2022 Utah State Football Signing Day Release (Dec. 15)

LOGAN, Utah (Wednesday, Dec. 15) – Utah State head football coach Blake Anderson announced portions of his second signing class on Wednesday, as part of the NCAA Early Signing Day. The class, which includes 14 total players, is comprised of 11 high school athletes and three four-year transfers.

"It's a great foundation for what we're trying to do," Anderson said. "We'll focus more with the back half of this class on veteran-type bodies that could fill in key, veteran departures. On the front of this, we wanted to make a big emphasis on building the fronts and we wanted to stay close to home. Six guys from the state is huge. We have another one from right down the road in Idaho Falls with Paul Fitzgerald. We get a built-in family member in Sione (Motu'apuaka), Hale's big, little brother. Then, we have a guy like Anthony Switzer who we already know, spent time with and recruited. It's a great foundation for what we're wanting to do with key positions on the offensive and defensive line and skill positions such as a quarterback and running back. We'll just continue to build around that. It's a great start."

Of the 14 players, seven will enroll at Utah State in January for the 2022 spring semester.

"A big key for us winning this year was how many guys we could add last January, who could go through spring and through summer," Anderson added. "This is no different and we're not done. There is a chance that over the course of the holidays we could potentially add a few more transition players, whether it be transfer portal or junior college guys that graduate on time. To have that many guys coming in January already out of this class, especially getting out of high school early, they don't go into fall camp like a freshman. They have a chance to really go into it like a veteran and be part of the two-deep."

The state of Utah produced the most signees with six, followed by three players from Texas, and one player each from Arkansas, California, Florida, Hawaii and Idaho.

Eight of Anderson's signees are defensive players with five linebackers, two defensive linemen and one defensive back. Of the six offensive players that signed, three are offensive linemen and two are quarterbacks, to go along with one running back.

Utah State will announce its complete 2022 signing class on Wednesday, Feb. 2.

HIGH SCHOOL SIGNEES (11)

Max Alford^	LB	6-1	215	Fr.	HS	Park City, Utah (Park City HS)
Teague Andersen	OL	6-5	285	Fr.	HS	Lehi, Utah (Lehi HS)
Robert Briggs	RB	5-7	170	Fr.	HS	Bellville, Texas (Bellville HS)
Bishop Davenport	QB	6-1	190	Fr.	HS	Spring, Texas (Spring HS)
Paul Fitzgerald^	DE	6-3	235	Fr.	HS	Idaho Falls, Idaho (Thunder Ridge HS)
Lofa Fonoti-Maikui^	LB	6-3	185	Fr.	HS	Layton, Utah (Northridge HS)
Weylin Lapuaho^	OL	6-4	295	Fr.	HS	South Jordan, Utah (Bingham HS)
Sione Motu'apuaka	OL	6-5	280	Fr.	HS	Honolulu, Hawaii (Radford HS)
Adam Tomczyk	DT	6-4	260	Fr.	HS	Los Alamitos, California (Los Alamitos HS)
Chase Tuatagaloa	QB	6-4	200	Fr.	HS	Orem, Utah (Orem HS)
Joshua Williams	LB	6-2	205	Fr.	HS	Mesquite, Texas (Mesquite HS)

FOUR-YEAR TRANSFERS (3)

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	Exp.	Hometown (High School/Last School)
Gurvan Hall Jr.^	S	6-0	190	Sr.	TR	West Palm Beach, Florida (Palm Beach Gardens HS/Miami)
Anthony Switzer^	LB	6-0	205	Jr.	TR	Marion, Arkansas (Marion HS/Arkansas State)
MJ Tafisi^	LB	6-0	230	Jr.	TR	West Jordan, Utah (Alta HS/Washington)

^ Will enroll at Utah State for the 2022 spring semester.

