Posted by Jerry Hinnen

The good recruiting news in the Pac-12 isn't limited to USC and Washington in these final hours before signing day, nor is just the Trojans and Huskies who are proving they can pull quality recruits from outside their immediate recruiting footprint--just ask Utah and Washington State.

The Utes received a key pledge Tuesday from Dallas-area four-star guard Hiva Lutui, who picked Utah over competing offers from USC and Ute archrivals BYU. 

Meanwhile, in the Pac-12 North, Mike Leach's Cougars pulled defensive end Jeremiah Allison out of Los Angeles, beating out offers from hometown UCLA, Arizona, Boise State and others.

The 6'2", 275-pound Lutui is the second player from Euless Trinity to commit to a BCS school in a matter of days, following Trojan defensive end Polo Manukainiu, who committed to Texas A&M. Lutui was named a first-team Maxpreps U.S. Air Force All-American after a dominating senior season and ranks as the No. 21 interior lineman in the 2012 class. Tom Lemming writes of Lutui:

He is a dominator from the word go. There's no OL prospect in the state of Texas who has completely dominated the way Mr. Lutui has over the past two years. He plays tackle and guard and is best suited to play guard in college. A mean, tough, and nasty disposition, he has very good straight ahead speed, dominates the point of attack, and has enough mobility to keep the defense honest.

Allison is a 6'1, 210-pound defensive playmaker from Dorsey High School who could play either outside linebacker or defensive end for the Cougars. He averaged better than a sack and a half per game and just over six tackles.

The commitments bring the Utes' and Cougars' classes to 24 and 25 members, respectively.

Looking for Signing Day video? We've got you covered from all angles here. 

Posted by Jerry Hinnen

Texas A&M will need plenty of solid defenders to match up against their new competition in the SEC West. Fortunately for Kevin Sumlin, the Aggies received pledges from two such defenders Sunday.

The first was Polo Manukainiu, a 6'5" 255-pound defensive end from Euless Trinity High School in the Dallas area. A former Oklahoma commitment whose senior season was delayed by a summer knee injury, Manukainiu chose the Aggies over offers from Arkansas, Baylor, Nebraska and UCLA. 

"I love the tradition, the fans, everything," Manukainiu said of selecting the Aggies. "My mom likes it, and I like it."

But the news would get even better for the Aggies as they landed an even higher-profile commitment just minutes later: Edward Pope, a coveted athlete from Carthage, Texas who flipped to A&M from TCU. Though Pope played multiple positions for Carthage, he projects as a safety at the next level.

Pope also claimed offers from the Aggies' new SEC rivals at Arkansas and Missouri and ranks as the Maxpreps No. 14 safety in the class of 2012. Tom Lemming writes this in his preseason evaluation of Pope: 

When I watched Edward on sophomore film I was convinced he would rank among the very best FS prospects in the country. As it is he still ranks among the very best and with a good 2011 season there could be no stopping him. Edward shows great range, instincts, vision, and ball-hawking skills. He breaks and closes on the ball as well as any FS prospect in the state, is smooth in transition, and shows natural movement skills. He rarely takes a missed step. A major talent with five-star potential.

With the additions of Manukainiu and Pope, the Aggies are up to 22 commitments and could be poised for a top-10 finish in the Maxpreps team recruiting rankings. Things are quite as rosy for TCU, who lost commitments from two key recruits in Pope and new Texas commitment Daje Johnson in the span of two days.

Posted by Bryan Fischer

It's the halfway point in the college football season and as part of our midseason look at the sport on CBSSports.com, we'll take a look at the verbal commitments for the Big 12.

   Baylor (18)

Offensive lineman Tre-Von Armstead (Port Arthur, Texas)
Offensive lineman Cameron Bailey (Athens, Texas)
Defensive end Dominique Banks (Denton, Texas)
Defensive back Terrell Burt (Wylie, Texas)
Defensive back Devin Chafin (Burkburnett, Texas)
Athlete Corey Coleman (Richardson, Texas)
Defensive back Aiavion Edwards (Stephenville, Texas)
Linebacker Kendall Ehrlich (Pearland, Texas)
Defensive tackle Zorrell Ezell (Humble, Texas)
Wide receiver Kiante' Griffin (Carrollton, Texas)
Athlete Lynx Hawthorne (Weimar, Texas)
Defensive back Sabian Holmes (Southlake, Texas)
Linebacker Thaddeus LaGrone (Allen, Texas)
Defensive end Jamal Palmer (McKinney, Texas)
Defensive back Ryan Reid (Sherman, Texas)
Defensive back Zach Sanchez (Keller, Texas)
Defensive tackle Joey Searcy (Corsicana, Texas/Navarro JUCO)
Athlete Terrence Singleton (Port Arthur, Texas)

   Iowa State (13)

