Today is early National Signing Day for college football. BYU won some huge recruiting battles and some standout players committed to play for BYU starting next year. Men’s basketball also had a game this last week Georgia St that was typical BYU basketball so far for the season.

College Football Early NSD

Today was early national signing day for college football. BYU got a lot of recruits. And won some huge battles! Lets dive into it. Here is the complete list of all of the BYU recruits and transfers, so far, that have committed. BYU has 24 commits! Thats a lot! Its up there with some of the top teams in the nation. But ranking wise they are still only 62nd in the nation and 11th out of 16 in the Big 12. But this is still EARLY national signing day. The official signing day wont happen till February. PS, thats when 4 star RB LJ Martin committed to BYU last year, so a lot can happen in February.

But looking at years before, 2023 BYU recruiting finished 46th, 2022 was 57th, and 2021 was 70th. BYU is on the up in terms of recruiting, so dont panic. Its not officially over till February. If youre wondering about where Utah is, its in the same realm as BYU. With Utah’s recent success of going to the Rose Bowl the last couple of years and 10 years in the Pac 12 would give them a huge advantage, well, they are currently ranked 53rd. 53rd vs 62nd. Not really a difference.

The biggest difference between BYU and Utah right now is two transfers that Utah has received in Carsen Ryan, a TE, ranked 90, and Anthony Woods, a RB, ranked 89. Thats it. Their transfer ranking is driving up their overall ranking. But enough about Utah, lets dive into BYUs class so far!

Breakdown of Recruits

BYU hit the defensive side of the ball HARD. Of the 24 incoming players so far, 15 are defensive and 9 are offensive. And most of them are on the defensive line. BYU’s 5 highest commits right now are:

1. Jack Kelly – LB/Edge Transfer from Weber State ranked 91
2. Ryner Swanson – 4 star TE ranked 90
3. Danny Saili – 3 star DL ranked 88
4. Ephraim Asiata – 3 star LB ranked 88
5. Therrian Alexander – 3 star DB ranked 87

Now you probably recognize the last name Asiata. If you dont, Matt Asiata was a former NFL player who originally committed to play for BYU before going to Snow College and then Utah. His son, Ephraim, committed to play for BYU. Thats a big win for BYU, since his family has been associated with Utah for a while. He has a crazy story. Ephraim was shot in January 2022 and was given a 1% chance to recover. Now here is, one of the best players in Utah, and he commits to BYU. If you want to read more about his story, check out this article. Its by the Minnesota Vikings, who Matt Asiata played for.

Other Recruits I Am Excited About

Some other commits that I am super excited about that arent listed in that top 5 is Tei Nacua. Hes a 3 star WR and the youngest brother of all of the Nacuas who have played at BYU. He is very similar to Puka Nacua, to me, and could be just as skilled.

Another interesting commit is Noah Lugo, QB. He could compete for BYU’s starting position next year, depending on how the other QBs do. Lugo is a freak athlete, who can run like mad. He will need to polish up his passing skills, and I think it would be best for him to develop that for one year, but he could push the guys above him.

The last guy I am excited about his Adney Reid, LB. To have the Reid name associated with BYU is huge. He is a 3 star and ranked 86.

Current BYU Player News

In other current BYU player news, as Kalani Sitake was addressing the media today for the early NSD, he did mention that Miles Davis, RB is returning to BYU after putting in his name for the transfer portal. I talked about this in last week’s post, but saw this coming. With Robbins and Smith leaving, it gave Davis the chance to be the backup.

The other news is that Keanu Hill, one of the top WRs for BYU but battled injuries this last year, is moving to TE for 2024. That will be intriguing for sure! It could give some much needed speed and a real threat down the field. I am excited to see what happens with that, but am now a little concerned about our WR room and what we have there.

BYU Basketball Updates

Game Recap vs Georgia St

BYU played vs Georgia St this last Saturday and won the game, 86-54. It was another blowout. BYU only had 4 turnovers the whole game. They shot 46% overall, 40% from 3, and 64% from the FT line. Still not a great FT shooting team, and thats a little troubling and could come back to haunt them in conference play. We have already seen it hurt from the game against Utah.

4 guys were in double figures with Richie Saunders as the lead man with 20 points, a new career high. Jaxon Robinson did leave the guy early because of an ankle injury but Mark Pope said that it was very mile and he wont miss any time. Knell, Waterman, and Hall were the 3 other guys in double figures for scoring.

We also got to see the debut of Dawson Baker! Finally! He played only 9 minutes but showed why he was possibly the best player on the team before his injury. Baker had 6 points in 9 minutes. He also just looked aggressive and was really fighting hard on defense. It was good to see him out there! I expect Baker to eat into Stewart’s minutes and maybe even Knell’s depending on how well Knell is doing.

Marcus Adams Jr Update

We did get an update on Marcus Adams and his waiver eligibility. Apparently he will make his debut this weekend on Friday, against Bellarmine, after a US Director Judge in West Virginia ordered a temporary restraining order against the NCAA. The ruling, part of a lawsuit by a coalition of seven states, said athletes who previously were denied the chance to play immediately after transferring a second time CAN compete in games for the time being. The NCAA came back and said that they wouldnt fight the decision. And voila! Adams is able to play. So itll be interesting to see how much he plays. But I would expect him to start when he gets up to speed.

Game Preview vs Bellarmine

Not much to talk about here as BYU is supposed to win big again. They are taking on Bellarmine, from Louisville, Kentucky, at home. Bellarmine is 4-8 on the season and they have a couple of different guys who create for the team but their top scorer is Bash Wieland, who is averaging 11.5 points per game.

I am really excited to see more of Baker and more of Adams this Friday and hope that its a good game for them. They will be key pieces for BYU as they look to compete in conference play coming up in the next couple of weeks! I think BYU will win this one easily by 20+.

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