West Salt Lake City vs. Mater Dei Preview: Players to Watch
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One of the top 6A football teams in Utah is headed to Southern California to play one of the top two teams in the nation in Mater Dei. Very few teams from California agree to play Mater Dei in nonleague…
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Continue ReadingOne of the top 6A football teams in Utah is headed to Southern California to play one of the top two teams in the nation in Mater Dei.
Very few teams from California agree to play Mater Dei in nonleague games, so it’s admirable for West to make the trip and see how they match up.
West has 16 returning starters from last year’s team that won the Region 2 championship before losing to Farmington in the playoffs. The team has six players ranked in the top 100 of the Prep Redzone Utah rankings.
6-foot-5, 225-pound defensive lineman Talitui Pututau Talitui Pututau 6’5″ | 225 lbs | DL West | 2023 State UT is the highest-touted player with offers from Arizona State, BYU, Colorado, Utah State and Weber State.
He is an excellent run defender who can eat up double teams and maintain gap integrity.
Vailhali rushed for over 8 yards per carry in 2021 and had six touchdowns.
He has offers from Nevada and Utah State and is the No. 2 running back in the state according to Prep Redzone.
Falatea is a smaller but very solid interior offensive lineman. He has a good motor and is athletic enough to get down the field on screens.
He recently got is first offer from Idaho State.
Highlights
West is really solid on the defensive line and at linebacker. It’s hard to move the ball steadily on them and they may force Mater Dei to throw more than it wants to early in the game. Faimafilli Snuka Faimafilli Snuka 6'1" | 230 lbs | LB West | 2023 State UT is a solid linebacker and Kymani Lautaimi Kymani Lautaimi 6'2" | 240 lbs | DL West | 2023 State UT are also big contributors in the front seven for West.
Sua is one of the best linebackers in the state and was the MVP of the linebackers at the Under Armour Next All-American camp.
He can stop the run and covers a ton of the field with his lateral quickness. Arizona, Stanford and Washington are his final three schools right now.
Mater Dei has one of the best offensive lines in the nation and it’s led by left tackle DeAndre Carter DeAndre Carter 6’5″ | 350 lbs | OL Mater Dei | 2024 State CA who has started since his freshman year.
Carter is an elite pass rusher who moves very well for someone close to 350 pounds. Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Oregon, Texas A&M and USC have all offered him.
Mater Dei’s junior class is its strongest in awhile. Zabien Brown Zabien Brown 6'1" | 180 lbs | DB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA is the leader of the secondary. Ajon Bryant Ajon Bryant 5'7" | 160 lbs | RB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA is the versatile starting running back and Jack Ressler Jack Ressler 5'11" | 185 lbs | WR Mater Dei | 2024 State CA is the receiver with upside. Brandon Baker Brandon Baker 6'5" | 290 lbs | OL Mater Dei | 2024 State CA is the right tackle with multiple Power 5 offers and Aydin Breland Aydin Breland 6'5" | 290 lbs | DL Mater Dei | 2024 State CA is the best defensive lineman on the squad.
BOTTOM LINE
West has the strength up front to make Mater Dei uncomfortable at times. I don’t think they have the depth at the skill positions to stop Mater Dei’s passing offense.
Elijah Brown is the best quarterback West has seen in years and he can beat them underneath or on deep balls.
West has a handful of players with Division 1 offers. Every starter on Mater Dei has at least one Division 1 offer. Kudos to West for making the trip to play Mater Dei, but this should be a blowout.