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Kalani Sitake venturing into rare air
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- Kalani Sitake venturing into rare air
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake greets fans prior to the Cougars' game against UCF on Oct. 26, 2024 in Orlando. | BYU Photo
Amazing what momentum and a green light with resources can do for a former independent football program like BYU .
After two seasons in the Big 12, where Kalani Sitake's squad came within a few plays of making the league championship game in Arlington, the Cougars are enjoying tremendous momentum in recruiting the class of 2026.
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Earlier this week with commitments from receiver Terrance Saryon and defensive back Sefanaia Alatini , BYU's recruiting class of 2026 was ranked No. 29 by 247sports.com , with nine commitments.
In Saryon, BYU flipped the previous Washington commit, who decided to follow one of his seven-on-seven friends, Pineview High tight end Brock Harris , to Provo.
Flipping a prospect previously headed to a Big Ten team is, well, not very common for the Cougars.
What's changed?
First, Big 12 membership and 2025 success.
Second, more resources to put into recruiting, including NIL.
Third, a motivated and energized Sitake staff that believes it can get in the door with three- and four-star recruits and win.
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Sounds simple?
Not really. It takes momentum and a good pitch to win in major college recruiting. Those who rest on laurels or assume they can get good players by just showing up are destined to fail. It takes workers who are motivated to get after it to win.
To illustrate where BYU's current 29th ranking sits, consider that in 2025, the Cougars were ranked 67th by 247sports.com . In 2023, the ranking was an impressive No. 39. Before that in 2022 it was No. 57 and in 2021 it was a very average 67th.
The current top-ranked recruiting class of 2026 in the Big 12 is Kansas at No. 8, followed by No. 11 ASU, No. 19 Iowa State, and No. 21 Oklahoma State. Texas Tech, with all that oil money, is ranked No. 28, just ahead of BYU.
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The rest of the league rankings include No. 37 Central Florida, No. 39 Baylor, followed by Cincinnati at 42nd, TCU 44th, Houston 50th, West Virginia 53rd, Arizona 59th, Kansas State 64th, Colorado 76th and Utah at 77th.
These numbers have to do with the number of commitments and the average ranking of those recruits. For instance, while BYU has nine commitments for the class of 2026, Utah shows just two.
BYU's average ranking of its committed prospects is 88.02. The league leader, Kansas, has an average ranking of 87.57, but has a total of 190.42 points compared to BYU's 144.96.
This is a key year for BYU because the state of Utah has between 30 and 40 football recruits who are evaluated as Division I talent. It is also a solid year for football players in high school who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the sponsor of BYU.
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So far, the nine Cougar commits include Harris, Saryon, Alatini, Lone Peak lineman Bott Mulitalo ; edge rusher PJ Takitaki from Lehi; Englewood, Colorado tight end Ty Goettsche ; Gilbert, Arizona cornerback Justice Brathwaite ; Skyride QB Kaneal Sweetwyne; and Lehi athlete Legend Glasker . Harris and Mulitalo are rated four-star prospects, the others are three-star. There are no two-star rated players so far.
Jeff Hansen, a BYU recruiting editor for 247sports, told the "Y's Guys" podcast earlier this week BYU's resurgence in competitive recruiting at a high level is due to playing in the Big 12 as a P4 program, NIL capabilities and ties that players in this class have to one another.
One of the big ties is the relationship Harris has to many prospects through camps, seven-on-seven tourneys and combines.
One of the biggest prospects Harris is working on is his good friend, quarterback Ryder Lyons , the Folsom High five-star prospect who has narrowed his choices to USC, Oregon and BYU. It is expected that Lyons, who is mission-bound like Harris after his senior season, will announce his choice by the middle of summer, perhaps July.
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If BYU landed Lyons, who has a cluster of family ties to BYU, including his parents, uncles, cousins and grandfather, it would significantly increase BYU's 2026 class recruiting ranking.
Back in March, Lyons got an in-depth explanation of how BYU's offense works and how he would fit in the system by offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick.
I'm told A-Rod was very good at articulating a vision of how Lyon's skill set fit. Then deputy athletic director Brian Santiago explained how football is evolving into what basketball has achieved and told Lyons if he performed at a high level at BYU he would be a legend with Cougar Nation. The contrast could be made with Steve Young and Jimmer Fredette to Jabari Parker at Duke.
In addition to Lyons, BYU has the interest of Malakai Lee, a top-rated offensive line recruit in Hawaii ( Michigan , Georgia, Texas, Alabama ) and Idaho lineman Jax Tanner, who has offers from Tennessee , Michigan and Oregon.
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If BYU loses Lyons, it won't be due to connections with the school, friends headed to Provo or NIL. It will be another reason yet to define.
Regardless, the coming months might just be the most interesting stretch of recruiting at BYU that one can remember.
And that doesn't speak to whatever is done in the transfer portal.
Stay tuned.
Five-star recruit Ryder Lyons throws a pass Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Dallas. Lyons has narrowed final three to USC, Oregon and BYU. | Tony Gutierrez, Associated Press
