Help compile list of missed LDS recruits

Spinning off the "Can we compete" thread, please help compile a list of Top LDS athletes who are in college currently but who did not come to BYU, including Seniors who just finished their last college season.



Manti Teo (doubtful he was eligible at time of signing from HC violations--ETOH)

SuaFilo

Harvey Langi



Others?

Look at the U roster. Star is the first to come to mind (originally signed at the Y). Add him, Manti and Sua and we would have won a few more games.



Chris Badger and Kona Schwenke at ND.



Here is a list of RMs in order of college. http://www.deseretnews.com/top/936/0/Returned-missionaries-in-2012-FBS-college-football.html#/top/936/1/Stephan-Atrice-Returned-missionaries-in-2012-FBS-college-football.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yep, it sure wouldn't have made a difference if we would have had Star and Manti on the squad...

Mars wrote:


You tell me if these kids who had BYU football offers but committed elsewhere over the last 4 years are LDS or not:



Cooper Bateman

Tyler Bruggman

Jalen Ortiz

Hayden Weichers

Harrison Handley

Marquel Combs

Edwin Delva

Kyle Peko

Tutulepeata Mataele

Sione Sina

Uaea Masina

Sean Barton

Tre Flowers

Carroll Washington

Davion Orphey

Byron Marshall

Russell Hansbrough

Kelvin York

Jalen Richard

Tony Cook

Zach Lindsay

Brandon Fanaika

Junior Salt

Hiva Lutai

Tenny Palepoi

Luke Kaumatule

Hunter Dimick

Vince Biegel

Jared Afalava

Chase Hansen

Moana Ofahengaue

Bobby Wolford

Kasseim Everett

Kolton Donovan

Harvey Langi

Kasen Williams

Jordan Richards

Travis Still

Jarett Finau

Sam Meredith

Siasi Aiono

Seni Fauonuku

Taniela Tupou

Ian Seau

Evan Zegar

Dallas Lloyd

Brandon Bourbon

Cameron Roberson

Jase Butorac

Ricky Heimuli

Thomas Molesi

Ben Swarts

Kona Schwenke

Hauoli Jamora

Sefa Tanaoi

Joseph Champaign

Kyle Benson

Keanon Lowe

Christyn Lewis

Josh Nunes

Ladarius Perkins

Xavier Sua-Filo

John Martinez

Latu Heimuli

L.T. Filiaga

Steven Fanua

Manti Teo

Aaron Gress

Chris Washington

Aulola Tonga

Asi Hosea

Marco Gupton

Larry Parker

Andre Brackens

Dominique Gaisie



Honestly, not that many kids. Just 75. Probably not enough to make much of a difference on a football team.

First - you tell us which of these have proven themselves to be better than who we have on the team - and I acknowledge that there are some very good players mixed into that list - and then - who cares if they are LDS if they are HC worthy and committed.



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BYU is never going to be able to get every LDS recruit whether they can or want to live the honor code or not. If BYU highly recruits a player, gets turned down and that player ends up being really good is it a "missed" recruit? I don't count Manti as a missed recruit, Bronco says that they had a full court press on him and he turned us down. BYU knew he was going to be good. They didn't miss on him, he didn't want to come to BYU. Star is another story, BYU didn't recruit him after he went to snow, that is a missed recruit. Lets make a list of LDS players who really wanted to be at BYU that BYU shunned and afterwards they turned out to be really good, that would be more telling.

frdbtr wrote:
BYU is never going to be able to get every LDS recruit whether they can or want to live the honor code or not. If BYU highly recruits a player, gets turned down and that player ends up being really good is it a "missed" recruit? I don't count Manti as a missed recruit, Bronco says that they had a full court press on him and he turned us down. BYU knew he was going to be good. They didn't miss on him, he didn't want to come to BYU. Star is another story, BYU didn't recruit him after he went to snow, that is a missed recruit. Lets make a list of LDS players who really wanted to be at BYU that BYU shunned and afterwards they turned out to be really good, that would be more telling.

Sure, we missed Star the second time, but he missed us the first time. Higher academic standards hurt us with guys like Star while the honor code hurts us with others. It's the price we have to pay to be who we are.

Jabari Parker.

Schmoe wrote:

BYU is never going to be able to get every LDS recruit whether they can or want to live the honor code or not. If BYU highly recruits a player, gets turned down and that player ends up being really good is it a "missed" recruit? I don't count Manti as a missed recruit, Bronco says that they had a full court press on him and he turned us down. BYU knew he was going to be good. They didn't miss on him, he didn't want to come to BYU. Star is another story, BYU didn't recruit him after he went to snow, that is a missed recruit. Lets make a list of LDS players who really wanted to be at BYU that BYU shunned and afterwards they turned out to be really good, that would be more telling.

