2019 Recruiting and other Newcomers

[Green Monstah]

Good breakdown. Sitake and staff are going to have to prove they can develop raw talent.

[All-American]

Good breakdown. Sitake and staff are going to have to prove they can develop raw talent.

Last year suggests they might.

[smokymountainrain]

Lots of big name LDS kids with BYU ties that we didn't even get a sniff from. Henry To'oto (Ten), Siaki Ika (decommitted over a year ago,LSU), Sione Vaki (Utah), Miki Ah You (UW), Faatui Tuitele (UW), Suaava Poti (Oregon, HFN get your ducks off our recruits), Troy Fautanu (UW), Enokk Vimahi (Ohio State), George Holani (Boise State).

imo, getting guys like this is essentially why Sitake was hired - 1) because the assumption would be as the only poly HC out west, he would be more effective getting the best LDS polys to come to BYU. maybe that's a faulty assumption - hell, it is proving to be, but in my mind, anyway that was one reason i was optimistic. 2) he was supposedly a great recruiter.

there would always be questions about Xs and Os, his ability to lead a team, player development, etc - turns out all those are still major concerns, but the overall recruiting and specifically recruiting of polys hasn't improved over what bronco could do, if anything it has taken a step back.

[Green Monstah]

Last year suggests they might.

I may be going full topper, but I'm not sure I agree. I'm really pleased with what I see in the defensive backfield. Tre Greene sucked his first fall in Provo. In a year, he transformed to a serviceable CB (prior to his injury). Same with Wilcox. I'll add TEs as a position group that has shown significant improvement (but I think that's more a matter of talent/scheme than development).

I've seen almost no progress with the backers (to the contrary). Takitaki's willingness to play anywhere and his exceptional athleticism covered a lot of issues, IMO. Same with the D-line, but I will give Tuiaki props for being creative. He takes some heat, but he's the one assistant I think we cannot lose.

There was incremental improvementc in o-line play. We manhandled Arizona (who has a small defensive front), and shockingly, Wisconsin, but we also got our asses handed to us by Cal, Utah State, and Northern Illinois. The first half of UMass (one of the worst run defense teams in the country) was not a good showing for the o-line.

Mangum didn't really develop. The receivers improved once they got a QB who could get them the ball. I mean, Dax Milne got significant PT. I know he's the poster child for PWOs, but he's not a very good FBS receiver. I'd take a Jeurgens over Dax, and I'm not trying to complement the Juergens.

[Bo Diddley]

I may be going full topper, but I'm not sure I agree. I'm really pleased with what I see in the defensive backfield. Tre Greene sucked his first fall in Provo. In a year, he transformed to a serviceable CB (prior to his injury). Same with Wilcox. I'll add TEs as a position group that has shown significant improvement (but I think that's more a matter of talent/scheme than development).

I've seen almost no progress with the backers (to the contrary). Takitaki's willingness to play anywhere and his exceptional athleticism covered a lot of issues, IMO. Same with the D-line, but I will give Tuiaki props for being creative. He takes some heat, but he's the one assistant I think we cannot lose.

There was incremental improvementc in o-line play. We manhandled Arizona (who has a small defensive front), and shockingly, Wisconsin, but we also got our asses handed to us by Cal, Utah State, and Northern Illinois. The first half of UMass (one of the worst run defense teams in the country) was not a good showing for the o-line.

Mangum didn't really develop. The receivers improved once they got a QB who could get them the ball. I mean, Dax Milne got significant PT. I know he's the poster child for PWOs, but he's not a very good FBS receiver. I'd take a Jeurgens over Dax, and I'm not trying to complement the Juergens.

I wouldn't put that on coaching.

[Green Monstah]

I wouldn't put that on coaching.

You may be onto something. Did Mangum not work hard? Was it his mental health issues? Lack of ability? Injury? Uncoachable? All of the above?

[Bo Diddley]

You may be onto something. Did Mangum not work hard? Was it his mental health issues? Lack of ability? Injury? Uncoachable? All of the above?

I'd say part of it was lack of ability. He was a hero at Nebraska for hucking it up, but really it was Mitch Matthews who was able to continually vertically out-jump the coverage. Take Matthews out of the equation, and he really struggled. He appeared to me to be a head case his last couple of years.

[jay santos]

This class leaves a lot to be desired.

