Despite the long-since-passed early signing day in December, BYU continues to recruit, sign and add quarterbacks and a standout Utah four-star two-way recruit.
BYU signed four-star two-way player Faletau Satuala, who made his announcement at the high school All-America game on national television. This moved the recruiting class ranking into the 50s. The Cougars also signed former Baylor QB Gerry Bohanon and added Western Michigan QB Treyson Bourguet to really load up Aaron Roderick's quarterbacks room for spring.
BYU believes it found the answer to its offensive line issues by hiring TJ Woods. Here is an analysis of that hire by ESPN's Trevor Matich, a member of the 1984 national championship team.
Question of the week: With the announcement of Bountiful High two-way four-star player Faletau Satuala signing with BYU, what does that do to the 2024 recruiting class? What does it tell us about BYU's new defensive staff recruiting?
Jay Drew:This is a big get for BYU coaches, as Faletau Satuala immediately rises to the top of this 2024 BYU football recruiting class, right up there with tight end Ryner Swanson and defensive end Ephraim Asiata. I live in the Bountiful/North Salt Lake area, and word on the street here has always been that Satuala was going to be a Utah signee and has been a Utes fan since he was tiny.
So credit head coach Kalani Sitake and defensive coordinator Jay Hill for getting the young man to flip their way. Head-to-head recruiting battles against Utah haven't gone BYU's way the past few years, but this year it seems like the tide may be turning.
Again, Hill is earning that big new paycheck after coming aboard in December 2022. Other top defensive signees include cornerback Tre Alexander out of Georgia, safety Matthias Leach out of Texas and Danny Saili and Sani Tuala out of the JUCO ranks. Hill's fingerprints are on all of them.
I've been critical of some of Sitake's past few recruiting classes, but I've got much fewer complaints about this one. By the looks of things, Big 12 membership is starting to pay dividends.
Dick Harmon:If you follow BYU football, you've noticed over the past half-dozen years there's been a plan, a developmental plan in recruiting. Find raw talent under the radar, that P5 recruiters may undervalue, and sign those guys. That has changed since Kalani Sitake hired Jay Hill. The plan now is to not shy away from hard sales. BYU cannot afford to wait for "developmental" players and they've upped their sales staff and approach.
The signing of Faletau Satuala is a prime example of this approach. He was headed to Utah for most of his life and this past year. But Hill got in his home with Sione Po'uha, Justin Ena and Kelly Poppinga and things changed. They sold a vision of BYU's future defense and his role in it. They did the same with Ephraim Asiata and others.
This is a big tick up in BYU's recruiting game. It cannot be discounted and its impact will be felt in seasons to come. Sitake wanted to hire Po'uha when he was first hired at BYU in 2017 but he couldn't get him until this past year. With Big 12 money coming, he could offer Hill and pay the others. You can see the results now in how a new approach is deployed, an aggressive sales staff is involved, and an attitude of not being afraid of taking on hard asks can bring dividends. It also helps that showing the Big 12 badge is involved, as is selling playing time for a revamped defense.
Mark Pope took his BYU basketball team to No. 14 Baylor, had a nine-point lead in the second half before failing to keep the Bears off the free-throw line in a first-ever Big 12 road loss. The Cougars now travel to UCF in Orlando to take on a Knights team that just upset No. 3-ranked Kansas on Wednesday.
BYU's offense stumbled at home against Cincinnati in the Big 12 debut in the Marriott Center last Saturday. Here is Jay Drew's analysis of that loss and here is my column on how the Cougars relied on 3-point shots, and outside of Trevin Knell, it blew up in their faces.
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Comments from Deseret News readers:
I stated last year that Pope can't coach. I've not posted this year about his coaching because I was waiting for some sample size. Utah and Cincy is enough for me to know. He still can't coach.
1- Knell sitting for 5-6 minutes when we desperately needed him.
2- The 1-3-1 zone late in 1st half was effective. I don't think he used it again.
3- What happened to Dawson Baker. Why didn't he play. We needed his outside shooting.
Also, Waterman disappeared again like he did against Utah. He is not good against bigger teams.
— msnave21
Last year Big 12 member West Virginia finished 7-11 in Big 12 play, 19-15 overall, and still got a 9-seed into the Big Dance when 80% of the league earned an invite.
The Cougs aren't going to win the Big12 or be a 2-seed in the tourney, but 10 Big 12 teams could play in the tourney this year and even after losing again on Tuesday night next week, the Cougs could still be one of them. Plenty to compete and cheer for left this year!
— cougs4life
Jan. 10 | 6 p.m. | Women's basketball | Houston | @ Houston
Jan. 11 | 11 a.m. | Men's tennis | San Diego State | @ San Diego
Jan. 11-13 | 11:45 a.m. | Track and field | BYU Indoor Invitational | @ Provo
Jan. 13 | 2 p.m. | Men's basketball | Central Florida | @ Orlando, Florida
Jan. 13 | 4 p.m. | Women's basketball | Cincinnati | @ Provo
Jan. 15 | 4 p.m. | Women's gymnastics | Utah | @ Salt Lake City
Jan. 16 | 7 p.m. | Men's basketball | Iowa State | @ Provo
BYU coach Kalani Sitake looks on from the sidelines during the Cougars' first season in the Big 12 Conference. | BYU Photo
