What It Means: Sleeper Ugo is a Ute

The University of Utah added to their defensive depth today, with the addition of George Ranch HS safety, Jeffrey Ugo. The 6-foot-1 and 180 pounder out of Richmond, Texas had recently started to see interest from P5 schools pick up, but one early official visit to Utah was enough to seal the deal.

He made his intentions known on Twitter:

Michigan, Iowa State, Baylor and Texas had all begun to show him more interest. Ugo also believed that Michigan and Iowa State were close to offering, before his commitment.

Utah, Utah State, Indiana, San Diego State and Navy were the notable schools that he was choosing from.

What Utah is getting

On look at Ugo’s film and you’ll see a lot of similarities to former Ute and current Seattle Seahawk Marquise Blair. He’s your typical Morgan Scalley free safety, a hard-hitter and sure-tackler with a high football IQ. The ballhawking skills are there, but the film doesn’t fully show it. First and foremost, Ugo wants to gain a head of steam and crush the ball carrier.

Ugo could very likely be another early Scalley find that isn’t initially highly-rated, but has the potential to be a rotation player immediately.

Going into his senior year, developing positional versatility for him at both safety positions, will make him that much more valuable of a player when he heads to the Utes.

The Utes might have to fight off other P5 programs over the next few months, but expect Ugo to stay loyal to Scalley.

What this means for the class

Ugo is the sixth commitment of the Utes 2022 class along with Aisea Moa, Nate Johnson, Zion Steptoe, Adarrius Harshaw and Brandon Rose. At the moment, safety is one of the bigger needs in this recruiting cycle. There’s also the balancing act the Utah will have to do, not knowing fully how many scholarships they’ll give out after balancing the extra year of eligibility rule. Regardless of who else joins at the position, expect Ugo to be one of the more ready to contribute ones out of the group.