Utes land Texas defensive back

Damien Payne, a 6-foot, 185-pound defensive back from Klein Forest High School in Texas, has given the University of Utah an early recruiting commitment.
“I just felt like it was the right school for me,” said Payne, who plans to graduate early and enroll at the U. in January.
Payne credited Utah assistant Morgan Scalley for recruiting him well. He chose the Utes over 20 other offers. Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Colorado, Arizona and Wake Forest were among the programs to show interest.
Payne, who is a safety but will likely play corner in college, made 50 tackles and picked off eight passes as a junior.
The latter, he said, was “just getting to it and reacting. That’s all it is.”