 and one player to watch closely is Cottonwood (Utah) linebacker Lynn Katoa. Katoa attended the recent NIKE combine in Oakland and had a strong showing.

Katoa measured in at a solid 6-1, 215 pounds at the NIKE combine this past weekend. He clocked a 4.91-40, 4.47 in the shuttle, jumped 29 inches in the vertical and did 21 reps on the bench. He finished with a very respectable 70.35 SPARQ Rating and is easily among the top five prospects in the state.

"Lynn is a big time player," Cottonwood coach Scott Cate said. "He reminds me a lot of Rey Maualuga at the same stage. I knew Rey pretty well and Lynn has a similar frame and is just a punishing hitter. He has a great frame and will probably be around 6-1, 245 pounds in a few years.

"I've only sent his film out to three schools right now- Colorado, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State and all three have offered scholarships. Coach Hawkins came out prior to Signing Day and told me he had to have this kid and Texas Tech has him at the top of their board as well."

As a junior, Katoa started the year at defensive end and then moved to linebacker for the last five games of the season. He ended up earning 2nd team all-state honors after totaling 103 tackles and 13 sacks.

"Right now, my plan is to make an early commitment," Katoa said. "I would like to make my decision sometime in the summer so I don't have to worry about it or deal with the distraction of recruiting once our season starts. My top three schools are the three that have offered right now and I'm probably going to take some unofficial visits over the summer.

"I have an offer from Utah as well and I'm also hearing from Oregon, Oregon State and a few others. I want to leave the state and I'm looking for a school where I can get a good education and where I'm comfortable with the location and overall environment. I've already passed the ACT and I'm carrying a 3.3 GPA right now so I'm set there. I'm also planning to graduate early so I'll be able to enroll in time for Spring practice at whatever college I choose."