Latest news with #Utu
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kalen DeBoer Uses West Coast Ties to Land Massive 4-Star Commitment
Kalen DeBoer Uses West Coast Ties to Land Massive 4-Star Commitment originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer is no longer with the Washington Huskies, but he still has connections out west. Advertisement On Monday, On3's Hayes Fawcett reported Alabama landed inside offensive lineman Kayden Samuelu Tetleopesega Utu-Lilii, or "Samuelu Utu" for short. He attends Orange Lutheran in Orange, California, and stands at a whopping 6-foot-5, weighing 330 pounds. Alabama beat out Washington, the SMU Mustangs, Texas Longhorns and Tennessee Volunteers for Utu. He also held offers from the USC Trojans, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Ohio State Buckeyes, Notre Dame Fighting Irish and others. Utu commented on the commitment, emphasizing how fortunate he felt. Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen David Mercer-Imagn Images 'It's bigger than me," Utu said. "It's always going to be bigger than me. I'm so blessed. All glory and honor be to God.' Advertisement Utu is a four-star prospect and the No. 14 inside offensive lineman in the On3 Industry Rankings. He is Alabama's first commitment from the West Coast in the 2026 class. DeBoer's first season in Tuscaloosa ended at 9-4, and he now has to find a new quarterback for 2025 after Jalen Milroe left for the NFL. However, one of DeBoer's returning players was discussed recently. Ryan Williams was picked as a sleeper to win the 2025 Heisman by college football analyst Michael Bratton. The last Alabama receiver to win the award was DeVonta Smith in 2020. Williams is off to a great start after accounting for 865 receiving yards and eight touchdowns as a true freshman. Advertisement Elsewhere in recruiting, Alabama continues to make strides. The Crimson Tide were named a finalist for five-star safety Jireh Edwards. Year two of the DeBoer era starts on August 30, with Alabama traveling to Tallahassee to face the Florida State Seminoles. Related: Alabama Makes Final Four for Top 10 College Football Prospect This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
10-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Where Alabama's 2026 recruiting class sits following commitment from 4-star lineman
Where Alabama's 2026 recruiting class sits following commitment from 4-star lineman On Monday afternoon, the Alabama Crimson Tide got back on the board in the 2026 recruiting class by landing a commitment from offensive line prospect Sam Utu. Utu, a four-star prospect, is considered as the nation's No. 176 overall player in the 2026 class according to the 247Sports Composite recruiting rankings, as well as the No. 11 overall interior offensive lineman. The four-star is also considered the No. 19 overall prospect in the state of California where he attends Orange Lutheran High School. Following the commitment of Utu, Alabama's class now owns a total of six commits, each of which are rated as a four-star prospect or higher. The Crimson Tide have also now risen up the recruiting rankings following Utu's commitment as well. Here is where Alabama is ranked by recruiting sites following Utu's commitment. Alabama football 2026 recruiting class ranking following Sam Utu commitment 247Sports: No. 45 overall (No. 12 in SEC) No. 45 overall (No. 12 in SEC) On3: No. 8 overall (No. 4 in SEC) No. 8 overall (No. 4 in SEC) Rivals: No. 44 overall (No. 12 in SEC) Utu is Alabama's first commitment since the calendar flipped to June, and Monday's decision from the four-star might just be the starting point to what could be a wild summer of commitments for the program on the recruiting trail. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.
Scoop
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Epic Tales From Aotearoa New Zealand's Bloody Past Explored Through Film
One of the bloodiest and most contested periods in Aotearoa New Zealand history is explored through film in a new exhibition at the Canterbury Museum Pop-Up. He Riri Awatea: Filming the New Zealand Wars stars a fiery blockbuster, a music video from Kiwi thrash metal band Alien Weaponry and battle scenes filmed across nearly a century. The exhibition offers a fresh take on how stories about Ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa (the New Zealand Wars) have been told on film. It includes clips from films, television and music videos telling stories from the war that raged from 1845 to 1872. Scenes from classic Kiwi films like Utu and River Queen play alongside clips from groundbreaking television shows like The Governor and music videos by artists like Ria Hall. Props, costumes and posters from New Zealand film history also star in the exhibition, including a carved pou and period costumes from River Queen and a film camera used by 1920s Kiwi filmmaker Rudall Hayward. The exhibition's title, He Riri Awatea, means a battle in the daylight. This refers to cinema's primary element – light – but also to how the exhibition casts fresh light on the New Zealand Wars. Co-curator Annabel Cooper said the film clips offer an insight into how Kiwis have reckoned with the conflict over generations. 'The films enable you to see shifts in understandings of those wars, and the dramatic changes in how we think about them, that unfolded from the 1920s to now. This history has been put on screen over the course of almost a century, changing ideas about the New Zealand Wars.' Co-curator Ariana Tikao (Kāi Tahu) said Māori were involved as actors, advisors and crew from the 1920s onwards and later directed and produced films. 'For the Maori involved it was quite a serious undertaking, and a lot of the descendants are very proud of that involvement. As more Māori became involved with different aspects of film making the stories became richer and different perspectives were explored.' The earliest film in the exhibition is The Te Kooti Trail from 1927, which was promoted with the strapline: 'Wild history from New Zealand's scarlet past'. Māori rangitira (leader) Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki was played in the film by Ngāi Tūhoe rangatira Te Pairi Tūterangi who knew the real Te Kooti. 'He'd been with him right through the war,' Annabel says. 'He was very emphatic about certain aspects and details of his portrayal in the film. When people saw him in costume they were really shocked at how much he resembled Te Kooti. I believe it was a memorial act ensuring that he was protecting Te Kooti's reputation and making sure it was a faithful portrayal.' As New Zealand culture changed, so did the way the wars were portrayed on screen. The 1983 film Utu is influenced by contemporary Māori activism and the Springbok tour protests of 1981. 'In Utu, there is a reflection on New Zealand's colonial past. The racial politics of the time were in a process of extraordinary change. Most of the people that worked on the film had an activist background,' Annabel said. Ariana has a personal connection to one of the clips from the exhibition. At the 2017 APRA Silver Scroll Awards, she performed a version of thrash metal band Alien Weaponry's song Raupatu using taonga puoro (traditional Māori musical instruments). The music video for the song appears in the exhibition. 'It felt like a crazy task to be trying to do thrash metal with taonga puoro. But we decided to give an emotional response to that song. When we performed it, Alien Weaponry were sitting in the front row and they stood and performed a haka to us and then we were responding to them. It was powerful.' He Riri Awatea: Filming the New Zealand Wars opens on 9 May at the Canterbury Museum Pop-Up, 66 Gloucester Street. Free entry; donations appreciated. Toured by the New Zealand Portrait Gallery.
