Utah’s football program, led by coach Kyle Whittingham, continues its impressive recruitment streak with the commitment of Shelton “Manny” Fuller, a three-star safety from El Paso, Texas. Fuller, the 11th commitment to wrap up June, and the 13th for the 2025 class, which adds significant value to the team’s defensive lineup.

Fuller, who visited Salt Lake City earlier this month, had also considered Houston, BYU, and Oregon State before deciding on Utah. He was Initially planning to commit in August, but announced his decision early via Instagram.

Fuller was ranked as the No. 44 athlete in the 2025 class, according to 247Sports. At 6-feet and 170 pounds, he’s known for his versatility and physicality on the field. Without question his combination of strong ball skills with an aggressive playing style, particularly excelling in run defense. As he continues to develop physically, his tackling power is expected to improve, enhancing his already notable defensive capabilities.

Utah hits three of the biggest lists for EA Sports College Football 25

Fuller’s commitment marks the ninth defensive player for Utah in 2025, joining a robust group of recruits including quarterback Wyatt Becker, tight end Drew Clemens, and several defensive standouts like Nela Tupou and Max Fonoimoana. With this strong early recruitment drive, Utah is building significant momentum and positioning itself for a successful future.

Changes Underway for Wyoming’s Behavioral Health System

July 2, 2024

After several years of planning and coordination with partners across the state, changes to Wyoming’s behavioral health system are underway, according to the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH).

“For many years, our department has paid millions of state dollars to community mental health centers to help ensure access for Wyoming residents who sought care for mental health and substance use related issues regardless of their ability to pay,” said Stefan Johansson, WDH director. “It’s one of our largest budget items and is clearly important, but there have been challenges.”

A significant new law passed in 2021 by the Wyoming Legislature supported efforts to strengthen Wyoming’s behavioral health system. A chief goal is focusing state resources on those who need them most: acute psychiatric adults, criminal justice involved clients, high needs children and families and low income and indigent general access populations.

Johansson said, “We really want to help ensure high-needs people facing serious mental illness do not fall through the cracks before their needs grow. As we have carefully prepared for these changes, a focus for our department and our partners has been to help answer the question of ‘What is state government’s role?’”

To help direct the state dollars toward where and when they are needed most, the redesigned process is meant to help ensure people seeking services who could qualify for financial help from other sources such as Wyoming Medicaid or private insurance are supported through those sources rather than through state funding alone.

“When Wyoming’s community mental health system was designed, there was less financial support available for behavioral health services through options such as private insurance. But that has since changed, which presents an opportunity to potentially share the financial load,” Johansson said.

Franz Fuchs, senior policy analyst with WDH, said “One thing people will notice is all residents seeking state-paid behavioral health services must now submit an application through Wyoming Medicaid. While this does not mean you have to be eligible for Medicaid to be helped, this step will check for other potential pay sources beyond state general funds and verify income, citizenship and residency.”

Without an application on file, WDH will not be able to pay for services received after July 1. “The community health centers and organizations such as Enroll Wyoming can help people complete the needed application,” Fuchs said.

Because Wyoming Medicaid is also part of WDH, using existing systems to check eligibility and to manage payments to the community mental health centers is an efficient solution.

Fuchs acknowledged some individuals will no longer be eligible for state-supported services from the community mental health center network. These include people with incomes over 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) who do not have significant behavioral health needs. For those in this group who do not already have insurance, heavily subsidized insurance is likely available through the federal marketplace.

There are also changes to provider payments. “We’re moving from block grants to a mix of block grants, service payments and outcome payments,” Fuchs said.

“The hope for many involved in this redesign effort is that focusing the state’s resources on high-needs clients may eventually lead to cost-savings and reduced pressure on other elements of Wyoming’s behavioral health system such as frustrating waiting lists,” Fuchs said. “If we can reduce repeated hospitalizations or divert people from institutional settings in the first place, that’s a win for both clients and for our state facilities.”

Matt Petry, Behavioral Health Division senior administrator with WDH, said, “We are making big changes and we certainly recognize that change isn’t always easy. We are truly grateful and want to thank our partners in Wyoming’s community mental health centers, law enforcement personnel, leaders in local and state correctional facilities, judicial system representatives, Department of Family Services staff and the state’s policymakers for their participation and willingness to work with us.”