The Utes have signed Mater Dei High School standout, Semi Taulanga. The three-star 6-foot-1 and 300 pounder verbally committed to Utah back at the end of July, after visiting back on the weekend of June 14th. Taulanga visited Utah, BYU, San Jose State, and UCLA before announcing his decision. He's been a key anchor to the defense for the No. 1 high school team in the country, in 2024.

Evaluation

Do not let the measurables deceive you, Taulanga is an absolute war daddy of a defensive lineman. Taulanga is 6 foot 1 inch and 310 pounds, but he moves like a linebacker in space and plays the game with a fury of quickness and twitch. Taulanga has extremely active hands, and because of his rare ability to bend at his size, he uses his hands extremely effectively to keep offensive players away from his pads. He attacks angles well, and his stout base allows him to absorb blocks without getting displaced or pushed out of position. What makes him a great pickup and unique player is his athleticism and motor. Semi can often be seen chasing down running backs or skill position players from behind out in space, a seemingly insurmountable task for most linemen weighing over 300 pounds. Combined with his motor, he’s able to line up all over the field and often slides out to the edge where he is effective at both containment and rushing the quarterback at the high school level. He plays like the quarterback stole his girlfriend, and he tackles with the kind of force that makes quarterbacks cringe. He may not be as versatile at the next level, but the combination of his size and reaction makes him a truly unique and fascinating prospect at the next level.

-Bryan Brown

What this signing means

Utah typically doesn’t add two shorter defensive tackles in the same class, but the potential of the two was too good to pass up. Taulanga already has the needed weight to be a plug-n-play, and Utah won’t hesitate to play freshmen with the deep and relentless rotation that defensive tackles coach Luther Elliss likes to attack with.