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
Teague Andersen -- Teeg
Lofa Fonoti-Maikui -- Low-fuh Phone-owe-tee My-koo-ee
Gurvan Hall Jr. -- Gur-vun
Weylin Lapuaho -- Lah-poo-ah-ho
Sione Motu'apuaka -- See-oh-knee Mow-too-uh-poo-uh-kuh
MJ Tafisi -- Tuh-fee-cee
Adam Tomczyk -- Tom-zik
Chase Tuatagaloa -- Too-uh-tung-uh-low-uh

2022 UTAH STATE FOOTBALL SIGNEES BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

MAX ALFORD • LB • 6-1 • 215 • FR • HS • Park City, Utah (Park City HS)
High School: Three-star recruit by 247Sports.com… Injured during the season opener of his senior season… Ran for 1,020 yards and nine touchdowns on 98 carries as a junior, adding 30 receptions for 448 yards and two touchdowns to lead Park City (Utah) High School to the quarterfinals of the 2020 UHSAA State 4A Football Championships… Had six 100-yard rushing games as a junior, including a career-high 171 yards on nine carries against Ogden HS... Had multiple rushing touchdowns against Juan Diego HS, Tooele HS and Ogden HS... Also played basketball and lacrosse at Park City HS.

TEAGUE ANDERSEN • OL • 6-5 • 285 • FR • HS • Lehi, Utah (Lehi HS)
High School: Three-star prospect and 34th-best recruit in the state of Utah according to 247Sports.com… Ranked the No. 95 interior offensive lineman in the country according to 247Sports.com… Earned first-team all-region honors as both a junior and senior, and honorable mention all-state honors as a junior... Helped lead Lehi (Utah) High School to an 11-3 overall record and a state championship as a senior with a 35-6 win against Springville HS in the title game… Helped the Pioneers to 4,923 yards of total offense (351.6 ypg)... Registered 14 pancake blocks during his junior season.

ROBERT BRIGGS • RB • 5-7 • 170 • FR • HS • Bellville, Texas (Bellville HS)
High School: Named the Texas District 12-4A-II Utility Player of the Year as a junior in 2020… Earned Texas 12-4A-II first-team all-district honors at both running back and returner as a sophomore in 2019… Was named the Texas District 12-4A-II Offensive Newcomer of the Year as a freshman in 2018… Totaled over 3,300 rushing yards on 318 carries across four years at Bellville (Texas) High School, scoring 43 touchdowns while adding 68 catches for 1,357 yards and 20 touchdowns… Had 11-career 100-yard rushing games and one career 100-yard receiving game... Also had 790 career kickoff return yards, 611 career punt return yards and 301 career interception return yards... Returned four punts and two kickoffs for touchdowns... Added 110 career tackles and eight interceptions as a defensive back, to go along with 18 pass breakups... Returned four interceptions for touchdowns... Ran 124 times for 1,381 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior, adding 21 catches for 562 yards and eight touchdowns to lead Bellville HS to a 12-1 season and a first-place finish in the 4A-2 Region III 12 District… Had six 100-yard rushing games as a senior, including a career-high 216 yards on 10 carries and a career-high four touchdowns against Sweeny HS... Also played basketball as a freshman and sophomore at Bellville HS… Set the school record at Bellville HS for the 100 meters in 2019 with a time of 10.91 seconds.

BISHOP DAVENPORT • QB • 6-1 • 190 • FR • HS • Spring, Texas (Spring HS)
High School: Named the Texas District 14-6A co-Offensive MVP and a first-team quarterback as a prep senior in 2021 and the Texas District 14-6A Overall MVP as a junior in 2020 at Spring (Texas) High School... Threw for 7,433 yards during his prep career, as he was 486-of-714 (.681) passing with 77 touchdowns and 15 interceptions... Also rushed for 1,667 yards on 232 carries (7.2 ypr) with 16 touchdowns as he had five 100-yard rushing games... Was 234-of-342 (.684) passing for 3,807 yards with 41 touchdowns and 10 interceptions as a senior… Added 766 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 114 carries to lead the Lions to an 11-2 season…  Had 11 200-yard and seven 300-yard passing games as a senior, including a career-high 430 yards against Benjamin Davis HS, as he was 24-of-33... Threw a career-high six touchdowns against MacArthur HS and had five touchdown passes in four other games... Rushed for a season-high 121 yards on 15 carries against Klein Cain HS... Was 234-of-336 (.696) passing for 3,459 yards with 36 touchdowns and three interceptions as a junior… Added 97 carries for 680 yards and seven touchdowns to help Spring HS to a 9-1 record and a first-place finish in 6A Region II District 14... Passed for at least 200 yards in all 10 games and had nine 300-yard games, to go along with two 400-yard outings... Rushed for a career-high 140 yards on 10 carries and a career-best three touchdowns against Dekaney HS.

