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Few spots remain in Utah's 2015 recruiting class, but coaches have been getting an early start on 2016.

Utah's third commitment — that The Tribune knows of, at least — came earlier this week when defensive back Micah Croom, of Anaheim's Servite High, delivered what he calls a "strong verbal" pledge.

Croom is listed as a 6-foot-2, 195-pound three-star cornerback in his Rivals profile, but would likely play safety at the U.

He was first offered as a freshman by Utah cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah and felt "just really, really appreciative and grateful to him," he said by phone Sunday.

Helping matters is that Croom worked out at Long Beach Poly High — where he played as a freshman and sophomore — with Utah senior and Poly alum Kaelin Clay. Servite teammate Equanimeous St. Brown also visited Salt Lake City during Utah's game against Oregon and reported that "he had a heck of a time," Croom said.

Beyond his close relationship with Shah, Croom was swayed by conversations with defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake and head coach Kyle Whittingham, as well as handwritten letters from Utah's coaches.

And he was swayed by success. Watching Utah beat the likes of Michigan, USC, UCLA and Stanford, he felt "it's definitely something I want to be a part of."

Croom said he's received interest from Washington State, Cal, UCLA, Oregon State and Washington, and hopes to hear more from Stanford.

Just a junior, he isn't ready to say his mind is made up.

"I made it very clear to them that it wasn't a complete commitment," he said, "because anything could change until I sign on the dotted line."

He played running back at Poly and still works out at cornerback to maintain his footwork, he said, adding that, genetically, it's in the cards for him to become bigger.

Croom said he's split right now on whether he will study sociology — like his brother, former UNLV star running back Larry Croom, and his father — or psychology.

Here's a list of the Utah football commits the Tribune has reported on. Click for details:

2015

2016

2017

— Matthew Piper

Twitter: @matthew_piper