After just one season, Justin Utopo is out as the head coach of Long Beach Poly football, he confirmed to the562.org on Wednesday afternoon.
Long Beach Poly has been wrapped up in an ineligibility issue that has plagued multiple teams this fall. At the end of October, it was announced that the Jackrabbits had withdrawn from the 2025 CIF Southern Section playoffs.
At the end of September, Long Beach Poly had five transfers ruled ineligible by the CIF-SS due to the bylaw 202, which is listed by the association as ‘Penalty for Providing Incorrect, Inaccurate, Incomplete or False Information.’
The Jackrabbits also had to forfeit a Sept. 5 win over Tustin after using an ineligible player in the game. They finished with a 5-5 record this season despite beginning the year with a loaded roster that included myriad ranked prospects in the 2026 and 2027 recruiting cycles.
The Golden State program has produced multiple NFL stars over the years. Top alumni include DeSean Jackson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jurrell Casey, Matt Corral and Jack Jones. Their current roster includes five ranked prospects: junior four-star cornerbacks JuJu Johnson and Donte Wright (Georgia commit), senior three-star wide receiver Kamarie Smith (Sacramento State), cornerback Deon Jackson (Cal) and tight end Jaden Hernandez (Colorado State).
In 2024, Long Beach Poly went 6-6. That came after a fantastic 10-2 campaign in 2023, where it fell to Servite in the Division II playoff quarterfinals.
Utopo came to Long Beach Poly from Lakewood, his high school alma mater, where he spent four years as the head man. He also spent two years as the head coach at Millikan. Utopo played college football at Notre Dame from 2010-13.
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