San Clemente TE Cole Fotheringham discusses verbal commitment to Utah Utes
Written by Ryan Wright
Utah went into southern California again on Monday pulling out one of the top receiving tight ends in the 2016 recruiting class, Cole Fotheringham.
Fotheringham, listed at 6’5”, 225 pounds, jumped onto the recruiting scene during his junior season piling up 650 receiving yards on 55 receptions along with nine touchdowns. San Clemente High School went on to post a 12-2 season and college recruiters took notice.
Utah was able to land Fotheringham over offers from BYU, Boise State, Utah State, and Nevada. Teams like USC, Arizona, Washington, and Nebraska that were taking a wait-and-see approach with Fotheringham have now missed out.
In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview I sat down with Cole to get the inside scoop on his commitment to Utah.
Cole, first off, congratulations on your commitment to Utah.
“Thanks.”
What led you to commit to Utah this early in your recruiting process?
“I talked to a bunch of people that were starting to commit already. Utah had a bunch of commitments so I started thinking maybe I should focus on making a decision. I felt really good about Utah and I went with it.”
How did the commitment take place?
“I called Coach (Aaron) Roderick (co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach). I was actually up in Utah with my family but I never met with him because of the dead period. We got back to California and I called Coach Roderick and committed.”
What was Coach Roderick’s reaction when you committed?
“He was excited. He’s been recruiting me for a while since I was a sophomore, like the beginning of my sophomore year. He was the first coach I had a relationship with which made everything special because he has been working really hard with me. He was also – he didn’t think it was going to happen.”
Have you talked to Coach Kyle Whittingham?
“No, I have not had a chance to talk to him yet. He’s been on vacation with his family. We’re setting something up when he gets back.”
How did you feel at that moment when you verbally committed?
“I felt good. It was a nice release to be done with the recruiting process and not to have to worry about it anymore. I can focus on my team and what we are going to do this season.”
You’ve taken an unofficial visit to the Utah campus already haven’t you?
“Yeah, we’ve been there a couple of times.”
Do you plan on taking any of your official visits to other schools besides Utah during your senior year?
“I don’t think so. Maybe a couple I don’t know but I’m not sure. I haven’t even set up my official visit to Utah yet.”
Will you start recruiting other players to join you at Utah?
“Maybe, if I get the chance I can try to persuade someone to go to Utah. I’m not trying to force anyone to go anywhere.”
What have you been doing in the offseason to prepare for your senior year?
“I was doing a little bit of training but not too much. I’ve been playing a lot of basketball during the summer. That’s about to be over and I’ll fully focus on football. We just started our high school practice so we’re just getting into that. When football starts up basketball starts to deflate and I’m ready to get back into it.”
Utah 2016 Verbal Commitment List
DB Micah Croom, 6’2”, 190 lbs, La Mirada HS, La Mirada, California
LB Kurtis Taufa, 6’2”, 230 lbs, Snow College, Ephraim, Utah
DT David Fangupo, 6’1”, 290 lbs, Cerritos C.C., Norwalk, California
RB Thomas McDonald, Grossmont C.C., El Cajon, California
QB Kahi Neves, 6’3”, 235 lbs, Brighton HS, Salt Lake City, Utah
TE Cole Fotheringham, 6’5”, 225 lbs, San Clemente HS, San Clemente, California
OG Tucker Scott, 6’5”, 265 lbs, San Clemente HS, San Clemente, California
K/P Mitch Wishnowsky, 6’4”, 220 lbs, Santa Barbara C.C., Santa Barbara, California
ATH Davir Hamilton, 6’3”, 200 lbs, Verbum Dei HS, Los Angeles, California
ATH Daevon Vigilant, 5’7”, 180 lbs, Downey HS, Downey, California
Photo credit: twitter.com; Cole at a one-day exposure camp.