Recruiting Question

I know this probably should be in the recruiting forum but it directly pertains to this and I imagine more will see it here than there. Mods: Move it if you must.



My question is this: For those who follow recruiting much closer than I will you please provide a comparative list of those who committed to Bronco and his staff before he moved to UVA and those who are still or are now newly committed? I have heard several conflicting reports that Kalani is rocking it and others saying he has only flipped one better than 2* recruit. Any help would be appreciated.



Go Cougs!!!

J. Child

Ammon, ID

The difficulty is quantifying which recruits that signed under Kalani definitely would not have under Bronco. There are some who assert, for example, that Handsome is a Kalani recruit because he committed after Kalani was named head coach. Others argue that while he did commit then, he was recruited primarily by Bronco and just maintained/solidified his commitment to BYU after Bronco left.



There could be some clear Kalani exclusives based on some rumors flying around, but next year's class is where Kalani will really have the chance to shine in my humble opinion.

Well, let's see, there is Jackson Kaufusi (3 star surprise commit), and there is new, heightened interest from Keanu Saleapaga (3 star), Fua Pututau (3 star), Sione Finau (3 star). These last three have yet to finalize their decisions, and could still flip (high probability for BYU with Finau and Saleapaga). There are higher rated recruits that were talked into a last-weekend recruiting visit, and though unlikely to flip, their presence is impressive to all the other visiting recruits. This last group making the token OV: Fehoko (4star), Juarez (5 star), and the 5 star RB (whose name I just now forgot).



So yeah, I don't think we would have this much last minute 3 star interest or high-profile visits from the 5 star guys without Sitake's energy and enthusiasm.



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http://www.scout.com/college/byu/2016-football-commits" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



This is our list of commitments. The last 8 were with the new head coach. Troy and Handsome really were Bronco's. One is listed as 3 stars. Chris and Caden probably should be 3, I hope.

I think its important to note that Kilani does not seem to be losing anyone that Bronco recruited. That doesn't always happen when you lose a head coach.



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Jarhead wrote:
I think its important to note that Kilani does not seem to be losing anyone that Bronco recruited. That doesn't always happen when you lose a head coach.



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Great point, Kalani has done a tremendous job of recruiting the commits.

In my list above, I forgot Alema Pilimai, who is a three star LB, and said he was so impressed with Sitaki that he was no longer fully committed to the Utes, but had become completely undecided. He said that his preconceived concerns about the atmosphere at BYU were completely resolved, and that he was excited about the possibility of the BYU option. I read this in an article off CougarFan earlier this week; no time to look it up.

It sounded like he was already flipped emotionally, but need time to think about it, and that he still had his Utah visit coming up. So there's another 3 star guy who went from little interest to enthusiasm because of BYU's new staff. It seems like at least a 50/50 proposition for BYU with him, or greater, if Utah does not hit it out of the ballpark for him this weekend.



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It's a fair question--and as usual the truth is somewhere in the middle. He has pulled some in, kept most, some still deciding, and a few walked away. Here is a quick summary of the news I've seen over the past while (I'm sure it isn't complete by any means):

Bronco commits who stayed solid - Publicly announced still committed after Sitake

Skyler Southam

Darius McFarland

Drew Jensen

Max Tooley

Jonah Trinnaman

Jaren Hall

There may be others but those are the ones I've seen.



Transition commits

Handsome Tanielu - 4* DL (was committed to Utah, changed to BYU shortly after Sitake was announced--Sitake had recruited him for Oregon State but Bronco's staff also was working him)



Committed on Sitake's watch

Lisala Tai - 3* OL

JT Gentry - 2* OL Offered and committed on official visit

Clark Barrington - 2* OL

Jackson Kaufusi - 3* LB

Caden Haws - 2* OL

Chris Wilcox - 2* DB

Hayden Livingston - Not Rated QB - Dual Threat - Passed up Air Force scholarship for preferred walk-on status

Tyler Luatua - TE, Transferring from Notre Dame - Will play in 2017 and 2018.



Bronco recruits turned away by the new staff

Keegan Hicks RM OL

Wayne Taulapapa 2* RB

Keaton Torre 3* QB



Not able to sign

Tre Miller - had offer pulled by old staff IIRC, Sitake pursue him again late but he committed to Utah State

Pookie Maka - Colorado commit - "BYU was easy to put out of the picture", Neither Bronco nor Sitake were able to secure interest in him so hard to consider him a "loss"--never had him.

Leki Fotu (Utah commit) - Confirmed his Utah commit



Wait and see

Mique Juarez - 5* LB would be a steal to land him

Wayne Kirby - BYU decommit during Bronco time, leaning Utah

Hirkley Latu - BYU decommit during Bronco time

Fua Pututau

Keanu Saleapaga - BYU or Colorado

Bradlee Anae

Keaton Bills - BYU/Utah

Sione Finau (Oregon State commit)

Cole Fotheringham (Utah commit)

Alema Pilimai (between Utah and BYU)

Simi Fehoko (Stanford commit)

Jaylen Morgan - BYU/Hawaii/SDSU



Edit note: Leki Fotu confirmed his Utah commit so he did not flip.

Edit note: Jaren Hall confirmed his BYU commit.

Edit note: Tyler Luatua confirmed his transfer from Notre Dame to BYU.

Out of the wait and see, based upon tweets by the players, I believe that kalani should reel in: Keanu Saleapaga, Hirkley Latu, Sione Finau, Alema Pilimai and Jaylen Morgan.



Pututau, Anae and Bills have been fairly discrete in describing their experience.



What is interesting to me is that PAC12 emphasis doesn't seem to be as major a factor in selecting a school for many of the recruits compared to the trust, and family feel/unity/ caring atmosphere exhibited at BYU. There is also a promise stated that the staff will help the players become the best that they can be both on the field and off it. It appears to resonate with the parents.



Looking forward to some nice surprises on Wednesday.

The list is missing Troy Warner, the highest rated BYU commit of the 2016 class. Committed under Bronco, took a second look at USC after Bronco left but reaffirmed his commitment to KS. Troy has already enrolled at BYU and will participate in Spring ball.

Jaren Hall confirmed his commitment to BYU yesterday and informed the Utah coaches of his decision per twitter.

Tyler Luatua has confirmed his transfer from Notre Dame to BYU after his OV last weekend. He will finish the spring semester at Notre Dame, come to BYU for the fall, and sit out 2016 before having 2 years left to play in 2017 and 2018.



http://www.ndinsider.com/football/after-visit-to-byu-notre-dame-s-tyler-luatua-makes/article_2c0229ca-c946-11e5-b952-1b05871ae403.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;