BYU football announces 2024 recruiting class

“I’m excited about our signing class and also about the returned missionaries that are joining us. I’m also excited about the talent we have here and the ability for us to bring young men in that we can develop. These guys are ready to play right away. I think there’s going to be quite a bit of young freshmen and underclassmen that are going to be fighting for opportunities to play and have significant reps for us this fall.”

On bringing in quarterbacks from high school compared to transfer players
“I think for us it is probably a year to year thing. Zach [Wilson] and Jaren [Hall] both left with another year of eligibility. When you have guys leave early and you're still developing guys, I think it would be nice to say, ‘This guy is next on the slate,’ but if you have to figure it out through competition, you need to figure that out. At the same time, we are trying to avoid complacency. You don’t just hand the keys over to somebody. They have got to earn it. There’s going to be some changes after spring ball because we have really good young men that love the game of football, so the competition is going to be fierce and exciting.”

 On Gerry Bohanon joining the quarterback room 
“Really excited about Gerry. I think he brings a lot of competition to the quarterback position which we need. He is really familiar with the offense, so a lot of the stuff he knows, has worked with and done thousands of reps with certain plays. Even from day one he knew a little bit more about the offense than your normal transfer.”

“He understands that nothing is going to be handed to him. This is going to be a battle and you’ve got to win the spot. I don’t know who’s going to be the starting quarterback. All he cared about was an opportunity to compete. He’s healthy and sees the way he’s built. He’s strong.”

 On adding depth on defense
“Our linebacker group has got tons of talent. We added some really good guys there. You need players that get after the quarterback and that’s going to be the key. We need players that are disruptive and make plays, and I think these guys that are coming out of high school can do that right away for us. Now regarding where they do that, it’s a matter of Jay [Hill] and all of us trying to find the best eleven and putting them on the field at different positions.”

“We want to have guys that are close to being developed and game ready. The staff on the [defensive] side knew that we needed to do some things differently and add to the guys that are currently on the team. I feel really good about the talent that’s there, but sometimes new blood coming in is going to be really good to spark competition. So far, it’s been really good looking at what those coaches are doing to the defensive side. I’m excited about what we can accomplish when we get to spring ball.”

 On Faletau Satuala signing
“He has such great instincts. He can play so many different positions, but we are going to start him off at safety first. We need someone in the post that is thinking with the instincts he has. Then we will see how it goes. He’s got so much knowledge of the game. I think he’ll fit exactly with what we want on this defense..”

 On pursuing prospects sought after by many other power conference teams:
“You have to be ready to get into some battles with recruiting. We want guys that want to be here, but sometimes you fight for those guys too. You have to get into recruiting battles and show them how this place can really help them become their best self when they’re here. Sometimes people will lean towards what’s more difficult - academics are harder here. It’s very disciplined what we’re trying to do here at BYU, but you do all those things and you could be guys like Fred Warner, Andy Reid, and Steve Young. They’re all amazing alumni that have come through here. And you get an unbelievable network of people surrounding you.”

 “Our job is to get [athletes] familiar with BYU, understand where they’re at, and then not be intimidated by other recruiters. Jay [Hill] has been awesome at that and it’s been infectious to everybody else on the staff. I’m excited that our coaches are bought into going after the best guys and not being shy.”

 On new position coaches TJ Woods and Kevin Gilbride
“TJ has done a great job with the offensive line and just connecting with them. I think it brings a different type of voice and I’m glad that the administration allowed me the opportunity to go get someone like him here. I’m also grateful they gave me the opportunity to go get a guy like Kevin Gilbride. These guys know how to do their job and do it really well. They understand BYU… there’s some things TJ will bring to the table for the offensive line with fundamentals, technique, and a nastiness that I think he’ll provide for our offensive line that we’ve been missing.”

 On returning and overall team depth for 2024
“We were able to retain quite a bit, especially at the offensive line. There’s a lot of loaded positions and not a lot of spots. We’re going to compete and see what the best guys can do.”

Opening statement
“First of all, we want to officially welcome to the family our 2024 football recruiting class. It’s been a lot of hard work from the recruits, their families and from our coaches and our staff. I just want to say thank you to our coaches, support staff and recruiting department for all the hard work they put into giving these young men the opportunity to understand more about our school, especially on the official visits. I also want to thank faculty and staff on upper campus. I want to thank our administration, President C. Shane Reese, Advancement Vice President Keith Vorkink and Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe for being available to connect with our recruits as well. That’s what they do with our student athletes. I’m really excited that they have a relationship and got to know most of our recruits. Finally, I just want to give a great shoutout to the fans, to Cougar Nation for being involved in recruiting and for their support. That’s something that the players and recruits mention quite often.  

