BOUNTIFUL -- Bountiful High School safety Nate Moncur has verbally committed to the BYU football program, turning down offers from Utah, Utah State and Oregon. Because of an ACL injury, Moncur played in just five games last year. On defense, he recorded 12 tackles and made three interceptions at safety. On offense, he switched between quarterback, receiver and running back, netting 268 yards as both a receiver and running back. Moncur, who will be a senior this year at Bountiful, said he committed early so he could focus on his senior year. "(Being recruited) is just a lot of stress, thinking about who to play for and all that other stuff," he said.

"It takes a lot of pressure off of me."

BYU defensive backs coach Brian Mitchell started recruiting him a year ago, and Moncur caught the eye of head coach Bronco Mendenhall while at football camp this summer.

Mendenhall told him that he would be playing outside linebacker at BYU, which in the Cougars' 3-3-5 scheme, fits a former safety nicely. They're required to fall into pass coverage when they're not blitzing.

"I think (Mendenhall) knows I'm capable of gaining weight to play linebacker," Moncur said.

"They like my athleticism."

Moncur said that the University of Utah was most interested in his services, but that BYU is the right place for his talents.

"There are lots of reasons I like BYU. The spiritual side, they're a top school and the coaches are awesome. They'll turn the program around."

Moncur will play one year for the Cougars (2006) before leaving on a church mission.



rriggs@davisclipper.com