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football Edit

Utes zero in on California sleeper

Utah has made a living out of finding overlooked recruits in the Golden State, and Pleasanton (Calif.) Foothill athlete/wide receiver Tony Smith looks like he is about to become the next under-the-radar recruit to commit to the Utes.
"I'm actually on my way back right now from an unofficial visit," Smith, who is 6-foot and 176 pounds, said. "The visit went pretty good. I haven't exactly committed yet, but I'm going to do it in the next couple of weeks. I don't think I'm going to see anything that will match it.
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"I still have some thinking to do, but Utah is my No. 1 choice."
Just like Utah has him penciled in as a high choice on their board.
Smith, recruited by defensive back coach Jay Hill, was offered a scholarship after he camped up there this summer. While he loved his time at Utah, his parents weren't able to make it to the camp with him, so that sparked the unofficial visit on Wednesday.
"They offered me after the camp," Smith said. "I went back with my parents, and I got to see the academic side of things. The campus was spotless and the coaches were great.
"Coach Hill is a pretty straight up guy. Everything I talk to him, it's clear that he wants me to be there at Utah just as bad as I want to be there."
Smith, who plays quarterback in high school, said the Utes are looking at him as a receiver, but he also doesn't mind the athlete label.
"They want me at receiver," Smith said. "But I think I could play about anything there. If wide receiver doesn't work out then I could end up at DB, but I'm about 90 percent sure that I'll be at receiver. They have about six receivers that get in their rotation and play a lot, so I like that, too."
When he commits, the Utes will be getting a very talented prospect. Smith impressed at the Palo Alto NIKE Training Camp, showing his speed (4.71) and athletic ability in drills. All in all, it sounds like another impressive scouting job by Utah as Cal-Davis, Hawaii and Fresno State are the only teams that are showing him a lot of interest at this point.
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