Business author Jim Collins popularized the term "the flywheel effect" when discussing the lasting effect of positive momentum. At a high level, the flywheel effect theorizes that success in one area can lead to success in other areas, thus creating a self-sustaining, self-reinforcing loop that delivers ever improving results.
Or, if you prefer to have things explained in football terms, the flywheel effect is what we are seeing with Kalani Sitake's BYU football program.
On-field success attracts higher-caliber talent, which leads to more on-field success, which attracts higher-caliber talent. And so on, and so forth.
And the flywheel is humming in Provo right now.
An ESPN Top 20 recruiting class
ESPN recently updated their class of 2026 football recruiting rankings, and BYU ranks No. 19 nationally and No. 1 in the Big 12.
The flywheel got its first couple of slow turns when BYU joined the Big 12 for the 2023 season. Joining a Power Four conference energized already passionate fans and mobilized the donor base. NIL helped level the playing field and BYU's flywheel began spinning a bit faster. Then in 2024 the Cougars went 11-2, dominated the Alamo Bowl against Prime Time in prime time, and finished the season ranked No. 13.
The flywheel began to whir.
The end result of each of these successes, building one on top of another, is BYU's 2026 recruiting class, which consists of talent profiles unlike any ever seen before in Provo.
Quarterback Ryder Lyons is a composite 5-star talent and among the Top 5 nationally for his position, has signed a lucrative Under Armour NIL deal, and walked the red carpet at the 2025 ESPY Awards. Tight end Brock Harris, offensive lineman Bott Mulitalo, and tight end Ty Goettsche are consensus 4-star players. The class of 2026 has five other high 3-star recruits (consensus 88 and 89 overall ratings) who are on the precipice of 4-star status.
The flywheel gains momentum
The recruiting service 247 Sports is equally high on BYU's class of 2026, which they rank No. 23. To put a Top 25 high school recruiting class in perspective, here's where the Cougars ranked in each of the last five years:
2025 - No. 43
2024 - No. 44
2023 - No. 58
2022 - No. 56
2021 - No. 74
Landing a Top 25 recruiting class in 2026 is perhaps the single biggest push to BYU's flywheel. Kalani Sitake has consistently produced Top 25 teams with talent profiles in the 40s-70s. He has almost always found ways for the product on the field to outperform the recruiting scorecard.
The class of 2026 is poised to add an unprecedented level talent in Provo.
And increased talent leads to increased wins.
Increased wins leads to more fan engagement and donor support.
Winning and institutional support lead to landing greater talent.
And increased talent leads to increased wins.
And the flywheel in Provo gains momentum, spinning ever faster, and faster, and faster.