As we stated on Lawless Republic a few weeks ago, we’re going to keep track as best as we can of our “Recruiting Big Board” in an effort to help fans know what recruits BYU is after and what recruits might matter the most for the future of the football team. Here is the Class of 2015 Big Board version 2.0. Again, this is nothing official and likely isn’t as accurate as I’d like to think it is, but it’s at least a good way to keep of track of what is going on.
September 28, 2012; Provo, UT, USA; Brigham Young Cougars head coach Bronco Mendenhall walks the sideline during the third quarter against the Hawaii Warriors at Lavell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Team Needs
Offensive Line- There is no secret about it; BYU’s offensive line has left a lot to be desired the last few seasons. They have had some talent the last couple of years, but our Cougars always need more talent in the trenches.
Defensive Back- Craig Bills, Robertson Daniel and Jordan Johnson will all graduate following the 2014 season. Not only does BYU need defensive backs, they need defensive backs that can play immediately.
Running Back- Depth. Go Fast, Go Hard is intense. Depth, depth, depth.
Quarterback- Christian Stewart graduates this year. Walk-on (and third string) QB Hayden Griffits will likely go on a mission following the season. That leaves BYU will just Taysom Hill. Tanner Mangum and Trent Hosick should both be arriving in Provo prior to the 2015 season, but I think they need another QB.
Wide Receiver- Not a huge need, but depth.
Big Board
*= already committed.
Dayan Lake*– Probably the jewel of the class. Longtime defensive back commit from Northridge High School in Layton, Utah. Likely headed on a mission after graduation.
Mika Tafua*– DE/OLB prospect of Hawaii. Looks like Bronco Mendenhall’s linebacker corps is loaded going forward.
Will Sedgwick*– MLB prospect out of Laguna Hills, CA. He’s a tackle machine. BYU’s MLBs are required to be tackling machines.
Devin Kaufusi*– DE/OLB prospect from Brighton High School. He’s a Kaufusi. Do you need me to really say anything else?
Khari Vanderbilt*– JUCO defensive back (I think he plays safety at BYU) from San Jose City College. Shoutout to Robertson Daniel for selling BYU to this kid.
David Lui*– DE Pittsburgh CA. The guy can play. His recruiting hasn’t taken off as much as it should have yet, and it might not now that he’s committed. But don’t kid yourself, he would have had a handful of PAC-12 offers had he let the process play out.
– QB Pineview High School, St. George, Utah. Committed to BYU this past week. He has an NFL caliber arm and is mobile enough that he can be very effective.
Photo Credit: Scout.com. Riley Burt
Riley Burt*– DB/RB from Box Elder High School in Brigham City, UT. Burt pulled the trigger last week on committed to BYU. He’s a raw talent, but he’s got a lot of talent. No mission plans for him so BYU can look forward to grooming him for four or five straight years.
James Empey– OL from American Fork, UT. #25 and without a BYU offer on our previous big board. After attending the BYU Big Man Camp he got the BYU offer that he probably deserved months ago. With Steve Miller’s commitment to Arizona State is makes Empey even more important for the Cougars.
Kieffer Longson– OL from Doughtry Valley High School in San Ramon, CA. He’s a 4-star prospect according to Scout.com and is starting to garner a lot of national attention. He recently received a BYU offer. Longson is the kind of kid BYU has to land, I mean, his Twitter name is Mt. Stormingmormon.
William Auwae– OT Kapolei High School, Kaplei, HI. Depending on where you look, Auwae is listed at 6’5″ and between 260-275 lbs. He received an offer after visiting BYU’s campus a couple of weeks ago. BYU needs big men. Auwae looks plenty capable of filling a need for the Cougars.
Kevin Estes– OL San Marcos, CA. BYU needs offensive lineman. Estes is another athletic prospect.
Branden Bowen– OL Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah. Personally, I think this 320 athlete is the most talented lineman BYU is after, but I also think it’s a long shot for the Cougars.
Jeremiah Ieremia– LB from Hurricane, UT. An impressive showing at the All-Poly camp have put Ieremia on the map. His recruiting is about to take off even more than it already has. He would play a very important role as an inside linebacker.
Mufi Hunt– OLB that played at Brighton High School last season. This kid looks like a young Alani Fua. He’s a finesse player, but he’s got a dangerously tall ceiling he could reach. I am optimistic about BYU being the end result for Hunt.
Quinn Fabrizio– S/OLB Alta High School, Sandy, Utah. He’s a big defensive back. He looks like a linebacker playing safety. In a recent interview with Scout.com, Fabrizio said that he’s focused on BYU, Utah, Utah State, Wisconsin and Washington. He believes more offers may be coming, but those are the five schools he cares about most.
Cameron Scarlett– RB from Central Catholic High School in Portland, OR. This was a long shot from the beginning, but with each passing today it becomes an even longer shot.
Tevita Mounga– DT from Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta, CA. Tyler Cook, if you’re reading this, please get your former teammate to come to BYU. Bronco’s defense needs an anchor at the tackle position.
Gabe Reid– DE/OLB prospect out of Timpview in Provo. The kid can flat out play. I like BYU’s chances here but I think that Stanford is a real threat.
– RB from Las Vegas, NV. Miller runs a little tall, but he’s similar size to Jamaal Williams was when he came out of high school and he runs a faster 40. Cross your fingers that Miller ends up like Jamaal. There have been some random Twitter rumors that Miller is a mystery commit. I’m fairly confident those rumors will end up being true.
Photo Credit: deseretnews.com. Britain Covey
Britain Covey– WR/QB from Timpview. If Covey only had a few more pounds on him I think he would be the top prospect in Utah. He is absolutely dynamic. Yes, he’s small, but he is a football player. He’s JD Falslev with more upside. Utah is a real threat to steal Covey from BYU.
Thadd Daniels– JUCO CB from Cerritos College in Norwalk, CA. He should probably he higher on the big board. He has a Utah offer. Utah knows CBs. Daniels is the real deal.
Reggie Daniels– WR from Hendrickson High School in Pflugerville, TX. I really like BYU’s chances with Daniels. Guy Holliday is really working hard in Texas.
Charles West– RB Speedy back from Coppell, Texas. With the reported Harvey Langi transfer and the possibility of Elias Miller already committing, it makes West less vital. However, you can’t ever have enough speed.
Jonah Moi– OLB Riverside City College in Redlands, CA. Moi received an offer after attending the BYU Camp at Redlands Camp. At 6’4″, 245 lbs this JUCO prospect could be an immediate contributor at BYU. Though he is currently committed to Hawaii, he seems really excited about the potential of playing at BYU.
There are more players that have reported offers and more that are receiving interest. This is my best guess at each of them and how important they are for BYU.
Recruits that BYU had their eyes on but won’t be heading to Provo
Steve Miller– OL Gilbert, AZ. He was previously #7 on our big board here, but recently committed to Arizona State. If BYU could somehow flip him that would be great, but he seems pretty set on becoming a Sun Devil.
Sam Mays– WR from Houston, TX. Previously #15 on our big board. He committed to Illinois this past week. Bummer for BYU.
Adrian Miller– WR from Houston, TX. Previously #20 on our big board. He also committed to Illinois this past week. What is with all the quality WRs going to Illinois?
Stay tuned before Fall Camp starts as we continue to track the #2015ChosenOnes.
