How happy should we be?

We got four FB commits from BYU's Junior Day. How excited should we be as none of them were rated? I understand that ratings are not everything, but they are something.



Austin Hoyt, 6' 7", 240 lb OL from Argonaut High in Jackson, CA

Brayden Kearsley, a 6' 5", 277 lb OL from Aloha High School in the Portland, OR

Bobby Wolford, a 6' 3", 230 lb LB from Jacksonville, FL

Phillip Amone, a 6' 0", 218 lb LB from Orlando, FL



I like getting recruits from Florida as it speads BYU's attention nationally when we recruit out of the east. I just don't know how excited I'm supposed to be. They seem good fits, but....I guess I want someone to tell me I should be excited.

same reason NLF scouts rave about players that don't seem to produce on the field. Have you seen the size of these guys. . . Our coaches will teach them to play if they aren't highly rated but you can't coach size into a kid.

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/26895818/29780947" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



Well, for CBS sports to report this, then Amone must be above average. The local Scout.com individual for his area said he's probably the best LB recruit in central Florida.

Amone is going to end up as a really big get. Kearsley will too for the 2013 class. THe other two look like solid BYU guys. Hoyt will end up a 3*, probably 2* for Wolford, outside shot as 3*. Basically, very solid gets.

They're Juniors. Odds are they only have two seasons of varsity football under their belts. They'll probably have some stars when they actually play their last season of high school football.

Which of these guys are/are not LDS?



If these Florida guys are not LDS, I think it's saying something big. But something tells me they are.

Wolford is the only one that is not LDS and apparently his younger brother (2014 recruit) is a potential star QB as he started his freshman year and did well. John accompanied his older brother Bobby to Provo and loved BYU also so hopefully he turns out to be a stud QB and joins his brother.

BayAreaCougar wrote:
Wolford is the only one that is not LDS and apparently his younger brother (2014 recruit) is a potential star QB as he started his freshman year and did well. John accompanied his older brother Bobby to Provo and loved BYU also so hopefully he turns out to be a stud QB and joins his brother.

If just seems like it's aways raining QB's. Been awhile since we've had a star non-LDS one.

Let's put this in perspective:



1. It has been quite some time since we have been able to land recruits from FL - most recent were Bradley and Chambers.

2. Amone, who is LDS, hadn't even considered the Y until last 2 months, and through a referral met coach Howell and then Tidwell. His visit to campus sealed the deal and he stated that he felt it was right even before his visit. Felt supported by his decision to serve a mission and that coaches cared about him as an individual then a football player.

3. Worried, who isn't LDS, came away with the same feelings about this being the right place to support his moral values.

4. Their parents love the school, coaches and what it stands for. Additionally they can now see all of their sons games on ESPN or BYUtv.

5. We are recruiting really good young men (and good athletes) across the country who will hold to our standards and who will help to not only build and contribute to the program but will help address - allay any concerns about being around Mormons.

6. This is a representative of our future going forward and the light that we will share to those who don't know about us.

7. Personally I have referred several non-members or LDS kids not really familiar with BYU and interest has developed. They all want coaches and people who will be genuine and truthful with them - and we can provide that atmosphere at the Y.



The future indeed looks bright!



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Just watched the youtbe vids for Amone and Woffords. I think both looked better than Ah Ching and Pauu. The competition in FL was definitely better. At LB the only guy who looked better was Joe Robinson but he plays at OLB and these guys line up inside for the most part. I couldn't embed the video but I'll give it another shot tomorrow.

It feels like to me that BYU is expanding their nets on recruiting and for that getting two Florida players helps, but then at the same time it seems like while these are better players than a lot of non-BCS teams are getting, these aren't the blue chippers that are as inclined to bring you to the BCS if you no longer have and automatic in. If we end up with that really good second tier of athletes, but we are deeper with them, then we are gaining ground. If we're just changing our composition demographics, then it's not quite the same thing. Our 2010 class took us where we had never been before, 2011 had no one rated higher than 3-stars and while we could end up with a few 4-stars for 2012 (Scout is reporting 4 4-star and 1 5-star recruits have offers, I'll be surprised if we get any more than two of them.



Maybe the 4 & 5-star LDS athlete that we relish just think too much of themselves to go to BYU. Maybe, but I didn't think it would be this way, that 2010 was more of an anomoly. I had thought it was the pattern going forward. I'm pleased, but I'm just not tickled "blue".

