Damien Mama down to 4

BYU survives into the Final Four in the Damien Mama recruitment. Mama announced the news on his Instagram. BYU is joined by USC, UCLA, and Alabama. Would be a huge get, very highly rated recruit.



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Im not holding my breath for this one.



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We could be in the top two and it wouldn't make a difference. Being number one is the only thing that counts. Will be surprised but pleased if he chooses BYU.

Would love to have him come to BYU just to hear the fans shout "Yo Mama!" when he pancakes the opponents.

Why do the biggest recruits do this to BYU? Do they feel sorry for BYU?. Is this them clinging to their faith in some futile gesture? It's like a primrose path they are leading coaches and fans on. Payton D at least had a V8 kick to the head and changed his mind. Manti ended up with a fake gf. Jabari oned-and-doned to the jazz anyway (future faith); Ngata ended up a Byu nada. So, why? Why lead on Byu when you have little intention to be a Cougar?

Just my $0.02, but I think LDS kids who do this, keep BYU in their top 3/4 to assuage the fears of a mother or father who really wants them to go to BYU where they will be "safe" and remaing strong and close to the Church.

SpiffCoug wrote:
Just my $0.02, but I think LDS kids who do this, keep BYU in their top 3/4 to assuage the fears of a mother or father who really wants them to go to BYU where they will be "safe" and remaing strong and close to the Church.

Ah. Not the worst of motives. Seems plausible and understandable....Till daddy Bronco takes the Tbird away.

SpiffCoug wrote:
Just my $0.02, but I think LDS kids who do this, keep BYU in their top 3/4 to assuage the fears of a mother or father who really wants them to go to BYU where they will be "safe" and remaing strong and close to the Church.

Agree 100%. I also think it is keep their LDS friends happy so they can say they gave BYU a good look but "XYZ school was really the right fit for the following reasons.....".



Either way Bronco needs to find a way to land these kids. He should focus more on the kids vs what they can do for BYU. I have heard from a few kids that it can be improved, really more focused primarily on scare tactics if you don't go to BYU (you won't go on a mission, tough to remain active etc etc) vs the positives of playing for BYU and his goal to turn ABC kid into a star and their potential impact to BYU. I have heard this from a few current BYU players how they were sold on BYU but the pitch left a lot to be desired.



I am not a Doman apologist, but from what I heard he was an excellent recruiter....but he was not the HC.

NDCougar wrote:

Just my $0.02, but I think LDS kids who do this, keep BYU in their top 3/4 to assuage the fears of a mother or father who really wants them to go to BYU where they will be "safe" and remaing strong and close to the Church.

Agree 100%. I also think it is keep their LDS friends happy so they can say they gave BYU a good look but "XYZ school was really the right fit for the following reasons.....".



Either way Bronco needs to find a way to land these kids. He should focus more on the kids vs what they can do for BYU. I have heard from a few kids that it can be improved, really more focused primarily on scare tactics if you don't go to BYU (you won't go on a mission, tough to remain active etc etc) vs the positives of playing for BYU and his goal to turn ABC kid into a star and their potential impact to BYU. I have heard this from a few current BYU players how they were sold on BYU but the pitch left a lot to be desired.



I am not a Doman apologist, but from what I heard he was an excellent recruiter....but he was not the HC.

I'm with no insider information, so don't know how BYU recruits, but the negative route rarely works. For decades we told kids not to smoke because it will kill you and look how well that turned out. It wasn't until we showed how uncool smoking is and raised the cost of cigarettes that youth rates went down. We need to point out the coolness of going to BYU. A national following in sports, a superior education, great exposure, excellent facilities, large crowds, challenging games, a great environment to mature in, and a chance to be a legend. There's probably much more to say, but I think that type of approach will work better than saying they won't make it elsewhere.....let mom say that.

BoiseBYU wrote:

SpiffCoug wrote:
Just my $0.02, but I think LDS kids who do this, keep BYU in their top 3/4 to assuage the fears of a mother or father who really wants them to go to BYU where they will be "safe" and remaing strong and close to the Church.

Agree 100%. I also think it is keep their LDS friends happy so they can say they gave BYU a good look but "XYZ school was really the right fit for the following reasons.....".



Either way Bronco needs to find a way to land these kids. He should focus more on the kids vs what they can do for BYU. I have heard from a few kids that it can be improved, really more focused primarily on scare tactics if you don't go to BYU (you won't go on a mission, tough to remain active etc etc) vs the positives of playing for BYU and his goal to turn ABC kid into a star and their potential impact to BYU. I have heard this from a few current BYU players how they were sold on BYU but the pitch left a lot to be desired.



I am not a Doman apologist, but from what I heard he was an excellent recruiter....but he was not the HC.

