Utah lands Miami St. Thomas Aquinas RB Devontae Henry-Cole
Written by Ryan Wright
The Utes coaching staff pulled off a recruiting coup of sorts on Saturday landing St. Thomas Aquinas running back Devontae Henry-Cole.
Henry-Cole (5’9”, 190) plays for national football powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Florida). In 2014 the Raiders steamrolled through the season posting a 15-1 mark that included a Florida state championship only losing to New Jersey powerhouse Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey.
The 2014 St. Thomas Aquinas squad produced 14 Division-I signees including running backs Jordan Scarlett (Florida) and Deltron Sands (Oregon State). The 2015 squad is once again loaded with more than 10 players expected to sign with D-I teams on National Signing Day, six players have already verbally committed WR Sam Bruce (Miami), WR Michael Irvin Jr. (Miami), DB Frank Coppet (Vanderbilt), WR Dominic Thieman (Illinois), DB Dontye Carriere-Williams (Cincinnati), and Henry Cole.
With the sweeping changes on the roster Henry-Cole and fellow running back James Charles are expected to carry the load in the Raiders backfield.
Utah was able to land Cole over early offers from Cincinnati, Wake Forest, Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee State, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Southern Miss, and Pitt.
The Utes now have 11 verbal commitments to their 2015 recruiting class. All but two recruits are from outside the state of Utah.
If Henry-Cole needs a year of seasoning before becoming a featured Pac-12 running back for Utah, the Utes coaching staff have already added JUCO standout Thomas McDonald to replace senior tailback Devontae Booker at the end of the 2015 season.
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 Devontae Henry-Cole, 5’9”, 190 lbs, St. Thomas Aquinas, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
RB Thomas McDonald, 5’10”, 195 lbs, Grossmont C.C., El Cajon, California
QB Kahi Neves, 6’3”, 235 lbs, Brighton HS, Salt Lake City, Utah
TE Cole Fotheringham, 6’5”, 220 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: utah.edu.com; Utah fans cheer on the Utes.