Utah football: Son of BYU tight end great commits to Utah

SANDY, Utah — His father Darren Handley helped build BYU's tight end tradition in the late eighties, but Harrison will now try to build a similar tradition at Utah. The 6-foot-6, 215 pound Alta High prospect committed to Ute coaches Monday.

The commit is Utah's sixth during the otherwise slow recruiting month of July — giving it 12 total commits for 2013.

As is the case with most recent Ute commits, Handley simply felt at home while at Utah.

"Whenever I'm up there talking to coaches and with the players I feel like it's home for me and it's where I need to be," said Handley. "It just hit me when I was there last that it's where I felt most comfortable, so that's where I needed to be."

BYU did recruit Handley quite heavily along with Utah State, but Handley believes Utah provided a better option despite the Cougars' steeped tight end tradition.

"I'll play at tight end and at slot for Utah and it's so exciting to listen to Brian Johnson about how they plan on using me in their offense," said Handley. "They're going to be using their tight ends a lot more and it's the type of offense that suits me perfectly."

Handley plans on playing four straight years for the Utes and is anxious to play against top competition in the Pac-12, but considers Utah's conference affiliation as a bonus.

"It's not really about that all that much, but it's certainly something I like about Utah," said Handley. "It's more about me just feeling that it's the right place for me and being comfortable with the coaching staff."

Handley was recently praised by national pundits regarding his performance at a recent Elite 11 camp by catching passes from the nation's top quarterback prospects.

So how does dad feel about Handley not following in his footsteps at the Y?

"He's 100 percent behind my decision," answered Handley. "It was hard telling BYU no, but Utah just feels like it's the best place for me and I'm very excited to have the opportunity to play for them."

Email: bgurney@desnews.com

Twitter: @BrandonCGurney