Utah OL staying in-state
Last Wednesday, South Jordan (Utah) Bingham three-star offensive guard Tuni Kanuch and his family made a visit to BYU and sat down with coach Bronco Mendenhall.
Mendenhall offered, and the 6-foot-2, 295-pound lineman quickly accepted.
Advertisement
"The school has a lot of the moral values that I have, and I just think it would be a good school for me," he said. "I haven't seen another school like it."
Kanuch is a three-star prospect and the seventh junior to commit to BYU's 2010 class. He is ranked as the nation's No. 36 offensive guard prospect.
Kanuch said he wasn't planning on committing going into the meeting, but after talking with Mendenhall the decision felt right.
"I wasn't really sure at first," he said. "I was always big on USC and wanted to go there, but they called me in, and I just had the right feeling that I should go there."
Kanuch attended BYU's Junior Day earlier in the year and made no other visits. He said he talked to a few other schools, but received little more than letters.
Quarterbacks coach and former Cougars star Brandon Doman was Kanuch's lead recruiter.
"He's a cool guy," Kanuch said. "He's nice and funny and really easy to talk to."
Though he always had in interest in USC, Kanuch said he would stick to his commitment even if the Trojans someday made an offer.
"I like USC a lot, but the values and the feelings I had when I went to BYU were great," he said. "I'm a man of my word and I won't go back on my word."
Kanuch can play either guard or nose tackle, and said Mendenhall wasn't sure which position he would start off at.
"Either one is good with me, I just love football," he said.