At Lawless Republic we’ve been keeping you updated on different prospects to keep an eye on as National Signing Day creeps closer and closer. We will continue to do that but today we wanted to take a guess at the BYU Class of 2015. We teamed up with our good friend Cole Murdoch to put together a list of what we think BYU’s recruiting class will look like the night of February 4. If you don’t follow Cole on Twitter then you’re doing something wrong. In my opinion, he knows more about BYU recruiting than anyone not working in Geoff Martzen’s office. Give him a follow @cmurdoch3.
Dec 22, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Brigham Young Cougars head coach Bronco Mendenhall reacts after a fumble recovery against the Memphis Tigers during the fourth quarter in the Miami Beach Bowl at Marlins Park. Memphis won 55-48 in a double overtime. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
This list is put together in “confidence order.” Basically, the first person on this list isn’t the highest rated or the one with the most offers, but it’s the one that we’re the most sure of. The last person on the list is the one that wouldn’t surprise us if he went to a different school.
Eric Takenaka– DB Snow College 5’9″ 205 lbs. This is a little bit of a gimmie as Takenaka is already enrolled, but he’s a no doubter in this class.
Devin Kaufusi– DE Timpview High School (Provo, UT) 6’6″ 215 lbs. It’s almost more surprising when BYU has a recruiting class without the Kaufusi name involved in some way.
Jeremiah Ieremia– LB Hurricane High School (Hurricane, UT) 6’2″ 225 lbs. Ieremia is a hard hitting prospect and loves BYU. He’ll be a sign and send player that’s headed on an LDS mission.
Kody Wilstead– QB Pine View High School (St. George, UT) 6’5″ 215 lbs. Quarterback with a big arm is solid commit to BYU. He’s another sign and send prospect and, in my opinion, could end up having the best BYU career of this class.
Beau Hoge– QB Highlands High School (Fort Myers, KY) 6’0″ 200 lbs. He’s still in high school and he’s already been on ESPN’s top plays. He’s got “home run potential” and has some similarities to Taysom Hill.
Riley Burt– ATH (slated to play RB) Box Elder High School (Brigham City, UT) 6’1″ 195 lbs. Burt has a high ceiling and a lot of raw talent. If he reaches his potential, he’ll be a player.
Will Sedgwick– LB Laguna Hills High School (Laguna Hills, CA) 6’2″ 220 lbs. Very talented linebacker that has been committed for nearly forever. Sign and send linebacker.
David Lui– DL Pittsburgh Senior High School (Pittsburgh, CA) 6’3″ 250 lbs. BYU landed a commitment from Lui this summer and he hasn’t wavered. He’s another sign and send player.
Tevita Mounga– DL Vista Murrieta High School (Murrieta, CA) 6’2″ 295 lbs. Mounga is the kind of defensive tackle that Bronco Mendenhall’s defense needs. Another sign and send player.
Zayne Anderson– S Stansbury High School (Tooele, UT) 6’3″ 194 lbs. The one-time Utah State commitment flipped his commitment and will join Bronco Mendenhall’s defense. Another sign and send prospect.
Dayan Lake– DB Northridge High School (Layton, UT) 5’11” 190 lbs. Being ranked 11th on this list may seem low, but neither Cole nor myself have any real doubt that the four-star will sign on Signing Day.
Kieffer Longson– OL Dougherty Valley High School (San Ramon, CA) 6’7″ 300 lbs. When he picked BYU over UCLA, Utah and Ohio State it was a little surprising, but now, Longson seems solid. Another sign and send prospect.
Micah Simon– ATH (Likely to play WR) Bishop Dunne High School (Dallas, TX) 6’0″ 175 lbs. Simon was on Twitter recruiting other #2015ChosenOnes to Provo. He’s solid.
Akile Davis– WR De Soto High School (Desoto, TX) 6’1″ 185 lbs. There were some grumblings early on that Davis’ commitment may be wavering but after his visit to Provo a few weeks ago he seems as solid as anyone on this list.
Zach Hoyt– OL Salem High School (Salem, VA) 6’5″ 275 lbs. Nobody talks much about Hoyt but he has potential to develop into a good player. He played a lot of center in high school but looks to be a good guard prospect.
Trevor Brent– DB West Mesquite High School (Mesquite, TX) 5’10” 165 lbs. He holds offers from Boise State and BYU and is scheduled to visit Provo later this month. He’s the definition of under the radar and we feel good about BYU’s chances.
JJ Nwigwe– OL Rockwell-Heath High School (Rockwell, TX) 6’4″ 250 lbs. Nwigwe is set to visit Provo later this month. He’s got potential and BYU needs an offensive lineman that can be on campus next year.
Charles West– RB Coppell High School (Coppell, TX) 5’9″ 180 lbs. West is the kind of athlete that BYU doesn’t normally get. He’s one of the more important prospects, but he’s also got some of the most compelling offers in his hand. This would be a big get for BYU.
Mufi Hunt
(On Cole’s list but not mine)- Taylorsville High School (Taylorsville, UT) DE/OLB 6’6″ 215 lbs. Hunt would be a huge steal for BYU. Offers are still pouring in for Hunt (recently from Oregon State and Michigan State) and he’s highly sought after. He’s in BYU’s backyard so it’s hard to count BYU out, but at this point, it would be a steal if he committed. He would be another sign and send guy.
Gabe Reid– OLB/DE Timpview High School (Provo, UT) 6’2″ 240 lbs. Reid is a really, really good player. It appears that Stanford is running away with his recruitment and that putting him on our list may just be wishful thinking. He will be a sign and send player.
Mika Tafua (On my list but not Cole’s)- OLB Kamehameha Secondary (Honululu, HI) 6’4″ 230. He’s this year’s Fred Warner. USC is coming on strong but BYU still seems to be in the driver seat here. Sign and send player.
Jacob Jimenez– OL Pflugerville High School (Pflugerville, TX) 6’5″ 265 lbs. Jimenez is currently an Oregon State commit. The BYU coaches stopped by last week and with all of the coaching changes in Corvallis both Cole and I are fairly confident in BYU’s chances of flipping Jimenez.
Britain Covey (On Cole’s list but not mine)- WR Timpview High School (Provo, UT) 5’9″ 170 lbs. Covey was the most incredible high school player that I have ever seen but his projection as a college player is a little murky. Though they’re not saying they’re a package deal, if Reid were to commit to BYU I think Covey would follow.
Sep 20, 2014; Provo, UT, USA; Brigham Young Cougars quarterback Taysom Hill (4) runs against the Virginia Cavaliers at Lavell Edwards Stadium. The Cougars won the game 41-33. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
So, there it is, our projection of the 2015 BYU class just a few weeks away from signing day. It may be wrong, in fact, it probably is, but it’s our best guess. We’ll find out how accurate we are on February 4.