Sure, we missed Star the second time, but he missed us the first time. Higher academic standards hurt us with guys like Star while the honor code hurts us with others. It's the price we have to pay to be who we are.

I don't follow recruiting like some on this board do but from what I have read, we didn't even recruit him coming out of snow, that is why I put him as a miss. Yes, he should have been able to qualify out of high school but if we were interested in him out of high school why wouldn't we recruit him again coming out of jr college. Doesn't make sense. He may end up being a #1 pick, that is a big miss.

Star was not a miss. BYU evaluated and offered him sooner than any other college out of high school. But the plain fact of the matter is that he is the one who failed to qualify academically. AND then he was the one that decided to give up football and college altogether before ultimately changing his mind and enrolling at Snow. Finally, by the time his juco career was over, he still had barely passable academics. And BYU had just had two near certain NFL shoe-ins (Jessi Taufi and Bernard Afutiti) graduate without taking a single snap on the field because they could never get eligible in spite of having (barely) sufficient academic marks to get into BYU. And this was not so coincidentally the year Star was coming out of Snow.



You can argue all you want about whether or not BYU should have taken another chance on Star but they had already been burned twice in immediate history by similar circumstances and already been burned once by Star himself. What's more, Star didn't have a whole lot of other offers out of Snow besides Utah anyway so it's not like he was a huge juco recruit. All the credit to the man for turning things around and becoming a success. But by no means should he be considered a "miss" on BYU's part. They knew all about him and decided to pass the second time around. Hindsight it 20-20 but anyone who says that it should have been an easy decision is fooling them self. Utah lucked into Star just about as much as we lucked into Ziggy. And frankly, a significant portion of recruiting is luck, a balancing act of injuries and academics regardless of whatever talent or potential a recruit is projected to have.

If they are academically qualified, HC compatible and committed, and we do not land them, it is a miss whether it was due to us not offering or them just feeling they have a better opportunity.



I suppose it is a worse miss if we passed on them due to not thinking they would be good enough. Sometimes we miss simy because we are loaded at a position and do not have a need.



Bottom line - we always had misses and always will. Darrell Bevell was a miss.



We might miss fewer of them if we elevate the program to higher prestige level. Jabari Parker apparently was not attracted to WCC level for example. Might have been attracted to Big 12 given being LDS might have helped.



Playing at BYU is not a commandment. I have had missionaries in my home that strongly disliked BYU.



That is just the way things are.



This gets me in trouble - BUT



If BYU fans wants an elite program they need to demand it by becoming an elite fanbase.



What does that look like?



85,000+ filled seats

BYU attire and car and yard accessories everwhere - good times and bad times - Nationally

Travel well - fill the planes, hotels, and restaurants and hope that takes the sting out of the empty bars

Football as FANS 1st priority



Lest I come across as a hypocrite:



I am not an elite fan - just a good, loyal, long-term one

I do not expect an elite program - would love it - just do not expect it

I love underdogs - including BYU



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The player that comes to my mind is Jake Murphy. Committed out of high school goes on a mission while he's on his mission Utah gets into the PAC12. He gets off his mission early and BYU doesnt have a scholarship for him so he openly says that he is going to go to the U because he wants to compete against the best competition ot there. X from UCLA is another player. He went on a mission, had the grades, and was from Utah and still he goes to UCLA. There have been plenty of players over the years that have went to other schools so they can play in big time conferences. This isn't anything new and I understand your not going to land all of them but in the Big12 I think we could get 80% or more.

Two other players that come to mind were Stanley Havili and Haloti Ngata. Ngatas mom committed him to BYU but his uncles convinced him that he would get better exposer at Oregon so he decommited from the Y and went to Oregon and I'm pretty sure it's safe to say everything worked out good for him and if he had came to the Y he would have made a difference. These are just two players who grew up rooting for the Y but went elsewhere so they could play in a major conference.

Mars wrote:


Star was absolutely a miss. A huge one. As was Asiata.

Wow think of how freaking incredible it would have been if Star was playing at the Y and was on this defense this year. My hell BYU's defense might not have gave up 40 yards rushing per game. Too bad the coaches didn't see what they saw two years earlier when they missed on recruiting him the second time.

BYU is going to miss on a top player this year in Braden Kearsley!