When Kamden Lopati needs a break from the life of a big-time quarterback recruit, he has a way to escape. He\u2019ll throw a saddle on his horse and go for a ride in Utah\u2019s mountain air to clear his head.<\/p>\n
The horse\u2019s name is Seven. That\u2019s not Lopati\u2019s jersey number, an allusion to scoring touchdowns or a \u201dSeinfeld\u201d reference<\/a>. Lopati picked the name with his grandfather, Ken Clark, who introduced him to horseback riding.<\/p>\n \u201cHis grandpa battled through cancer seven times,\u201d said Keith Lopati, Kamden\u2019s father. \u201cThe seventh time he was able to get in remission, so they named him Seven.\u201d<\/p>\n Learning to rope and ride helped Kamden find peace amid the drama that comes with being one of the most sought-after high school quarterbacks in the country.<\/p>\n The attention intensified a few weeks ago when Lopati, who plays at West High School near Salt Lake City, decommitted from Illinois and found himself caught in a tug-of-war between Michigan and Notre Dame.<\/p>\n While his friends were enjoying spring break, Lopati, the No. 119 player in the 2027 Rivals industry rankings, huddled with his family to make a decision that would set the course for the rest of his football career. Michigan was viewed as the front-runner because of Lopati\u2019s relationship with Kyle Whittingham and other coaches from Utah, but it wasn\u2019t a foregone conclusion.<\/p>\n Saying no to Notre Dame and Illinois was a gut-wrenching decision.<\/p>\n \u201cI was literally just at home trying to figure this whole commitment thing out,\u201d Lopati said. \u201cIt was the most stressful week of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, Lopati\u2019s familiarity with the coaches at Michigan won out<\/a>. His family\u2019s connection with Whittingham goes back decades, though it wasn\u2019t rekindled until recently.<\/p>\n Keith Lopati was a high school running back from Utah who visited BYU before signing with Hawaii. One of his hosts on that visit was Whittingham, a linebacker at BYU. Keith reminded Whittingham of that years later when Utah began recruiting Kamden. At that point, being recruited by Whittingham carried a bit more sway.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was like the governor of Utah,\u201d Keith Lopati said. \u201cTo get a one-on-one with him was crazy hard. We finally got that last year. I brought it up, and he started laughing. He goes, \u2018Oh my gosh, I remember that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Kamden Lopati connected with Whittingham, offensive coordinator Jason Beck and other coaches at Utah, but playing for the Utes wasn\u2019t in the cards. Kamden wanted to follow the path set by his brother Karson, a quarterback who left his home state to play at Navy.<\/p>\n When Lopati committed to Illinois in July, it was a familiar storyline for the Utes. Whittingham\u2019s success at Utah wasn\u2019t predicated on signing blue-chip recruits, and quarterback prospects of Lopati\u2019s caliber were particularly elusive.<\/p>\n Whittingham\u2019s move to Michigan changed the equation. Whittingham had access to a higher tier of players, and Lopati had interest from a new suitor. A reassessment of the situation was in order. Decommitting from Illinois was difficult, he said, but the stakes were too high not to explore every option.<\/p>\n Elite quarterback prospects stand to earn millions in revenue-sharing payments and NIL deals during their college careers, not to mention the personal and professional opportunities that await them after college. Lopati let his parents handle the financial side of his recruitment and focused on picking a program that he felt would prepare him to play in the NFL.<\/p>\n On both counts, the Big Ten schools and Notre Dame stood above the rest, Keith Lopati said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Big Ten, yeah, more than any other conference, was the conference that was able to provide all of that for him,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is life-changing, especially for our family.\u201d<\/p>\n