Top 6 Utah high school football recruits in the Class of 2016

Utah produced a bumper crop of high school football talent in 2015, as major college football programs ranging from USC to Michigan State harvested the state for talent. Odds are good Utah will continue to emerge as a recruiting hotspot in 2016. The talent pool for the state's 2016 class is filled to overflowing.


Video: Season of 2015-16
See highlights of Murray's Maxs Tupai from last season.

Maxs Tupai, Murray, 6-foot-2, 245 pounds
Teams that like bruising and physical linebackers will drool over the potential Tupai offers. He emerged as a defensive force for Murray last fall, tallying 60 tackles and 11.5 sacks on the line. It helped the Spartans snap a streak of nine consecutive losing seasons and reach the playoffs for the first time since 2006. The four-star prospect has drawn offers from several colleges and has shown major interest in UCLA, USC, Texas Tech, Oregon and Mississippi.

Simi Fehoko, Brighton (Salt Lake City), 6-3, 195
Fehoko is the latest four-star prospect in the Bengals' talent pipeline. He burst onto the scene on both sides of the ball two years ago and is ranked among the top 50 receivers nationally. Fehoko is coming off a junior season where he tallied 1,656 yards and 24 touchdowns. His explosive speed and athleticism have made him into a coveted recruit for several major colleges nationwide. Fehoko chose Stanford as his final destination this past weekend, selecting to play for the Cardinal over Utah, BYU, Washington and Michigan.

Keaton Torre, Bingham (South Jordan), 6-3, 195
Beating the defending Class 5A champions will be just as tough in 2015 as it was a year ago with Torre under center. He moved to Utah from Oklahoma in December. Over his last two seasons at Santa Fe High, Torre totaled 2,822 yards, 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He is a prototypical strong-armed, pro-style quarterback. Torre decommitted from Louisville in the spring and has expressed interest in BYU, Utah, Arizona State, Stanford, California, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.

Fua Pututau, Cottonwood (Salt Lake City), 6-3, 230
The Colts are no strangers to producing dominant linemen and Pututau certainly fits that bill. He has tallied 20.5 career sacks in three seasons. Pututau had 90 tackles as a junior, averaging 8.2 per game and accumulated 10 or more tackles in four of his final five games of the 2014 season. Utah, Washington, Oregon State and Washington State have all offered the defensive end.

Keenan Pili, Timpview (Provo), 6-2, 200
Pili has made a name for himself as a quality defensive player at Timpview – a school with a rich tradition on that side of the ball. He tallied 73 tackles and a pair of interceptions while helping the T-Birds win a third-consecutive Class 4A championship. Timpview enters this fall with 26 consecutive victories dating back to 2013 and Pili will help make it tough for opponents to stop the streak with his toughness and athleticism. He has drawn offers from BYU, Utah, California, Washington State, Vanderbilt, Wyoming, UNLV and Nevada.

Drew Jensen, Brighton, 6-2, 195
Injuries caused Jensen, a BYU commit, to slip off the radar a bit the past two seasons. He suffered a season-ending knee injury in Brighton's second game last season. Jensen also broke his wrist after five games two years ago. When he is healthy, Jensen is speedy, versatile and finds a way to make plays all over the field. He can play at quarterback, safety, receiver and running back. Jensen will start at quarterback this fall – the first time he's played at that position since the first five games of the 2013 season. He accumulated 1,261 yards of total offense at quarterback during his freshman season.

NOTE: all star rankings are courtesy of 247Sports.

John Coon covers Utah high school sports for MaxPreps. He can be reached at john_coon@hotmail.com and you can follow him on twitter at @johncoonsports