1. Conover is the jewel of the class. 4 star qb who could have gone anywhere in the country. I think he is followed closely by Cade Albright, he is another mission first kid and needs to put on serious weight. Played last year at 6'5 220. But he lead all of Socal in sacks with 21.5. Had offers from 10 P5s including NEbraska, Notre Dame, and UCLA. Between Albright and Michael Daley you have 50 combined sacks their senior seasons.

2. We didn't land any RBs we were hoping for, so we took a flier on Javelle Brown. He played all over the field in high school. Rushed for about 600 yards on 8.4 ypc, also had 500 receiving. Played safety and corner. I think we start him at RB but he ends up playing defense. Luc Andrada is another kid who might get some time at RB. He is a speedster, 10.65 100m, also top 20 nationally in the 60. He played qb in high school but will be a RB/Slot at BYU.

3. Other than that, it is very much a mixed bag. Chase Roberts was great get but again mission first kid. George Udo is a total project but could end up being ok. Brooks Maile, Bruce Mitchell, and Brock Gunderson all have to gain weight and get bigger before they impact the game.

4. We did add more tight end depth with Ethan Erickson, Trey Anderson and Carter Wheat. Although I think Anderson moves to O-line. Returning from missions are Isaac Rex, Alema Pilimai, and Donovan Hanna. All of these guys are in the 6'4-6'6 range and 220-245 pounds. Bronco loved recruiting that body type as they can play tight end, D-end, OLB or even O-tackle (like Braden Brown did). Seems Kalani has followed that same model.

5. PWOs, BYU signed 14 of them. I don't hate them taking a flyer on a few kids, it worked last year with Dax Milne. All the PWOs BYU signed are about 5'11 180 and pasty white. Ethan Slade put up big numbers at Orem (12 ints last year) but doesn't look all that impressive on tape. Jake Jensen the qb from PG was about the 5th best qb in Utah County last year. They did land two Rbs who are PWOs- Alex Meza who rushed for 1,000 yards in JC ball last year, and Bailey Sulzer a running back from West Valley High in California. I actually think Sulzer could be a surprise. He ran for 2,000 yards and 30 tds (7.4 ypc) last year along with 150 tackles and 17 tfls. He is lds and heading on a mission first (already has his call to Oregon). He is the type of kid that is worth a PWO for sure.

6. The misses-
Cooper Legas- I don't think he is a huge miss as a qb prospect, and BYU barely offered a week ago. But he is a good athlete and we lost a head to head matchup with Utah State, which is never ok.
Alphonzo Andrews- would have helped our running back depth yet he chose Wyoming
Aidan Robbins- Another big RB, not sure if we really had a shot at him but we did get him to at least trip
Thomas Grayson, DeShawn Collins, Christian Hunter- All RBs that BYU offered who ended up getting last minute P5 offers and spurned BYU.
Puka Nacua- obviously this is a huge loss. He has yet to sign but I think he ends up at UW
Logan Sagapolu- local kid who ends up leaving the state for Oregon
Simote Pepa- Bingham kid, chose Utah
Mase Funa- 4 star recruit who chose Oregon (his brother is at BYU)
Lolani Langi and Junior Tafuna- 2 more 3 star kids from Bingham, chose Boise and Utah over BYU.
Tasili Fiatoa- has been committed to BYU for 3 years, some say he lost his schollie. Not really sure but he picked Navy.


Lots of big name LDS kids with BYU ties that we didn't even get a sniff from. Henry To'oto (Ten), Siaki Ika (decommitted over a year ago,LSU), Sione Vaki (Utah), Miki Ah You (UW), Faatui Tuitele (UW), Suaava Poti (Oregon, HFN get your ducks off our recruits), Troy Fautanu (UW), Enokk Vimahi (Ohio State), George Holani (Boise State).

Twenty years ago, we would have had 3/4's of the #6 misses and 1/2 of the list of big name kids we don't get sniff at these days. Sigh.

[frank ryan]

This class leaves a lot to be desired.

1. Conover is the jewel of the class. 4 star qb who could have gone anywhere in the country. I think he is followed closely by Cade Albright, he is another mission first kid and needs to put on serious weight. Played last year at 6'5 220. But he lead all of Socal in sacks with 21.5. Had offers from 10 P5s including NEbraska, Notre Dame, and UCLA. Between Albright and Michael Daley you have 50 combined sacks their senior seasons.

2. We didn't land any RBs we were hoping for, so we took a flier on Javelle Brown. He played all over the field in high school. Rushed for about 600 yards on 8.4 ypc, also had 500 receiving. Played safety and corner. I think we start him at RB but he ends up playing defense. Luc Andrada is another kid who might get some time at RB. He is a speedster, 10.65 100m, also top 20 nationally in the 60. He played qb in high school but will be a RB/Slot at BYU.

