Utah Utes football: Utes have lots of Vegas talent

SALT LAKE CITY — When 20th-ranked Utah faces UNLV on Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the Utes will do so with contributors from the Rebels' backyard.

Running back Eddie Wide, who topped 1,000 yards rushing last season, and wide receiver DeVonte Christopher, the reigning Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Week, headline recent recruiting successes for Utah in the Las Vegas area.

Offensive lineman Jeremiah Tofaeno is another one, as is former Ute linebacker Stevenson Sylvester of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham credits assistant Jay Hill for doing a great job of recruiting in Las Vegas, an area that he says has a lot of talent.

"It's just a matter of an assistant coach doing his homework on all the players down there," Whittingham said.

New UNLV coach Bobby Hauck has taken note of the talent, as well. He signed a school-record eight players from the Las Vegas area in February.

"There's good football in the state of Nevada, and especially Las Vegas," he said in this week's UNLV news release. "One of the things I said we were going to do when I took this job was try to recruit every Nevada kid that could help us win a Mountain West championship."

LOVE FOR THE LINE: Whittingham wasn't surprised that Utah's offensive line had such a good outing in the season-opening win over Pittsburgh. Returning starters Zane Taylor, Caleb Schlauderaff, Tony Bergstrom and Tevita Stevens joined forces with junior college transfer John Cullen to prevent Pitt's defense from recording a single quarterback sack. The Panthers led the nation in sacks in 2009, recording at least one in every game.

"That's what we were expecting, because we have four returning starters and a lot of cohesiveness in that group," Whittingham said.

PREGAME TRIBUTE: On the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, a moment of silence and the release of red, white and blue balloons will take place before Saturday's game. Police, fire and military personnel will also be on hand for the tribute.

email: dirk@desnews.com

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