2028 four-star WR Quincey Clay has Utah ‘at the top’ of his recruitment

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

The Utah Utes have made the state of Idaho a priority on the recruiting trail.

The Utes landed the state’s top-ranked prospect in each of the last two classes, signing five-star offensive tackle Kelvin Obot in 2026 before landing a commitment from 2027 EDGE Jack Henderson.

Now Utah is after Idaho's top player again.

Four-star 2028 WR Quincey Clay has emerged as the state’s top prospect, and the Utes were one of the first programs to get involved.

It started with Utah offensive line coach Jordan Gross, an Idaho native who recruits the state for the Utes.

“Initially, Coach Gross, I guess he recruits Idaho, and he’s from Idaho, so he came by, and I was talking to him for a while,” Clay told me. “Had a good conversation with him. He was talking about Idaho, how he used to play in the NFL and how it’s his first year at Utah, and then he was like, ‘You want to talk to the receiver coach?’ I was like, ‘Of course.’”

Gross got Clay on the phone with Utah WR coach Chad Bumphis, and by the end of that conversation, Clay had his third offer.

“Coach Bump answered, had a great conversation with him, and then towards the end he was like, ‘Yeah, well, we want to be your third offer,’” Clay said. “Emotions were just high. I’ve always liked Utah, and I know it’s a good school. I was like, ‘That’s crazy.’ Coach Bump had good energy, so emotions were definitely high.”

Bumphis has become one of the biggest reasons Utah continues to stand out.

“Even the first time he ever called me, just the emotions he had, the energy he brought, I knew we were gonna be tight,” Clay said. “We have a good relationship. We text all the time; we just keep building the relationship as this recruitment process goes. I like his energy, his demeanor. That definitely fits my style for sure.”

Utah’s recent success recruiting Idaho isn’t lost on Clay either.

The Utes got Obot out of Fruitland in the 2026 class and Henderson out of Bishop Kelly in the 2027 class. Clay now sits in that same spot as one of the state’s top recruits in 2028.

“Being the top guy in Idaho is obviously a blessing, but I don’t really think about it too much,” Clay said. “I feel like the more I think about it, the more I get an ego and stuff like that. So I just be staying on my grind, keeping my circle, trusting my circle, trusting everybody in it.”

Clay also sees something in the way Utah has recruited him.

“Being the top guy and that Utah usually recruits the top guy has been a blessing, especially since they were one of my early offers,” Clay said. “They don’t wait a while. I feel like Utah just knows who they want. Everyone at Utah, it’s a great program, so it’s definitely up there on my list for sure.”

Clay will get another look at Utah this fall when he comes to Salt Lake City for the Holy War.

He has already been on campus and toured with Utah’s recruiting staff, but he wants to use the visit to meet more coaches and experience Rice-Eccles Stadium for one of the biggest games of the year.

“I want to meet all the coaches because I’ve got some letters from them, but I haven’t met the head coach yet,” Clay said. “I know the Holy War is a big game, so I know tensions are going to be high. I heard that’s like one of the best rivalries in college football, so I’m excited to come to this game. Tensions are going to be high. I’m just looking for a good game.”

And Clay already knows which side he’ll be pulling for.

“I know Utah gonna go crazy,” Clay said. “Hopefully we put belt to BYU.”

Clay also told me he could make it back to Salt Lake City for Utah’s game against Arkansas.

He still has a long way to go in his recruitment. Washington, Oregon State, Minnesota and hometown Boise State are among the other programs consistently recruiting him.

But Utah is right where it wants to be.

“I would say Utah’s at the top somewhere,” Clay said. “I’m not gonna say how top, but just know they’re at the top. Utah, Washington, Oregon State, Minnesota is a school that’s really been recruiting me, Boise State, obviously hometown would be cool. Those are some of the main schools that actually text me all the time, but Utah is definitely at the top.”

Utah has landed Idaho’s top prospect in back-to-back recruiting classes.

The Utes are now trying to make it three straight.

And with Clay, they’ve already given themselves a pretty good head start.