BYU announces 2015 recruiting class

PROVO, Utah (February 4, 2015) — Head coach Bronco Mendenhall today announced BYU’s 2015 recruiting class consisting of 21 high school signees, one junior college transfer and one FBS transfer.

In addition to two-mid year signees, BYU added 21 newcomers Wednesday on National Signing Day (Update: Manase Tu'ungafasi signed as an offensive lineman out of New Zealand on May 22—his addition is reflected in the rest of the article below). The Cougars will also welcome back to the program 14 scholarship players returning from serving missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“We are excited today to welcome the newest members of the BYU football program,” Mendenhall said. “These young men are talented football players and quality individuals who will help us get better as a program.”

BYU National SIgning Day Experience — Video Recap

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BYU Sports Nation broadcast

BYU Sports Nation Football Signing Day Special

BYU Signing Day Press Conference

2015 Signing Day Central

UPDATE: Manase Tu'ungafasi adds to 2015 signing class

The balanced class includes 12 defensive and 12 offensive players representing five different states, Tonga and New Zealand. Nine prospects signing out of Utah with six recruits coming from Texas and five from California in addition to signees from Kentucky, Hawai’i, New Zealand and the island of Tongatapu in Tonga.

On defense, BYU added five talented newcomers to its defensive backfield along with four linebackers and three down linemen, while signing two quarterbacks, two wide receivers, two running backs and six linemen on offense.

“Our focus was on improving our depth and talent through the high school ranks,” Mendenhall continued. “We also brought in talented transfers and have missionaries returning who signed with us previously that will all help us going forward. Our coaches worked very hard to bring in this class. What a great day.”

Two transfers signed at mid-year with BYU. Defensive back Eric Takenaka is a 5-foot-10, 205-pound versatile athlete who will be a junior for the Cougars in 2015. This past season at Snow College he was named to the All-Western States Football League Defensive First Team and All-WSFL Special Teams Second Team while finishing second nationally with eight interceptions and leading the nation in kickoff return average at 44.1 yards per return. Running back Squally Canada transferred from Washington State after averaging 8.8 yards per carry for 1,916 yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior at Milpitas High School. The 5-foot-10, 192-pound freshman will sit out the 2015 season due to transfer rules before having three seasons on the field at BYU.

The 2015 BYU recruiting class features 17 players rated with three or four stars, including four-star prospects Mika Tafua (6-3, 225, OLB) out of Laie, Hawai’i, Kieffer Longson (6-7, 295, OL) from San Ramon, California, Dayan Lake (5-11, 190, DB) from Layton, Utah and Washington State transfer Canada.

Tafua prepped at Kamehameha High School where he was rated the No. 19 outside linebacker in the nation by 247Sports. Longson is the No. 34-rated offensive tackle in the nation coming out of Dougherty Valley High School and No. 4 tackle from California overall, while Lake is rated the No. 50 cornerback in the country out of Northridge High School.

Joining Lake and Takenaka as Utah players signing with BYU were defensive backs Zayne Anderson (6-2, 190, Stansbury HS) and Riley Burt (6-1, 195, Box Elder HS); linebackers Devin Kaufusi (6-6, 240, Timpview HS) and Jeremiah Ieremia (6-1, 250, Hurricane HS); quarterback Kody Wilstead (6-6, 215, Pine View HS); and offensive linemen Brady Christensen (6-6, 240, Bountiful HS) and Demetrius Davis (6-4, 265, Pleasant Grove HS).

A big focus in BYU’s recruiting came in Texas with six players signing on to become Cougars, including five from the talent-rich Dallas-Fort Worth area. Wide receivers Akile Davis (6-1, 186, DeSoto HS) and Micah Simon (6-1, 185, Bishop Dunne HS) were joined by offensive linemen Jacob Jimenez (6-6, 275, Pflugerville HS) and JJ Nwigwe (6-4, 260, Rockwall-Heath HS) as well as running back Charles West (5-10, 187, Coppell HS) and defensive back Trevor Brent (5-10, 165, West Mesquite HS) in representing the state of Texas in BYU’s 2015 recruiting class.

In addition to native California four-star prospects Longson and Canada, BYU also welcomes several three-star recruits from the Golden Gate state in defensive linemen David Lui (6-4, 255, Pittsburg HS) and Tevita Mo’unga (6-3, 300, Vista Murrieta HS) and middle linebacker Will Sedgwick (6-2, 220, Laguna Hills HS).

Quarterback Beau Hoge (6-1, 198, Highlands HS) will come to Provo from Fort Thomas, Kentucky, where the dual-threat signal caller amassed 3,459 passing yards and 35 passing touchdowns along with 865 rushing yards and 26 rushing touchdowns in 2014. Coming from the furthest away, however, will be defensive/offensive line prospect Motekiai Taukolo Langi, who brings his massive 6-foot-7, 410-pound frame from Liahona, Tonga, and offensive tackle prospect Manase Tu'ungafasi, a 6-foot-7, 322-pounder out of Auckland, New Zealand. 

Nine members of BYU’s 2015 recruiting class plan to serve missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prior to enrolling. The Cougars also welcome back 14 scholarship players from missions who will join the program for the 2015 season, including six who haven’t previously enrolled at BYU for a season.

The six returning missionaries joining the program for their first season in 2015 include quarterback Tanner Mangum (6-3, 195, Eagle HS) from Eagle, Idaho; running back Nathan DeBeikes (6-2, 196, Thousand Oaks HS) out of Thousand Oaks, California; tight end Moroni Laulu-Pututau (6-4, 190, Mountain Crest HS) from Hyrum, Utah; wide receivers Talon Shumway (6-3, 200, Lone Peak HS) from Highland, Utah, and Josh Weeks (6-4, 200, Show Low HS) out of Show Low, Arizona; and defensive lineman Taumata Tofi (6-3, 270, Perris HS) from Perris, California.

Select the links below in the roster or via the interactive map to view biography information and highlight videos on each member of the 2015 BYU recruiting class.

2015 BYU Football Recruiting Class

2015 Returning Scholarship Missionaries