Herriman High School running back Filisi Filipe has spent the first three weeks of the Utah high school season looking like a runaway freight train. Through three games, he’s averaging 228 rushing yards and more than four rushing touchdowns per game, and that kind of production got BYU’s attention fast.
On Saturday, BYU running backs coach Harvey Unga extended a scholarship offer to Filipe, giving the Cougars the first FBS program to jump into the race. Filipe said the relationship with BYU has been building for a while. “I’ve been in touch with BYU ever since they invited me to their elite camp in the summer,” Filipe told BYU On SI.
He also described his conversation with Unga as a strong one, while making it clear he’s staying focused on his current season. “It was a great conversation we had.
I would love to play under Coach Unga. But i’m going to play this season out.”
Filipe’s recruiting trail actually started back in June, when Utah Tech offered him. Weber State, SUU, and Idaho State followed over the summer. BYU is the first FBS school to offer, but it probably won’t be the last if his production keeps climbing the way it has.
The tape has been ridiculous. In the opener against Bountiful, Filipe went for 276 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a 25-14 win.
One week later, he piled up 240 yards and four scores in a 40-36 victory over Stansbury. Then on Friday against West Jordan, he turned just 11 carries into 168 rushing yards and six touchdowns in a 55-7 win.
That kind of output has already stacked up almost a full season’s worth of highlights in barely three weeks. It also explains why evaluators are starting to circle back in.
Nate Rees, the owner of Utah Ballers, has seen Filipe up close through the showcase circuit and came away impressed by the same things that show up on film. “Filisi is a running back who has exceptional balance, vision, and burst,” Rees said.
“He does a phenomenal job of finding a seam and hitting it as good as anybody I’ve seen. His contact balance at the line of scrimmage and in the second level is elite.
It takes multiple defenders to bring him down, and he always falls forward.”
That’s the profile BYU seems to like under Harvey Unga: a sturdy runner who can absorb contact, keep his feet, and turn a crease into a chunk play. Filipe isn’t described as a pure burner, but his speed is enough to punish defenses once he gets into space.
Rees went even further, calling him a Power Four-level talent. “Overall, I’ve been saying that he has Power Four talent for a while, and BYU was the first to notice,” Rees said.
Filipe told BYU On SI that he plans to visit “a lot of BYU games this fall.” And with more FBS schools potentially entering the picture, his recruiting could keep heating up as long as the numbers keep looking the way they do.
BYU already has one running back committed in the 2027 class, Las Vegas native Ezra Sanelivi, but the staff clearly wants more than one back in the group. With much of the 2027 board already spoken for, Filipe is now one of the few uncommitted names worth watching in the months ahead.
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