PAUL FITZGERALD • DE • 6-3 • 235 • FR • HS • Idaho Falls, Idaho (Thunder Ridge HS)
High School: Three-star recruit by 247Sports.com… Rated as the fourth-best recruit from Idaho and the 97th-best edge defender in the 2022 recruiting class according to 247Sports.com... Prepped at Thunder Ridge High School in Idaho Falls, Idaho... Had 31 tackles, which included 7.5 sacks and 16.0 tackles for loss, to go along with four forced fumbles, two blocked punts and one pass breakup as a senior... Earned Idaho Class 5A first-team all-conference honors as both a sophomore and junior.

LOFA FONOTI-MAIKUI • LB • 6-3 • 185 • FR • HS • Layton, Utah (Northridge HS)
High School: Three-star recruit by 247Sports.com… Rated the 33rd-best overall recruit in the state of Utah… Passed for 2,824 yards and 27 touchdowns during his senior season at Northridge High School in Layton, Utah, helping lead the Knights to the first round of the 5A state playoffs… Completed 62.4 percent of his passes during the season (161-of-258), averaging 17.5 yards per completion… Was the second-leading rusher on the team with 301 yards and seven touchdowns on 47 carries… Passed for a career-high 401 yards and four touchdowns in a 46-27 win against Viewmont HS… Threw a career-high six touchdown passes on 15-of-22 completions as the Knights shut out Cottonwood HS 48-0… Also played linebacker for Northridge HS, recording 54 tackles and one interception as a senior… Tied his career high with 12 tackles in a 37-27 win at Box Elder HS… Also had a double-digit tackle outing against Bonneville HS, tallying 10 stops in the first round of the state playoffs… Played both outside linebacker and quarterback during his junior season at Layton HS, finishing the season with 78 tackles, including 6.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks, to go along with a forced fumble… As a sophomore in 2019, he racked up a team-high 77 tackles and 3.0 sacks... Name is pronounced Low-fuh Phone-owe-tee My-koo-ee.

GURVAN HALL JR. • S • 6-0 • 190 • SR • TR • West Palm Beach, Florida (Palm Beach Gardens HS/Miami)
Previous School: Spent four seasons (2018-21) at the University of Miami, Florida, as he appeared in 43 career games with 18 starts and had 148 total tackles, which included 2.0 sacks and 6.0 tackles for loss, to go along with six pass breakups, one interception and one fumble recovery... Played in seven games with four starts this past season for Miami and finished the year with 31 tackles, which included 1.0 tackles for loss... Tied his career high with 10 tackles against Appalachian State... Played in all 11 games in 2020, which included three starts... Finished the season with 43 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, while adding three pass breakups... Had a season-high eight tackles against Pittsburgh... Played in all 13 games with 11 starts as a sophomore in 2019... Ranked second on the team with 66 tackles, which included 2.0 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss, to go along with one interception and one fumble recovery... Also had three pass breakups... Had a career-high 10 tackles against Central Michigan... First-career interception was against Florida State, returning it 26 yards, while his first-career fumble recovery was against Pittsburgh... Saw action in 12 games as a true freshman in 2018 and finished the year with eight tackles... Played in three bowl games with the Hurricanes.
High School: Consensus four-star prospect by ESPN.com, 247Sports.com and Rivals.com… Listed as the 14th-best safety in the nation and the 38th-best recruit in the state of Florida by ESPN.com… Ranked No. 15 at his position and No. 32 in Florida by 247Sports.com… Rated the 17th-best safety and 40th player in Florida by Rivals.com… Appeared on ESPN.com's Top 300, ranked 178th… Selected to the 2018 Under Armour All-America Game in Orlando, Florida.… Named to the 2017 Sun Sentinel All-Palm Beach first team… Received Palm Beach County First Team All-Conference honors from the Palm Beach Post in 2016… Saw significant action on both offense and defense throughout his high school career at Palm Beach Gardens High School in West Palm Beach, Florida.

