New BYU basketball coach Kevin Young has made headlines around the nation the past two months with his recruiting success, having landed three four-star prospects and Russian Egor Demin, a projected first-round pick in next summer’s NBA draft.
Meanwhile, BYU’s football coaches have been hard at work as well, albeit in less headline-grabbing fashion. June has been a big month for the Cougars — and all college football programs — in that regard, as members of the 2025 signing class are the primary focus.
That’s right. BYU coaches have shifted their attention from assembling the last few pieces of the 2024 roster via the transfer portal, and have spent the last three weeks conducting camps and hosting official and unofficial campus visits from some of the top prospects in the country.
Head coach Kalani Sitake told the Deseret News nearly three weeks ago that BYU continues to “cast a wider net” for recruits as it prepares to play its second season in the Big 12. He said there might be only one or two more additions via the portal to the 2024 team.
The Cougars would like another top-flight defender, such as a cornerback to replace Eddie Heckard or a nose tackle to make up for the last-minute departure of junior college transfer Danny Saili, now at Arkansas.
“The amount of interest and the doors we are getting in is a lot different than it was a few years ago,” Sitake said. “As I have said before, being in the Big 12 has (heightened) our profile, especially among kids who are not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” which supports and operates BYU.
As of midday Friday, BYU had seven pledges from members of the 2025 recruiting class, although it should be noted that this has been a huge recruiting weekend for the Cougars, with more than a dozen prospects with offers from BYU on campus for a couple of days since last Monday.
Generally, Sitake had a group of prospects in town Tuesday through Thursday, then another group that arrived Thursday and is scheduled to leave Sunday. Obviously, BYU is hoping to get as many commitments as possible before the calendar turns to July, but Sitake said it is not critical.
“Getting the right fits — guys who really want to be at BYU and can thrive there — is the priority,” he said.
More on those key prospects in a bit. First, here’s a look at the seven recruits who already said they will be future Cougars; all seven are three-star recruits, according to 247sports.com:
According to Cougar Sports Insider on the 247sports.com network and Cougs Daily of the SI.com network, the aforementioned Breslin, Payne, Bryce and Kelepi Vete were on BYU’s campus last week for visits, along with more than a dozen other prospects who hold offers from BYU.
Cyrus Polu, a three-star linebacker from St. George’s Desert Hills High, visited BYU the previous week. Polu was at UCLA on Tuesday and Wednesday and received an offer from the Big Ten-bound Bruins. He also has offers from Utah, Stanford, Michigan State and others and is considered a high priority for all those schools.
The Cougars have also hosted, and are targeting, Spanish Fork offensive lineman Aaron Dunn, a four-star prospect who stands 6-7 and weighs nearly 300 pounds. Dunn is visiting Oregon this weekend, per 247sports.com, and also has offers from the likes of Utah, USC, UCLA and Texas.
Another top BYU target is Lone Peak OL Austin Pay, the 6-6, 295-pound brother of current BYU center Connor Pay. Austin Pay has offers from Oregon, Baylor, Texas A&M and Arkansas, among others.
