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A contingent of BYU coaches, led by head football coach Kalani Sitake, used a private jet to visit four-star tight end Brock Harris in St. George last week. Then, they headed to northern California to visit five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons. Both are in the Class of 2026 recruiting class and are at the top of staff priority lists.
Harris and Lyons had great visits with Sitake, Jay Hill, Fesi Sitake, Aaron Roderick and Kevin Gilbride, according to sources.
In Lyons' camp, the needle moved closer to BYU. The Folsom High star has received offers from most of the top programs in the country. Mississippi State coach Lane Kiffin was at Folsom High the day after BYU coaches came. Kiffin was selling his work with Latter-day Saint quarterback Jaxson Dart out of Corner Canyon by way of USC.
Ryder's brother Walker is a tight end at USC. Both Ryder Lyons and Harris could go on missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints out of high school.
If BYU can get Lyons, he will be a key recruiter for the Cougars in coming months because his friends — and there are many — could follow, including Harris. There are players who want to play with Lyons and want to follow him.
Coaches were taking advantage of the recruiting contact window that opened Jan. 6 and continues until Feb. 1.
Recruiting service 247Sports ranks Harris the No. 26 recruit in the country and the No. 1 prospect in Utah. Lyons is the No. 1 prospect in California, the No. 2 rated quarterback by 247Sports, and the No. 6 prospect nationally by that service.
Another prospect, Corner Canyon offensive lineman Esun Tafa, recently released his top five: BYU, Utah, Miami, Oregon and Washington.
All of these prospects are getting into hefty NIL discussions. This month is a good time to see what BYU has put together with its football NIL game, and now the program has a general manager, Dave George.
Look for these blue-chip players to not only be the focus in coming months, but a key element in BYU's recruiting priorities. According to athletic department officials, the three silos of BYU's recruiting emphasis include getting the top Latter-day Saint talent in the country, signing legacy recruits whose family ties and experience make a natural fit for a foundation, and signing top non-Latter-day Saint prospects who fit into the culture and program.
Lyons and Harris fit the first two perfectly, and that's why it is necessary to make headway in signing them this year.
Back in November, Lyons brought some of his Folsom teammates and his head coach to Provo for a visit and to witness a game. According to reports, they had a good time.
Does the commitment of four-star linebacker/running back McKay Madsen, who chose BYU over Oregon and UCLA this past week, signal an uptick in Kalani Sitake's recruiting following an 11-2 season? Also, predict BYU at Utah basketball game.
Jay Drew:Getting a commitment from four-star linebacker and running back McKay Madsen is a huge get for Kalani Sitake and his staff, even if the 220-pound phenom plans to serve a mission before enrolling.
Madsen's choice signals that he believes Sitake's program has staying power, and will be just as strong in 2027 when he returns from his mission as it is now.
BYU's football recruiting has generally been on the uptick the past few years, and this is just another example of that trend. The Cougars still aren't reeling in top-40 type classes, but recruiting is improving and the future appears bright in that regard.
Of the 20 or so prospects who signed in December, few are program-changers. Truth be told, most of them had committed before the 2024 season happened.
Still, there's no question that BYU's success helped it get a couple of late commits, such as Lone Peak's Austin Pay and Kingston Keanaaina, a running back from Union City, California.
Basketball prediction:BYU 78, Utah 77
Dick Harmon:You only have to go back eight months to see four-star recruits struggle to tell their buddies they were going to go to BYU. Those prospects were enamored with brands like Oregon, USC, UCLA and Washington, and saying they would go to Provo was like saying Idaho State to their peers.
That changed in BYU's second season in the Big 12 with an 11-2 record and a ranking as high as No. 6 in the AP poll. Recruits are now more apt to choose BYU, and their friends understand why.
This was evident with McKay Madsen's commitment last week, and we saw it with OL Austin Pay, a legacy kid. We saw this momentum at the end of the season when BYU signed seven transfer portal recruits, led by Utah defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa and TE teammate Carsen Ryan .
It was also evident BYU made inroads when Tausili Akana , a four-star defensive end at Texas, signed with the Cougars in December. Akana had a reported $800,000 deal with the Longhorns, but did not play much and a likely downward turn in his NIL package in Austin may have followed; BYU was likely able to make an attractive offer to trigger the transfer. Akana has Utah County ties.