Defensive end Pierre Aka (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Defensive end Collin Bevins (Creston, Iowa)
Offensive lineman Daniel Burton (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
Wide receiver Patrick Harris (Groveland, Fla.)
Running back Barkley Hill (Cedar Falls, Iowa)
Quarterback Luke Knott (Lee's Summit, Mo.)
Defensive end Mitchell Meyers (The Woodlands, Texas)
Kicker Cole Netten (Ankeny, Iowa)
Linebacker Adam Pavlenko (Tempe, Ariz.)
Athlete Charles Rodgers (Iowa City, Iowa)
Quarterback Grant Rohach (Moorpark, Calif.)
Linebacker Kane Seeley (Perry, Iowa)
Wide receiver Quan West (Willis, Texas)

   Kansas (8)

Offensive lineman Brian Beckmann (Overland Park, Kan.)
Defensive back Daniel Gray (Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.)
Running back Derek Keaton (Camden, Ark.)
Quarterback Bilal Marshall (Hialeah, Fla.)
Defensive back H.B. Rosser (Clarksville, Texas)
Quarterback Seth Russell (Garland, Texas)
Tight end Jordan Smith (Waco, Texas)
Defensive end De'Jon Wilson (Washington, D.C.)

   Kansas State (10)

Quarterback Tavarius Bender (Lincoln, Neb.)
Defensive tackle Travis Britz (Harrisonville, Mo.)
Linebacker Will Davis (Southlake, Texas)
Offenisve lineman Aderius Epps (Cedar Hill, Texas)
Defensive tackle Wesley Hollingshed (Athens, Texas/Trinity Valley JUCO)
Wide receiver Tray Rabon (Dallas, Texas)
Athlete Matt Seiwert (Conway Springs, Kan.)
Tight end Cody Small (Cypress, Texas)
Wide receiver Vernon Vaughn (Kansas City, Kan.)

   Missouri (15)

Offensive lineman Evan Boehm (Lee's Summit, Mo.)
Defensive back Torey Boozer (Everman, Texas)
Defensive back Chaston Cuffee (Cleburne, Texas)
Offensive lineman Simon Goines (Keller, Texas)
Linebacker Markus Golden (Hutchinson, Kan.)
Defensive back Will Hines (Waco, Texas)
Defensive tackle Donald Hopkins (Lago Vista, Texas)
Offensive lineman Germian Ifedi (Houston, Texas)
Quarterback Maty Mauk (Kenton, Ohio)
Linebacker Donavin Newsom (St. Louis, Mo.)
Defensive tackle Edmund Ray (St. Louis, Mo.)
Linebacker Michael Scherer (St. Louis, Mo.)
Running back Morgan Steward (Kansas City, Mo.)
Running back Jonathan Williams (Allen, Texas), Tom Lemming Top 100 for 2012
Defensive end Evan Winston (Muskegon Heights, Mich.)

   Oklahoma (14)

Athlete Daniel Brooks (Rockdale, Texas)
Offensive lineman Ty Darlington (Apopka, Fla.), Tom Lemming Top 100 for 2012
Tight end Laith Harlow (Tallahassee, Fla.)
Defensive back DeVante Harris (Mesquite, Texas)
Quarterback Trevor Knight (San Antonio, Texas)
Defensive end Polo Manukainiu (Euless, Texas)
Offensive lineman Kyle Marrs (San Antonio, Texas)
Offensive lineman John Michael McGee (Texarkana, Texas)
Wide receiver Trey Metoyer (Chatham, Va./Hargrave Military Academy)
Wide receiver Durron Neal (St. Louis, Mo.), Tom Lemming Top 100 for 2012
Athlete Alex Ross (Jenks, Okla.)
Wide receiver Sterling Shepard (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
Linebacker Eric Striker (Seffner, Fla.)
Athlete Charles Tapper (Baltimore, Md.)

   Oklahoma State (15)

Defensive tackle Calvin Barnett (Corsicana, Texas/Navarro JUCO)
Offensive lineman Greg Brantley (Carthage, Texas)
Wide receiver C.J. Curry (Flowery Branch, Ga.)
Defensive end Eric Davis (Tyler, Texas)
Offensive lineman Donald Hawkins (Senatoba, Miss./Northwest MS JUCO)
Defensive end Victor Irokansi (Pflugerville, Texas)
Defensive back Ashton Lampkin (Fort Worth, Texas)
Offensive lineman Paul Lewis (Galena Park, Texas)
Quarterback Wes Lunt (Rochester, Ill.)
Defensive end Emmanuel Ogabah (Richmond, Texas)
Athlete Dominic Ramacher (Denton, Texas)
Athlete Kendall Sanders (Athens, Texas)
Linebacker Jeremiah Tshimanda (North Richland Hills, Texas)
Tight end Zac Veatch (Broken Arrow, Okla.)
Wide receiver Blake Webb (The Woodlands, Texas)

  TCU (16)