3. Other than that, it is very much a mixed bag. Chase Roberts was great get but again mission first kid. George Udo is a total project but could end up being ok. Brooks Maile, Bruce Mitchell, and Brock Gunderson all have to gain weight and get bigger before they impact the game.

4. We did add more tight end depth with Ethan Erickson, Trey Anderson and Carter Wheat. Although I think Anderson moves to O-line. Returning from missions are Isaac Rex, Alema Pilimai, and Donovan Hanna. All of these guys are in the 6'4-6'6 range and 220-245 pounds. Bronco loved recruiting that body type as they can play tight end, D-end, OLB or even O-tackle (like Braden Brown did). Seems Kalani has followed that same model.

5. PWOs, BYU signed 14 of them. I don't hate them taking a flyer on a few kids, it worked last year with Dax Milne. All the PWOs BYU signed are about 5'11 180 and pasty white. Ethan Slade put up big numbers at Orem (12 ints last year) but doesn't look all that impressive on tape. Jake Jensen the qb from PG was about the 5th best qb in Utah County last year. They did land two Rbs who are PWOs- Alex Meza who rushed for 1,000 yards in JC ball last year, and Bailey Sulzer a running back from West Valley High in California. I actually think Sulzer could be a surprise. He ran for 2,000 yards and 30 tds (7.4 ypc) last year along with 150 tackles and 17 tfls. He is lds and heading on a mission first (already has his call to Oregon). He is the type of kid that is worth a PWO for sure.

6. The misses-
Cooper Legas- I don't think he is a huge miss as a qb prospect, and BYU barely offered a week ago. But he is a good athlete and we lost a head to head matchup with Utah State, which is never ok.
Alphonzo Andrews- would have helped our running back depth yet he chose Wyoming
Aidan Robbins- Another big RB, not sure if we really had a shot at him but we did get him to at least trip
Thomas Grayson, DeShawn Collins, Christian Hunter- All RBs that BYU offered who ended up getting last minute P5 offers and spurned BYU.
Puka Nacua- obviously this is a huge loss. He has yet to sign but I think he ends up at UW
Logan Sagapolu- local kid who ends up leaving the state for Oregon
Simote Pepa- Bingham kid, chose Utah
Mase Funa- 4 star recruit who chose Oregon (his brother is at BYU)
Lolani Langi and Junior Tafuna- 2 more 3 star kids from Bingham, chose Boise and Utah over BYU.
Tasili Fiatoa- has been committed to BYU for 3 years, some say he lost his schollie. Not really sure but he picked Navy.


Lots of big name LDS kids with BYU ties that we didn't even get a sniff from. Henry To'oto (Ten), Siaki Ika (decommitted over a year ago,LSU), Sione Vaki (Utah), Miki Ah You (UW), Faatui Tuitele (UW), Suaava Poti (Oregon, HFN get your ducks off our recruits), Troy Fautanu (UW), Enokk Vimahi (Ohio State), George Holani (Boise State).

I’m ok with taking Brown, but I’m not ok with not getting any ready to contribute running backs. That’s hurts. Definitely a blah class. I do really like Conover, Roberts, Freeland, Albright, Daley, and Maile though.

[cougjunkie]

imo, getting guys like this is essentially why Sitake was hired - 1) because the assumption would be as the only poly HC out west, he would be more effective getting the best LDS polys to come to BYU. maybe that's a faulty assumption - hell, it is proving to be, but in my mind, anyway that was one reason i was optimistic. 2) he was supposedly a great recruiter.

there would always be questions about Xs and Os, his ability to lead a team, player development, etc - turns out all those are still major concerns, but the overall recruiting and specifically recruiting of polys hasn't improved over what bronco could do, if anything it has taken a step back.

I agree. Kalani tooted his own horn about his recruiting during his introductory press conference.


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[All-American]

I may be going full topper, but I'm not sure I agree. I'm really pleased with what I see in the defensive backfield. Tre Greene sucked his first fall in Provo. In a year, he transformed to a serviceable CB (prior to his injury). Same with Wilcox. I'll add TEs as a position group that has shown significant improvement (but I think that's more a matter of talent/scheme than development).

I've seen almost no progress with the backers (to the contrary). Takitaki's willingness to play anywhere and his exceptional athleticism covered a lot of issues, IMO. Same with the D-line, but I will give Tuiaki props for being creative. He takes some heat, but he's the one assistant I think we cannot lose.