According to sources, BYU has "upped" its game with NIL talks and connections and is doing a far better job with presentations and pitches than a year ago, but sources say team leaders are still a little awkward at times. There is noticeable NIL momentum at BYU as coaches and administrators work with closing deals and incorporate on-campus "salaries" mandated by the NCAA and collectives, which are off-campus organizations. Sitake, Jay Hill and Aaron Roderick clearly have some new tools at their disposal.
When one of the best rush ends in recent Utah high school history, Hunter Clegg , decided to sign with BYU off his mission when he had committed to Utah as a senior, and Michigan's Andrew Gentry left Ann Arbor for BYU, it added to the theory that BYU is gaining traction.
According to 247sports , BYU's 2025 class ranks 57th. The school is No. 73 in transfer portal commitments with just seven.
Another factor that was not there eight months ago was BYU leading the Big 12 in defense and the nation in interceptions. This has turned some heads with prospects who wanted to see if BYU's defensive coaches could develop playmakers and advance careers. They received some evidence.
Basketball prediction:BYU 78, Utah 75
Utah teams, including BYU, are struggling at the free-throw line so far this season. I spoke with former BYU, SUU and NBA coach Roger Reid about how he taught players to take free throws seriously.
BYU failed to hold on to a slim lead in its loss to TCU. Here's Jay Drew's analysis of what Kevin Young's team needs to do moving forward.
In this piece, Ryan McDonald researches if Cougar freshman Egor Demin's stock has taken a hit with his injury and struggles to come back.
Pole vaulters and sprinters excelled at the BYU Indoor Invitational track meet over the weekend. Austin Cox cleared 5.20m/17-0.75 while Ethan Amata cleared 5.10m/16-8.75 for an indoor personal best. Aaron Wood finished the pack clearing 4.80m/15-9.0. Senior Maren Garnett claimed the No. 1 all-time spot in the pole vault in women's competition. The sprints team showed out with all four Cougars in the 60-meter hurdles advancing to the finals. Coming back from injury, Logan Hubler ran 7.97 across the finish for the fastest time of the day.
BYU's men won a tri-meet swim and diving competition last week.
Puka Nacua , Rams rout Vikings in wild-card matchup ( Deseret News )
Turnovers doom Cougs at TCU ( Deseret News )
BYU gets big time commit Madsen ( Deseret News )
Comments from Deseret News readers:
My understanding is European play is strong on fundamentals, but speed and athleticism of the game is not on the same level.
I have no doubt Egor is an elite talent athletically with strong fundamentals in terms of passing, rebounding, and even shooting mechanics despite the slump. He does show that at different times.
However, this is his first exposure to the American game of far more athleticism and speed for which he has to adapt. So far NBA scouts have been given pause on development to be ready or merit high draft status.
If Egor and his parents truly see BYU as the next step in development to be a lottery pick, the one and done expectation may need to be re-examined based on play to date.
Catchings likewise has shown the elite talent that he is at times, but is demonstrating a struggle in adapting to the college game.
The long-term worry given today's impatient environment and expectations is if both Egor and Catchings continue to struggle along with the team, what does the transfer portal look like and does AJ and other projected talent begin to question their now business decisions?
Still early in league play. Catchings, Egor, and the other potential NBA prospects on the team still have plenty of opportunity to learn from the losses, get play and potential to match expectations.
You can only hope they can figure things out with the talent to start finishing games with wins and the NBA prospects developing. Otherwise, it could get rocky at the Y.
— Jayson Meline
The Cougars should've won the TCU game. I expect they'll regret this outcome in March. Saunders had a good game. Hall had a decent game. But one or two more made shots from anyone else on the team, Knell, Fouss, Egor, Kanon, Dawson, etc. would've made a difference. Likewise for all the turnovers....one or two fewer could've swung the game in their favor. But no one else stepped up.
Our guys just didn't take care of business on Saturday. This loss will cost them in the post season. They have to win games like this one in order to get selected to the NCAAs. That possibility is looking less and less likely with each Big 12 loss.
Now — to see how they handle OK State (Tuesday.)
— CougarCat
Jan. 16 | 10 a.m. | Women's tennis | @ Weber State
Jan. 16 | noon | Swimming and diving | @ Cal
Jan. 16 | 5 p.m. | Men's volleyball | @ Ball State
Jan. 18 | 5 p.m. | Women's basketball | @ Texas Tech
Jan. 18 | 7 p.m. | Men's basketball | @ Utah