Running back LaDarius Anthony (Kilgore, Texas)
Quarterback Austin Aune (Argyle, Texas)
Running back B.J. Catalon (Houston, Texas)
Wide receiver Ricky Collins (Kilgore JUCO, Kilgore, Texas)
Defensive end Devonte Fields (Arlington, Texas)
Defensive back Keivon Gamble (Athens, Texas/Trinity Valley JUCO)
Tight end Griffin Gilbert (Austin, Texas)
Defensive tackle Joey Hunt (El Campo, Texas)
Athlete Daje Johnson (Plugerville, Texas)
Running back Rashodrick Linwood (Linden, Texas)
Athlete Kolby Listenbee (Arlington, Texas)
Quarterback Tyler Matthews (McPherson, Kan.), Tom Lemming Top 100 for 2012 Member
Defensive end James McFarland (West Monroe, La.)
Kicker Jaden Oberkrom (Arlington, Texas)
Kicker Ethan Perry (Spring Branch, Texas)
Defensive back Edward Pope (Carthage, Texas)

   Texas (18)

Defensive end Caleb Bluiett (Beaumont, Texas)
Defensive tackle Paul Boyette (Humble, Texas)
Quarterback Connor Brewer (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Tom Lemming Top 100 for 2012
Defensive tackle Malcom Brown (Brenham, Texas), Tom Lemming Top 100 for 2012
Linebacker Timothy Cole (Brenham, Texas)
Linebacker Alex De La Torre (Denton, Texas)
Defensive back Bryson Echols (DeSoto, Texas)
Offensive lineman Kennedy Estelle (Pearland, Texas)
Running back Johnathan Gray (Aledo, Texas), Tom Lemming Top 100 for 2012
Offensive lineman Camrhon Hughes (Harker Heights, Texas)
Linebacker Peter Jinkens (Dallas, Texas)
Wide receiver Thomas Johnson (Dallas, Texas)
Wide receiver Cayleb Jones (Austin, Texas), Tom Lemming Top 100 for 2012
Kicker Nick Jordan (Coppell, Texas)
Defensive tackle Alex Norman (Dallas, Texas)
Defensive end Hassan Ridgeway (Mansfield, Texas)
Offensive lineman Curtis Riser (DeSoto, Texas), Tom Lemming Top 100 for 2012
Athlete Orlando Thomas (Copperas Cove, Texas)

   Texas A&M (23)

Wide receiver Bralon Addison (Missouri City, Texas)
Offensive lineman Adrian Bellard (Brenham, Texas)
Defensive back Colin Blake (San Antonio, Texas)
Defensive tackle Logan David (Blinn JUCO/Brenham, Texas)
Quarterback Matt Davis (Houston, Texas), Tom Lemming Top 100 for 2012
Running back Troy Green (Brenham, Texas)
Running back Marion Grice (Brenham, Texas/Blinn JUCO)
Defensive back Otis Jacobs (Perkinston, Miss.)
Defensive back Kenneth Marshall (South Houston, Texas)
Offensive lineman Mike Matthews (Fort Bend, Texas)
Wide receiver Trent Momon (Hempstead, Texas)
Athlete Darion Monroe (Reserve, La.)
Defensive end Julien Obioha (New Orleans, La.)
Wide receiver Jaevon Richardson (Baytown, Texas)
Linebacker Michael Richardson (DeSoto, Texas)
Linebacker Jordan Richmond (Denton, Texas)
Defensive end Tyrone Taylor (Galena Park, Texas)
Athlete Corey Thompson (Missouri City, Texas)
Offensive lineman Kimo Tipoti (Hurst, Texas)
Defensive end Alonzo Williams (Abbeville, La.)
Running back Trey Williams (Spring, Texas)
Offensive lineman Michael Wilson (Aledo, Texas)

   Texas Tech (18)

Defensive back Micah Awe (Mansfield, Texas)
Defensive tackle J.J. Bynum (College Station, Texas)
Wide receiver Reginald Davis (Tenaha, Texas)
Linebacker Ryan Flannigan (Missouri, Texas)
Defensive end Desimon Green (Chatham, Va./Hargrave Military Academy)
Wide receiver Marcus Johnson (League City, Texas)
Offensive lineman Jared Kaster (Altair, Texas)
Offensive lineman Trey Keenan (Argyle, Texas)
Defensive back La'Darius Newbold (Lancaster, Texas)
Quarterback Clayton Nichols (Abilene, Texas)
Offensive lineman Christian Okafor (Houston, Texas)
Defensive tackle Anthony Smith (Houston, Texas)
Offensive lineman Michael Starts (Waco, Texas)
Offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai (Haltom City, Texas)
Athlete Keenon Ward (Snyder, Texas)
Wide receiver Dominique Wheeler (Crockett, Texas)
Athlete Kris Williams (Dallas, Texas)