Utah has a reputation as a player evaluation and development program. Throughout his time as the Utes’ head coach, Kyle Whittingham has built up a program by bringing in unheralded recruits and turning them into stars.

Lately, Utah is starting to win more and more recruiting battles for players who immediately look like stars. The Utes signed six 4-star recruits on Wednesday when the Early Signing Period opened to power a class that ranks top-25 for the first time in program history.

“According to the websites and services, this is probably the best class we’ve ever signed statistically,” Whittingham told reporters on Wednesday during a signing day press conference. “A lot of positive things there, but still not finished.”

And certainly still not growing.

Utah’s recruiting efforts have benefitted greatly from Utah’s on-field success. Back-to-back Pac-12 championships have set the stage for the highest-ranked class in program history. And 247Sports’ insider Brandon Huffman thinks things will only continue to trend in the right direction.

“I think it’s more or less what the Pac-12 has feared. What happens when Kyle Whittingham starts bringing elite talent into Salt Lake City like he’s done the last three or four years?” Huffman told the Pac-12 Network. “You go back to that 2020 class, coming off the year where they were a trendy Playoff team, even though they lost in the Pac-12 Championship Game, that was the recruiting class that really showed just what Utah can do.

“When they flipped Clark Phillips, when they flipped Van Fillinger. Now you look at these last three or four classes, getting a guy like Lander Barton a year ago. This year they’ve been able to clean house in-state with Spencer Fano, with Hunter Clegg, with Smith Snowden — a couple of BYU legacies.

“That’s huge for not just Kyle Whittingham but that’s huge for the Utah program that even with BYU making a conference move of their own, Utah is the power in the Pac-12. And now the recruiting is catching up with a program and a staff that has been phenomenal at player development and player evaluation.”