JUCO back chooses Utah

Utah continued reaping the rewards of its visit weekend by landing its third commitment in two days, this time from American River College (Sacramento, Calif.) running back Devontae Booker.

After leaving from his official visit to Salt Lake City, Booker was sold on the Utah program, but needed to talk to his family before committing. "I finally talked to my parents about it. My dad was on a business trip, and came back today. Talked to him and made my decision from there," Booker said.

Overall, it was Booker's visit that convinced him that Utah was where he wanted to be. "[The visit] was pretty good. I enjoyed it out there. I met most of the players, and had a good time with them on my visit," he said.

For Booker, the opportunity to spend time with the coaching staff made a huge difference in his decision to be a Ute. "[The best part of the visit was] just meeting the coaches. I got along with them real good. I got a good feel how it would be. They treated me real nice and I felt like I was at home," he explained.

During the trip Booker spent a lot of time talking to former Ute and current graduate assistant Quinton Ganther. "He played at Utah some years back. He also played in the NFL for the Seahawks. He was telling me it's a nice program and that the city is nice. When I was listening to outsiders back at home, they would tell me 'There's nothing to do in Utah. It's all dry.' But when I went out there I saw it's a nice city. He said it was a good fit," he said.

Booker was especially impressed with head coach Kyle Whittingham. "I sat down with him before I came home. He's a good dude. I had a good talk with him. He was telling me the situation there with the running backs and everything. He said I'd have the opportunity to come in and play right away and make a big impact on season if I was to go there next year. He's a pretty good dude," he said.

For Booker, academics are another main factor in his decision to play for the Utes. "First of all, [what's important to me] are the academics. I want to get my degree. Life with football isn't very long, so I'm looking forward to getting my degree," he said.

With a commitment out of the way, Booker now plans to focus on getting his academics in order. "I'm going to be a May graduate, but I'm going to take online classes so I might be out there before then," he said.

In addition to the offer from Utah, Booker also had offers from Utah State, West Virginia, Houston, Western Michigan, San Jose State, and Hawaii.