Utah’s football program announced Tuesday via its Twitter account that Mike Tafua, a defensive end from Hawaii who originally signed with BYU, has joined the program and been placed on scholarship.
The 6-foot-3, 228-pound Tafua went on an LDS church mission in 2015. He earned first-team all-state honors as well as Interscholastic Honolulu co-Defensive Player of the Year as a senior at Kamehameha High School before his LDS church mission.
Tafua, a three-sport athlete who competed in basketball and track, earned a three-star rating from 247Sports, Scout.com and Rivals.com as well as a four-star rating from ESPN.com.
Tafua joining the Utes program comes on the heels of a pair of Herriman High standouts, offensive lineman Jaren Kump and tight end/defensive end David Fotu, committing to the Utes after previously committing to BYU.