Utah football recruiting 2013: Utes securing the homefront

This is Kyle Whittingham’s 20th year with the Utah program in one form or another, and his ninth as the Utes’ head coach. Utah joined the Pac-12 in 2011, and has generally found itself in the lower half of the conference’s recruiting rankings.

That’s no different this year, as the Utes rank 69th nationally and 11th in the conference in the 247sports composite team rankings. Utah has just 10 commits in its class (with one considered a soft commit), and its most recent -- defensive lineman Pita Tonga -- is unranked by most recruiting services.

The star of Utah’s class is offensive tackle Jackson Barton. A four-star prospect out of Brighton (Utah) High School, he’s considered the 17th-best offensive tackle in the nation and the third-best player in the state.

Kenyon Frison is another top prospect for the Utes. The offensive tackle out of Granger (Utah) High School is considered a three-star prospect. He is ranked as the 30th-best offensive tackle in the country and the fourth-best player in the state.

Continuing their focus on line play, another gem of the class is Allan Havili. The defensive tackle is out of Tooele (Utah) High School, and is ranked a three-star prospect. He is considered the 40th-best defensive tackle in the country, and the fifth-best player in the state.

You’ll note that those players are ranked third through fifth in the state of Utah. The top prospect in the state, defensive tackle Bryan Mone, committed to Michigan, while the second-best player in Utah, tight end Dalton Schultz, is still considering the Utes.

•Solving Johnny Manziel: Chris “Smart Football” Brown on Bama-A&M

• Five-part SI investigation into Oklahoma State football coming out

•Spencer Hall recaps Week 2, and Mack Brown needs a home

• Look closely: Jadeveon Clowney is doing just fine

• Would coaches rather replace Mack Brown or Lane Kiffin?

• Today’s college football news headlines