WEYLIN LAPUAHO • OL • 6-4 • 295 • FR • HS • South Jordan, Utah (Bingham HS)
High School: Earned honorable mention all-state honors following his junior season in 2020 as he helped anchor a strong Bingham High School (Layton, Utah) offensive line… The Miners rushed for 2,647 yards – 220.6 yards an outing – and 25 touchdowns… Bingham HS averaged 5.4 yards per carry and went 8-4, losing to eventual state champion Corner Canyon HS in the quarterfinals of the 6A state playoffs… Helped the Miners advance to the quarterfinals of the 2021 6A state playoffs, losing to eventual champion Lone Peak 21-14… En route to finishing the season with a 9-3 record, helped pave the way for the Miners to rush for 2,249 yards… His cousin is USU defensive line coach Al Lapuaho... Last name is pronounced Lah-poo-ah-ho.

SIONE MOTU'APUAKA • OL • 6-5 • 280 • FR • HS • Honolulu, Hawaii (Radford HS)
High School: Three-star prospect and fourth-best recruit in the state of Hawaii according to 247Sports.com… Ranked the No. 117 interior offensive lineman in the country according to 247Sports.com… Helped lead Radford High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, to an 8-4 overall record and a spot in the state playoffs as a senior... His brother, Hale, is a junior defensive tackle for USU.

ANTHONY SWITZER • LB • 6-0 • 205 • JR • TR • Marion, Arkansas (Marion HS/Arkansas State)
Previous School: Spent three seasons (2019-21) at Arkansas State, appearing in 24 games with 15 starts... Had 92 total tackles, which included 5.0 tackles for loss, to go along with four pass breakups, three forced fumbles and one interception… Played in eight games with seven starts as a sophomore in 2021... Finished the season with 39 tackles, including one tackle for loss… Also had two pass breakups, one quarterback hurry and a forced fumble… Had a season-high eight tackles against Memphis and six stops against Coastal Carolina... Finished the 2020 season with 30 tackles, a team-high two forced fumbles, one interception and two pass breakups… Recorded at least one tackle in every game and had multiple stops in six outings… Had a season-high nine tackles against Coastal Carolina... Also had an interception and forced fumble against the Chanticleers... Added six tackles against Georgia State and five stops against Kansas State... Tallied three tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup against Central Arkansas... Posted 23 tackles and 3.0 tackles for loss as a true freshman in 2019… Fifteen of his 23 tackles came in the last two regular-season games... Had a season-high eight tackles against Georgia Southern, to go along with seven tackles against South Alabama and six stops against Texas State... Posted a season-high 2.0 tackles for loss against TSU...  Tallied at least one tackle in five games and had at least six stops in three contests... Was a member of the Arkansas State Athletic Director's Honor Roll in 2019 and 2020.
High School: Ranked the No. 47 player in Arkansas by Rivals.com… Named Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) Class 6A All-State as a senior in 2018 at Marion (Arkansas) High School, as he registered 51 total tackles, including 25 solo, and an interception... Also competed in basketball and track & field.

