Football: A close look at the BYU recruiting picture
BYU football coaches will be out in force at selected high school football games on Friday night, mostly because the Cougars have a bye on Saturday and the coaches have some free time on their hands.
NCAA rules allow seven coaches to be out recruiting at any one time, and BYU recruiting coordinator Paul Tidwell said Monday that all the coaches except Bronco Mendenhall, Steve Kaufusi and Lance Reynolds will be at high school games on Friday. Some coaches will be at junior college games on Saturday.
"We are going to try and hit all of our in-state kids [who have committed to BYU or been offered by BYU]," Tidwell said. "Because of geography, we might not be able to get all of them this time, but we will before the evaluation period is up. We will get all our in-state kids, and all our commits, during that time."
He said coaches make an extra effort to see the players they've offered and the players they have commitments from. Although coaches can't talk face-to-face with recruits, they can visit with coaches.
"We will just go to the games and observe," he said. "The [recruits] will know we are there."
Tidwell said the Cougars currently have only 6-8 offers on the table to high school seniors. BYU has only about three scholarships left to give, although he acknowledged they could get up to five more commitments because some recruits will immediately leave on LDS Church missions after their senior years of high school.
Coaches cannot discuss specific recruits until they have signed. However, it is believed that BYU has offers on the table to the following players:
* Manti Te'o, a linebacker from Laie, Haw., and Punahou High School.
* Richard Wilson, a tight end from Spanish Fork High.
* Xavier Su'a-Filo, a lineman from Timpview High.
* Kyle Van Noy, a linebacker/tight end from Reno, Nev., and McQueen High School.
* Latu Heimuli, a defensive tackle from Highland High.
* Steven Fanua, a linebacker from Milpitas, Calif.
* L.T. Filiaga, a linebacker from Bingham High.
* Brad Wilcox, a lineman from Edmond, Okla., and North High School.
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Much has been written and said about the in-state recruits, and Tidwell acknowledged that this is one of the strongest crops of Utah prep football players in recent memory.
"It is a real strong class, and we are kind of strapped because we don't have as many scholarships as we normally have because of returned missionaries," he said."I wish we could get involved with a few more in-state kids, but yes, this is a strong in-state recruiting class."
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A source close to the BYU coaching staff (not Tidwell) acknowledged Monday that the Cougars learned late Sunday that Northridge safety Chris Washington had committed to the University of Utah. BYU had also offered Washington.
The Cougars wanted Washington, there's no question about that. However, because of the aformentioned scholarship crunch, and the fact that they already have commitments from two other safeties (Jray Galea'i of Hawaii and Craig Bills of Timpview), there was not bitter disappointment.
Quarterbacks coach Brandon Doman has said that BYU has offered a quarterback who will sign in February. Obviously, that QB is unknown to us and most of the national recruiting Web sites and is not on the aforementioned list.
It is looking more and more like the QB Doman has referenced is Riley Nelson, the quarterback who is currently on a mission and is transferring to BYU from Utah State.
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Fanua, the linebacker from Milpitas (Calif.) High, recently told Scout.com that California is his favorite, although he remains uncommitted. He said the Bears lead slightly over BYU, Colorado, Arizona State, Hawaii and Fresno State.
-- Jay Drew
NCAA rules allow seven coaches to be out recruiting at any one time, and BYU recruiting coordinator Paul Tidwell said Monday that all the coaches except Bronco Mendenhall, Steve Kaufusi and Lance Reynolds will be at high school games on Friday. Some coaches will be at junior college games on Saturday.
"We are going to try and hit all of our in-state kids [who have committed to BYU or been offered by BYU]," Tidwell said. "Because of geography, we might not be able to get all of them this time, but we will before the evaluation period is up. We will get all our in-state kids, and all our commits, during that time."
He said coaches make an extra effort to see the players they've offered and the players they have commitments from. Although coaches can't talk face-to-face with recruits, they can visit with coaches.
"We will just go to the games and observe," he said. "The [recruits] will know we are there."
Tidwell said the Cougars currently have only 6-8 offers on the table to high school seniors. BYU has only about three scholarships left to give, although he acknowledged they could get up to five more commitments because some recruits will immediately leave on LDS Church missions after their senior years of high school.
Coaches cannot discuss specific recruits until they have signed. However, it is believed that BYU has offers on the table to the following players:
* Manti Te'o, a linebacker from Laie, Haw., and Punahou High School.
* Richard Wilson, a tight end from Spanish Fork High.
* Xavier Su'a-Filo, a lineman from Timpview High.
* Kyle Van Noy, a linebacker/tight end from Reno, Nev., and McQueen High School.
* Latu Heimuli, a defensive tackle from Highland High.
* Steven Fanua, a linebacker from Milpitas, Calif.
* L.T. Filiaga, a linebacker from Bingham High.
* Brad Wilcox, a lineman from Edmond, Okla., and North High School.
-----------------
Much has been written and said about the in-state recruits, and Tidwell acknowledged that this is one of the strongest crops of Utah prep football players in recent memory.
"It is a real strong class, and we are kind of strapped because we don't have as many scholarships as we normally have because of returned missionaries," he said."I wish we could get involved with a few more in-state kids, but yes, this is a strong in-state recruiting class."
---------------------
A source close to the BYU coaching staff (not Tidwell) acknowledged Monday that the Cougars learned late Sunday that Northridge safety Chris Washington had committed to the University of Utah. BYU had also offered Washington.
The Cougars wanted Washington, there's no question about that. However, because of the aformentioned scholarship crunch, and the fact that they already have commitments from two other safeties (Jray Galea'i of Hawaii and Craig Bills of Timpview), there was not bitter disappointment.
Quarterbacks coach Brandon Doman has said that BYU has offered a quarterback who will sign in February. Obviously, that QB is unknown to us and most of the national recruiting Web sites and is not on the aforementioned list.
It is looking more and more like the QB Doman has referenced is Riley Nelson, the quarterback who is currently on a mission and is transferring to BYU from Utah State.
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Fanua, the linebacker from Milpitas (Calif.) High, recently told Scout.com that California is his favorite, although he remains uncommitted. He said the Bears lead slightly over BYU, Colorado, Arizona State, Hawaii and Fresno State.
-- Jay Drew
2 Comments:
Let me guess Jay, your opinion about Washington is that "BYU didnt want him anyway" right? That the usual line we hear coming out of Provo when they lose a recruit and you basically were towing that line in this last post.
They did want him. But dont need him. BYU already has two 4star Safties that are rated above Washington. Maybe Washington saw that and didnt want the competition. Jray Galea'i the #14 safty in the country and Craig Bills the #21 saftey in the country.
So yeah....Utah gets beat by BYU again!
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