There was incremental improvementc in o-line play. We manhandled Arizona (who has a small defensive front), and shockingly, Wisconsin, but we also got our asses handed to us by Cal, Utah State, and Northern Illinois. The first half of UMass (one of the worst run defense teams in the country) was not a good showing for the o-line.

Mangum didn't really develop. The receivers improved once they got a QB who could get them the ball. I mean, Dax Milne got significant PT. I know he's the poster child for PWOs, but he's not a very good FBS receiver. I'd take a Jeurgens over Dax, and I'm not trying to complement the Juergens.

Fair point. Strike "develop" and insert "find."

My point being, last year's class was pretty low in the rankings too, and yet a lot of them found their way on the field and look to be major contributors going forward. One can hold out hope that the coaches are seeing things the recruiting rags are not.

I'd rather we be landing guys that everybody agrees are awesome, of course. But I'd like a pony too.

[frank ryan]

I agree. Kalani tooted his own horn about his recruiting during his introductory press conference.


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They signed a grand total of 2 polynesian players this recruiting cycle. That's pitiful. Some of that is on admissions, which needs to be reigned in, but still embarrassing all the same.

[cougjunkie]

They signed a grand total of 2 polynesian players this recruiting cycle. That's pitiful. Some of that is on admissions, which needs to be reigned in, but still embarrassing all the same.

I agree.

They also just lost the brother of two former BYU players and a kid who played 2 minutes up the road from campus in Puka Nacua. Lost might be a stretch, but the fact that he never gave BYU a chance speaks volumes. I know SMR thinks he sucks, but the rest of the country feels differently.

(Side note on Puka, the Utah rivals guy was beating the drum that Utah wasn't out of it. Which we all knew they were. Of course after Puka picks UW, he makes some unsubstantiated claim about how Utah made major headway late and Pukas decision was a lot more difficult than we think. I love that people pay to hear that garbage from these recruiting guys).

[smokymountainrain]

I agree.

They also just lost the brother of two former BYU players and a kid who played 2 minutes up the road from campus in Puka Nacua. Lost might be a stretch, but the fact that he never gave BYU a chance speaks volumes. I know SMR thinks he sucks, but the rest of the country feels differently.

(Side note on Puka, the Utah rivals guy was beating the drum that Utah wasn't out of it. Which we all knew they were. Of course after Puka picks UW, he makes some unsubstantiated claim about how Utah made major headway late and Pukas decision was a lot more difficult than we think. I love that people pay to hear that garbage from these recruiting guys).

[old_gregg]

you know what they say about “close” and “almost”: utes are trailer trash shitheads.

[HBCoug]

I agree.

They also just lost the brother of two former BYU players and a kid who played 2 minutes up the road from campus in Puka Nacua. Lost might be a stretch, but the fact that he never gave BYU a chance speaks volumes. I know SMR thinks he sucks, but the rest of the country feels differently.

(Side note on Puka, the Utah rivals guy was beating the drum that Utah wasn't out of it. Which we all knew they were. Of course after Puka picks UW, he makes some unsubstantiated claim about how Utah made major headway late and Pukas decision was a lot more difficult than we think. I love that people pay to hear that garbage from these recruiting guys).

This is like the Utah version of the Nacua father's dying wish to be for his sons to play football for the Cougars of BYU! Basically print Viagra for Cougarboarders.

[Green Monstah]

I guess Conover graduated early. According to his Twitter, he’s headed on his mission now. He’ll be home for spring camp 2021.

[Donuthole]

I guess Conover graduated early. According to his Twitter, he’s headed on his mission now. He’ll be home for spring camp 2021.

Beanpole who needs to put on 30lbs, so he’s probably serving somewhere in Central/South America or the Philippines where he’s bound to lose 20 lbs walking everyday for 2 years.

[Eddie]

Beanpole who needs to put on 30lbs, so he’s probably serving somewhere in Central/South America or the Philippines where he’s bound to lose 20 lbs walking everyday for 2 years.

Silver Lining is: in Central/South America he'll keep his arm strength up throwing rocks at stray dogs. So he's got that going for him...which is nice.

[CJF]

Beanpole who needs to put on 30lbs, so he’s probably serving somewhere in Central/South America or the Philippines where he’s bound to lose 20 lbs walking everyday for 2 years.

Paraguay. Seems like a place he could gain some weight. Then again, I see pretty much everywhere as a place I could gain weight.