I'm with no insider information, so don't know how BYU recruits, but the negative route rarely works. For decades we told kids not to smoke because it will kill you and look how well that turned out. It wasn't until we showed how uncool smoking is and raised the cost of cigarettes that youth rates went down. We need to point out the coolness of going to BYU. A national following in sports, a superior education, great exposure, excellent facilities, large crowds, challenging games, a great environment to mature in, and a chance to be a legend. There's probably much more to say, but I think that type of approach will work better than saying they won't make it elsewhere.....let mom say that.

Agree, my subset is small and includes a few BYU players and a few who landed elsewhere, majority all served missions. I believe BYU has a lot to offer and we would have success in focusing on that, giving the vision of the program, where we want to be and what we can achieve with the recruit being a vital part of that is where I would start.

SpiffCoug wrote:
Just my $0.02, but I think LDS kids who do this, keep BYU in their top 3/4 to assuage the fears of a mother or father who really wants them to go to BYU where they will be "safe" and remaing strong and close to the Church.

No question.

He's going to bama, Just like with Jabari parker, he will choose the big name program.

frdbtr wrote:
He's going to bama, Just like with Jabari parker, he will choose the big name program.

Same with Tyler Lautua if I had to guess. I think USC's rebound also hurts as well, a total meltdown would have been better for everyone.....given the rebound they seem to be back in the mix for a few guys.



Personally I would be skeptical of Bama, for the simple case of longevity of being able to continue what they are doing and whether Saban sticks around for 4 years (really a risk to any school these days, except BYU) or potential NCAA violation (rumored). The SEC is so tough if Saban takes his foot off the pedal, goes to Texas or else where, there are several schools that can move into that top spot very easily. SEC football is top notch, but dirty as can be with recruiting etc., Bama is not a situation that is best of both worlds (church, education, football, network, alumni base etc.). Bama is a football decision only, a 4 year decision only not a 40 year decision (based on alumni and having a degree from a good school - BYU offers that and offers ties that last L/T).



.....I pray the LDS duo does not end up at USC.

Is Mama LDS? I thought he wasn't?

jonnylingo wrote:
Is Mama LDS? I thought he wasn't?

He is......or I looked really silly when I spoke with him at the ND/USC game and told him to go to BYU or ND as both need top tier LDS kds.



http://www.scout.com/2/1292533.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



Honestly, he did not seem too hyped on BYU but I don't know him personally so I could not read him.

NDCougar wrote:

Is Mama LDS? I thought he wasn't?

He is......or I looked really silly when I spoke with him at the ND/USC game and told him to go to BYU or ND as both need top tier LDS kds.



http://www.scout.com/2/1292533.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



Honestly, he did not seem too hyped on BYU but I don't know him personally so I could not read him.

Thanks. For some reason I didn't know that. I suspect we are there simply out of respect for his religion. Much like Jabari.

It could be worse, Byu could be eliminated early and we'd all complain that Byu is in the same boat as Utah.



Having top recruits keep Byu on the radar all the way to the end is good pub. It shows that we are good enough to be considered. I prefer to have the good publicity than to not have it at all.



Maybe we land him, you never know. Alabama is a long way from California. At USC,UCLA his family could go to every game. At Byu its a manageable drive. I'd like to think that that will play a roll.

stgeorgefan wrote:
It could be worse, Byu could be eliminated early and we'd all complain that Byu is in the same boat as Utah.



Having top recruits keep Byu on the radar all the way to the end is good pub. It shows that we are good enough to be considered. I prefer to have the good publicity than to not have it at all.



Maybe we land him, you never know. Alabama is a long way from California. At USC,UCLA his family could go to every game. At Byu its a manageable drive. I'd like to think that that will play a roll.

Advantage for Bama (outside of the obvious) is that is good friend Tyler Luatau (TE, LDS) has Alabama as a front runner, Luatau's older brother plays OL for Alabama. There is a possibility that Luatau and Mama go to the same spot, always an advantage to have family already at the school.

Given his list and background, I think it's pretty clear he's trying to optimize his decision over 3 domains: Faith, Family, and Football. Each of those has a front-runner when taken alone. He'll try to make a whole-package decision by figuring out how each school scores in those domains and what his own personal preference weighting is on those.



Many of the other recruits BYU's missed on have done the same thing. The weights will vary by kid. But with a kid like Parker, I really believe that BYU wasn't just up there to appease somebody. The kid invested considerable time and effort into BYU because the faith aspect was a real argument for him.



Others, like Teo, maybe not so much.



For his sake, I hope Mama chooses BYU or UCLA. Too many long-run downsides with SC or Bama. That would obviously not be a football-only decision.

CrimsonCoug wrote:



For his sake, I hope Mama chooses BYU or UCLA. Too many long-run downsides with SC or Bama. That would obviously not be a football-only decision.

Agree on this statement. Too many unknowns for USC or Bama. That being said, I will be surprised if it is not one of those two schools.