Kalani Sitake and staff are prioritizing these recruits Deseret News

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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. They then 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.

According to sources, Harris and Lyons had great visits with Sitake, Jay Hill, Fesi Sitake, Aaron Roderick and Kevin Gilbride.

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In Lyon's camp, the needle moved closer to BYU. The Folsom High star has received offers from most of the nation's top programs. Mississippi State coach Lane Kiffin was at Folsom High the day after the BYU coaches arrived. Kiffin sold his work with Latter-day Saint quarterback Jaxson Dart out of Corner Canyon via USC.

Ryder's brother Walker is a tight end at USC. Both Ryder Lyons and Harris were able to serve missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after high school.

If BYU can get Lyons, he will be a key recruiter for the Cougars in the coming months as his friends and many others could follow suit, including Harris. There are players who want to play for Lyon and follow him.

Coaches took advantage of the recruiting contact window that started Jan. 6 and continues through Feb. 1.

Recruiting service 247Sports ranks Harris as 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 that service's No. 6 prospect nationally.

Another candidate, Corner Canyon offensive lineman Esun Tafa, recently released his top five: BYU, Utah, Miami, Oregon and Washington.

All these prospects end up in heated NIL discussions. This month is a good time to see what BYU has in store with its NIL football game, and now the program has a general manager Dave George.

The intention is that these top players will not only take center stage in the coming months, but will also be a key element of BYU's recruiting priorities. According to athletic department officials, the emphasis at BYU's three silos is on acquiring the best Latter-day Saint talent in the country, signing longtime recruits whose family ties and experience are a natural fit for a foundation, and signing the best non-latter-day talent. Saint prospects who fit into the culture and the program.

Lyons and Harris are a perfect fit for the first two, which is why it's imperative to make progress on signing them this year.

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.

Question of the week

Does the signing of four-star linebacker/running back McKay Madsen, who chose BYU over Oregon and UCLA this past week, mean a bump in Kalani Sitakes' recruitment after an 11-2 season? Also predict BYU in a Utah basketball game.

Jay Drew: Getting a commitment from four-star linebacker and running back McKay Madsen is a huge asset for Kalani Sitake and his staff, even if the 220-pound phenom plans to fulfill a mission before enrolling.

Madsen's choice indicates that he believes Sitake's program has staying power and will be as strong in 2027, when he returns from his mission, as it is today.

Football recruiting at BYU has generally been on the rise in recent years, and this is just one example of that trend. The Cougars are still rocking the top-40 class ranks, but recruiting is improving and the future looks bright in that regard.

Of the twenty candidates who signed in December, few can change the program. To be fair, most of them had already committed before the 2024 season happened.

Still, there's no doubt that BYU's success has helped land a number of late commits, such as Lone Peaks 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 struggling to tell their friends they were going to BYU. Those prospects liked 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 likely to choose BYU, and their friends understand why.

This was evident last week with the use of McKay Madsens, and we also saw it with old child OL Austin Pay. We saw this momentum late in the season when BYU signed seven transfer portal recruits, led by Utah defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa and TE teammate Carsen Ryan.

It was also clear that BYU was making progress when Tausili Akana, a four-star defensive end at Texas, signed with the Cougars in December. Akana reportedly had an $800,000 deal with the Longhorns but didn't 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 make the transfer happen. Akana has ties to Utah County.

Sources say BYU has upped its game with NIL conversations and connections and is doing much better with presentations and pitches than it was a year ago, but sources say team leaders are still a bit clumsy at times. There is noticeable NIL momentum at BYU as coaches and administrators work to close deals and absorb 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 Hunter Clegg, one of the best rushers in recent Utah high school history, decided to leave his mission at BYU after committing to Utah as a senior, and Michigan's Andrew Gentry left Ann Arbor for BYU, this to the theory. that BYU is gaining popularity.

According to 247sportsBYU's 2025 class is ranked 57th. The school ranks 73rd in transfer portal obligations, with just seven students.

Another factor that wasn't there eight months ago was that BYU led the Big 12 in defense and the nation in interceptions. This has caught the attention of prospects who wanted to see if BYU's defensive coaches could develop playmakers and make careers. They received some evidence.

Basketball Prediction: BYU 78, Utah 75

Cougar Stories

Utah teams, including BYU, have struggled 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 onto 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 examines whether Cougar freshman Egor Demin's stock has taken a hit due to his injury and is struggling to bounce back.

Pole vaulters and sprinters excelled at the BYU Indoor Invitational track meet this weekend. Austin Cox clocked a time of 5.20m/17-0.75, while Ethan Amata posted a time of 5.10m/16-8.75 for an indoor personal best. Aaron Wood finished the pack with a lead of 4.80m/15-9.0. Senior Maren Garnett claimed the all-time No. 1 spot in the women's pole vault. The sprint team showed off all four Cougars in the 60 meter hurdles on their way to the finals. Returning from injury, Logan Hubler crossed the finish line in 7.97 for the fastest time of the day.

BYU's men won a tri-meet swim and diving competition last week.

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Extra points

Puka Nacua and Rams beat Vikings in wild-card matchup (Deseret News)

Turnover looms over Cougs at TCU (Deseret News)

BYU gets major Madsen contract (Deseret News)

Fanalysts

Comments from Deseret News readers:

I understand that the European game is strong in the fundamentals, but the speed and athleticism of the game are not at the same level.

I have no doubt that Egor is an elite talent athletically with strong fundamentals in passing, rebounding and even shooting, despite the slump. He shows that at various times.

However, this is his first taste of the American game of much more athleticism and speed, which he will have to adapt to. Until now, NBA scouts have been given a developmental pause to be ready or earn high draft status.

If Egor and his parents truly see BYU as the next step in the development of becoming a lottery pick, the only expectation should be reexamined based on the play thus far.

Catchings has also shown the elite talent he is at times, but he shows he is having trouble adapting to the college game.

The longer term concern, given today's impatient environment and expectations, is: if both Egor and Catchings continue to struggle with the team, what does the transfer portal look like and AJ and other projected talent start to question their now business decisions to draw?

Still early in the competition. 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 live up to expectations.

One can only hope they can figure things out with the talent to finish games with wins and the NBA prospects develop. Otherwise, things could get rocky at the Y.

Jayson Meline

The Cougars should have won the TCU game. I expect they will regret this outcome in March. Sanders played a good game. Hall played a reasonable game. But one or two shots from anyone else in the team, Knell, Fouss, Egor, Kanon, Dawson, etc., would have made a difference. The same goes for all the turnovers… one or two less could have 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 a lot of money in the postseason. They have to win games like this to get selected to the NCAAs. That possibility seems less and less likely with each Big 12 loss.

Now let's see how they handle OK State (Tuesday).

CougarCat