The Y tries to sign a number of recruits before they have been evaluated by the recruiting services and given star rankings. In other words, we try and get a lot of the kids that are under the radar.



Bronco has never placed a lot of emphasis on the star ranking which appears to be based a lot on the number of offers and name of schools interested in the recruit. I think it is quite obvious that they have a set of criteria that the players must meet to even be considered.



The June 1 Desnews Article with Coach Joe Dupaix about the Y recruiting approach states,



“Every single school has its own niche,” he said. “I don’t look at it as a challenge and as a problem because at BYU, we know exactly what we’re looking for in a student-athlete. If that student doesn’t meet all the criteria that we’re looking for, then it’s going to be hard for that person to find success here at BYU. So our biggest challenge is to go out and spend the man hours to find the right kids.”



“We don’t necessarily know about each and every LDS kid out there that is athletic,” he said. “There’s no huge database with that information, so referrals are huge. If there’s a kid out there, anywhere, that is believed to be a good fit, then we love to be contacted. And it’s certainly not just LDS kids we want to know about. We’re looking for the best football players with the standards we have here at BYU, so whether that kid is LDS or not isn’t the question; it’s if the kid simply has the standards to play here. Recruiting is our lifeblood, and if you don’t get the right fits within your football program, then you’re in a lot of trouble.”

byucougar1 wrote:
The Y tries to sign a number of recruits before they have been evaluated by the recruiting services and given star rankings. In other words, we try and get a lot of the kids that are under the radar.



Bronco has never placed a lot of emphasis on the star ranking which appears to be based a lot on the number of offers and name of schools interested in the recruit. I think it is quite obvious that they have a set of criteria that the players must meet to even be considered.

Two things. One, I understand that BYU tries to sign recruits before they have been evaluated, but that doesn't explain then the 2011 class when it relates to the higher-rated player unless you are using the premise that after they recruit to BYU, the organizations that rate players tend to give up on those heading to BYU. A concept that's been debated for years.



Two, Bronco doesn't use the star system and that is well established and hopefully he's right where most others are wrong. It is rare when when we get a recruit that has all kinds of BCS school offers, but it does happen as witnessed by our 2010 class.



I know I'm playing a bit of the devil's advocate on this and I believe we're fine. I think Bronco & Co does a very great job considering the challenges they face. Only time will tell whether we can ever get in a pattern of getting the 4 & 5-star LDS recruits or not. It would be nice to see a figure over Bronco's tenure at how many of those we did receive. I don't know if we can be a power on the national landscape of college football if we don't on a consistent basis.

Again, I think that two much emphasis is placed on the 4&5 star recruits. If you review the recruiting classes of Boise St, TCU and even UT (the teams that went to the BCS bowls), all had lots of 3-star recruits and very few 4/5 star. Despite the lack of those type of stars next to the names, those teams were very competitive and BCS worthy. Bronco has that same philosophy, focuses on athletes that have talent, but more importantly heart and are teachable. Class of 2011 is too early to judge as to the talent - it appears more blue colar - in the trenches type of players. Based upon the winning programs that the players came from, my gut feeling is that the defense dominated class of 2011 is going to be a foundational block for years to come which will be a cornerstone of our success in getting to a BCS bowl game.

BYU won't sign players the coaches haven't seen in person and rare is the recruit who won't be at a BYU camp.

EM_Puma wrote:
It feels like to me that BYU is expanding their nets on recruiting and for that getting two Florida players helps, but then at the same time it seems like while these are better players than a lot of non-BCS teams are getting, these aren't the blue chippers that are as inclined to bring you to the BCS if you no longer have and automatic in. If we end up with that really good second tier of athletes, but we are deeper with them, then we are gaining ground. If we're just changing our composition demographics, then it's not quite the same thing. Our 2010 class took us where we had never been before, 2011 had no one rated higher than 3-stars and while we could end up with a few 4-stars for 2012 (Scout is reporting 4 4-star and 1 5-star recruits have offers, I'll be surprised if we get any more than two of them.



Maybe the 4 & 5-star LDS athlete that we relish just think too much of themselves to go to BYU. Maybe, but I didn't think it would be this way, that 2010 was more of an anomoly. I had thought it was the pattern going forward. I'm pleased, but I'm just not tickled "blue".

2010 was an anomoly because of Jake Heaps. Jake recruited most the other 4 star players. We will get good enough recruits to make a BCS game but we will get there on solid players only given 3 stars.