MJ TAFISI • LB • 6-0 • 230 • JR • TR • West Jordan, Utah (Alta HS/Washington)
Previous School: Spent four seasons (2018-21) at Washington, appearing in 22 games… Finished his Husky career with 40 tackles, including 1.0 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss, to go along with one pass breakup... Had 20 tackles, including 0.5 tackles for loss, and a pass breakup in eight games this past season... Tied his career high with five tackles against California and had four stops against both Stanford and Montana... Played in all four games in 2020 and had four tackles, including a season-high two stops, which included a sack, against Arizona... Appeared in seven games as a redshirt freshman in 2019 and had 13 tackles, including a career-high five stops against Eastern Washington... Redshirted the 2018 season as he played in three games and had three tackles, including a season-high two stops against Oregon State.   
High School: Listed as the No. 20 inside linebacker in the country by 247Sports.com… Ranked the No. 23 inside linebacker in the nation by ESPN and No. 24 by Rivals.com as he tallied 418 tackles, including 37.0 tackles for loss, during his prep career at Alta High School in Sandy, Utah... Named the Deseret News 5A Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2017, as he posted 133 tackles, including 19.0 tackles for loss, to go along with four interceptions...  Also earned first-team all-state honors from both the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News following his senior season... Posted 200 tackles, including 16.0 tackles for loss, as a junior to help the Hawks go 11-2 and make it to the semifinals of the 4A state playoffs... Helped the Hawks to an 8-4 mark and the 4A state quarterfinals as a sophomore in 2015... Also played on the varsity team as a freshman in 2014... Last name is pronounced Tuh-fee-cee.

ADAM TOMCZYK • DT • 6-4 • 260 • FR • HS • Los Alamitos, California (Los Alamitos HS)
High School: Three-star recruit by to 247Sports.com… Helped lead Los Alamitos (California) High School to a 9-2 overall record as a senior in 2021, losing to St. John Bosco HS in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs… Recorded 79 career tackles, including 12.5 sacks, three quarterback hurries and one forced fumble for the Griffins… Caught one pass for a 3-yard touchdown as a senior… Finished his senior year with 47 tackles, including 9.0 sacks and 12.0 tackles for loss, to go along with one forced fumble… Helped Los Alamitos HS go 6-0 as a junior, recording 31 tackles, including 4.0 sacks and 8.0 tackles for loss, and one pass breakup during the shortened spring season… Ranked second on his team in tackles for loss.

CHASE TUATAGALOA • QB • 6-4 • 200 • FR • HS • Orem, Utah (Orem HS)
High School: Three-star recruit by 247Sports.com and the No. 41 prospect from the state of Utah… Played both quarterback and tight end in high school… Transferred to Orem (Utah) High School from Bingham HS prior to the 2019 season… Helped the Tigers capture back-to-back 5A state titles as a sophomore and junior… Completed 127-of-201 passes (63.2 percent) for 1,683 yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior in 2021, leading Orem HS to the semifinals of the state playoffs… Was 23-of-44 for 415 yards and four touchdowns, both career highs, against Desert Pines (Las Vegas, Nevada) HS… Had multiple touchdown passes in six of the Tigers' 10 games… Was 16-of-22 for 120 yards and two touchdowns in the semifinal loss to Springville HS… Also had two touchdown passes against Jordan HS, Pleasant Grove HS and East HS… Completed just seven passes, including three for touchdowns, in a 68-0 rout over rival Mountain View HS… Rushed for 222 yards and one touchdown on 45 carries during the season… Ran for a career-high 68 yards on a career-high 11 attempts against Springville HS… His lone rushing touchdown was on a 3-yard run as the visiting Tigers upset Bountiful HS 40-33 in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs… Also intercepted one pass and kicked one extra point… During an injury-shortened junior campaign, caught seven passes for 81 yards and one touchdown... Last name is pronounced Too-uh-tung-uh-low-uh.

JOSHUA WILLIAMS • LB • 6-2 • 205 • FR • HS • Mesquite, Texas (Mesquite HS)
High School: Registered 89 tackles, including 3.0 sacks and 6.0 tackles for loss, to go along with two interceptions, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one pass breakup as a prep senior at Mesquite (Texas) High School in 2021… Scored two defensive touchdowns during his senior campaign on a fumble recovery and interception… Also blocked five field goals and one punt in 2021… Had three double-digit tackle outings during his senior season, including a career-high 14 stops against both Horn HS and Sachse HS... Also had 11 tackles against Arlington HS... Had five kickoffs for 169 yards, averaging 33.8 yards per kick… Also punted 44 times for 1,574 yards and an average of 34.6 yards per punt.