WHAT IT MEANS: Raass Flips to Utah

The University of Utah picked up a commit over the weekend from Stanley Raass, a defensive lineman from Kahuku HS. The former BYU commit flipped and made the news official on Wednesday. Raass is the third Utah commit from that school, which former Utah head coach Ron McBride had deep connections with, and the current head coach, Stew Carvalho is a former Ute walk-on.

Raass had been a BYU commit ever since March, and his father John played defensive line for the Cougars from 1993-95. Stanley received an offer from Utah back on September 10th. The 6-foot-1 and 280 pound prospect made his announcement known via Instagram:

What Utah is Getting

Most of Raass' film is mainly him on the offensive line, but he is projected to play on the defensive tackle at Utah. Regardless, his film shows a man amongst boys. Raass routinely moves his opponent wherever he wants to with relative ease. He is not afraid to be physical at the point of attack and can really move his opponent with brute strength, but also shows some flashes of solid footwork. He will need to fine tune some of his hand action and moves for defensive side, but the skillset is there. He already possesses a sturdy frame and should only improve in strength as he grows in a college weight program.

What This Means for the Class

Raass is the 16th commitment for the Utes' 2023 class, joining Daidren Zipperer, CJ Jacobsen, Jonah Leaea, Roger Alderman, Brock Fonoimoana, Kainoa Carvalho, Carlos Wilson, Jonathan Hall, Michael Mitchell, CJ Blocker, Jo'Laison Landry, Owen Chambliss, Dijon Stanley, Makeaki Helu, and Mack Howard.

At the start of the recruiting cycle, defensive tackle was a strength and not a need, but with the uncertainty surrounding Tevita Fotu, And Tennessee and Fua Pututau, Utah could look to even add one more.