Utah Football - Utes secure huge commitment

A month before training camp is scheduled to start, Utah football gains a huge victory on the recruiting trail.

Aaron Sharp - a 6-foot-3 quarterback out of Texas - is now a Ute, per his twitter.

One of the best dual-threat signal callers in the country, Sharp made the announcement on Friday night, picking Kyle Whittingham's team over Baylor, Mississippi State, Arizona State, Colorado, Kansas State and Houston. In addition to those schools - from whom he had scholarship offers - Sharp was receiving interest from Ohio State, Alabama and LSU.

It amounts to a big win for Utah, as Sharp was the top ranked quarterback prospect on the recruiting board. As an athlete, Sharp has explosion, is fast and is the current Class 4A 400 meter state track champion. Teams were looking at Sharp as an athlete, but he made it known he wants to be a quarterback, and the Utes are going to afford him that opportunity. Out of Houston, Sharp completed 65 percent of his passes as a junior, throwing 38 touchdown passes and just six interceptions.

Sharp's commitment means Utah has received pledges from a coveted target in three consecutive classes. Travis Wilson enters fall camp as the starter heading into his sophomore season. Connor Manning and Brandon Cox will be freshmen in the fall, while Sharp is on deck for 2014.

Tony Jones