Utah football: Utes happy to get their quarterback

The Utes can breathe a bit of a sigh of relief this morning with quarterback Donovan Isom officially signing. His allegiance to the Utes wasn't in question, but with all the surprises of Signing Day, he is one less player the Utes have to worry about having a change of heart.

Isom is a solid, dual-threat quarterback who passed for more than 2,600 yards and 33 touchdowns with just two interceptions. He also rushed 82 times for 530 yards.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said on Wednesday the Utes are still waiting to hear if Travis Wilson will be able to return. If he can't, Adam Schulz, Brandon Cox and Conner Manning will be the main contenders for the starting role, but having Isom in the mix could make things interesting.

Also hearing that Tre Watson, a running back out of Corona, Calif., the Utes recruited heavily, will stick with his commitment to Cal and that Brayden Lenius, a California receiver the Utes made a late push for, is destined for Washington.

Utah's signing day is slow but steady, with defensive tackle Pasoni Tasini officially signing to add some heft to the class. The 6-foot-2, 260-pound defensive tackle has three years to play two, but is expected to contend for a starting role since the Utes need replacements for Tenny Palepoi and LT Tuipulotu.

Tasini is listed as 260 pounds, but his weight already is up to about 273 and coaches believe he'll eventually hit 300 pounds.

His journey to Utah has been a long one since he originally signed out of Baldwin H.S. in Hawaii in 2012. He went to Snow College instead and became the team captain, finishing with 44 tackles and a fumble recovery and pass breakup in 2013.

There was some late concern he might not have his academics in order in time to sign with the Utes, but apparently he took care of business.

-Lya Wodraska