Finally and definitely not least, the players on our team are great ambassadors of our program. They did a great job of hosting these young men, connecting with them and seeing that they’re a great fit for our program. We’re really excited about the talent and athleticism in this signing class, but more than anything, excited about the great young men we’re adding to our program, to our family. They came here for the right reasons. We have a unique style of recruiting. It’s different from what everybody else is doing. This isn’t just a thing that happened just the last couple of weeks, this recruiting has gone on for years and our coaches have done a great job recruiting through some battles. Having the young men and their families on campus has been such a valuable asset and gamechanger for us. The retention rate we have of those that come on visits, then commit and sign is as high as ever.” 

On the program’s approach to recruiting  
“We have to be innovative and adjust to the times. If you’re using the same formula and format as you were a couple of years ago, you’re already outdated. You have to stay on top of it. One, we have to understand the rules and opportunities. We also have to make sure that falls in line with what we’re trying to do as a university and as a football program; with the mission the university has for our football program. How we recruit is always going to be unique and different from everyone else. We also want to be able to adjust and find creative ways to enhance recruiting. If it’s only about one thing, then we’re not doing our job. Football is always going to be our pitch but it’s always going to be in alignment with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and with the school and what they want from our football program.”  

“Look at the way we recruit and how unique and different it is. Everyone is going to the one thing that they can try to sell the most and that’s money. We have way more than that. There are way more layers than that here. That’s not the focus. We’re never going to be a program focused on money as the attraction. Everything I’ve mentioned today is about people. That’s our currency. We have enough to take care of our players here. We also know there are way more valuable things than cash. The value of mentoring and of leadership, camaraderie and fellowship, to build yourself spiritually, physically and mentally. We have all of those things. When you talk about money, that’s all it becomes. That’s not what we’re ever going to do. We will focus on the spirit first and go from there and build a program the right way. If we do things the right way, the outcome and product will be the wins. That will get us where we need to be.  

On the combination of high school, junior college and transfer portal additions
“I feel really good about it. Considering what our needs are and building on what we did last year, the most important thing is that they’re a good fit for what we want to do as a team here. They came here for the right reasons. We were able to see that in recruiting. We’re really excited to see they and their families join us here. There’s a lot of potential here and a lot of potential to play right away. We have to develop guys but it’s a lot easier to develop guys who already developed quite a bit in high school and junior college. We’ll still have a few surprises anytime between today and signing day in February. Those will be in the spots we need and will enhance and upgrade everything else.  

On the role of loyalty in recruiting  
“It has to be about relationships and also what’s best for the young man. Sometimes, we forget that they have needs and desire and we need to hear them out. Most of the guys that are in the portal from BYU right now are looking for more playing time. Normally, when we do have guys in the portal, that’s their number one concern. We want them to do that to. We want them to be happy. I can speak for all of the coaches, that we want them to have a great experience here but we also want them to have a great experience on the field.  

Sometimes, our roster is just loaded and they have to find a different place to go. That’s just the game. It’s not about trying to make them feel guilt or shame to be attached to us and using the loyalty card. We have to give them reasons to stay. If there’s enough reasons out there for them to leave and they have to weight and consider it all just like the recruits do. If we show them that there’s more to us, more in depth with what we are as a program compared to everyone else, then we get them. That’s worked out well for us, especially this year.” 

On the impact of Jay Hill and Aaron Roderick in recruiting
Jay Hill and Aaron Roderick. These are the two best recruiters I’ve been with. It’s been a lot of fun to see Jay and Aaron recruit. These guys do an amazing job of evaluating players. Look at the history they have in terms of recruiting. It’s at every position too. I’m very fortunate to have two great coordinators who love to recruit as well as run a defense and offense. These guys are great leaders. I needed help in winning recruiting battles and I went to two guys who I know can recruit their butts off. I’m really fortunate to have these coordinators with me.”  

On the current roster’s offseason approach
I don’t want to take away from the players we have on the team currently. Those guys have done an amazing job in their approach to the weight room and offseason conditioning. We got an early start on it and I’ve been very impressed with the way they’re going about it. There’s a hunger in this team.” 

On preparing for the 2024 season
We have some good things going and we know we still have some work to do. We’re going to do that with a positive outlook and a lot of optimism, excitement and energy. We’ll focus on being the best version of ourselves so we can get the best program out there when we take the field in 2024.” 

Emphasis on the defensive line.
“It was definitely an emphasis. We should have monster, athletic, nasty defensive lineman at BYU. I think this class is a great start to where we are heading. We have those guys. Tyler Batty is one of the best edge rushers in the Big 12 right now. We know that. We have to continue to bring in guys that get to see how he does it and continue to develop those guys. It was definitely an emphasis.”

“I love the guys we signed. There’s great length and athleticism in this group. There are some guys here that have growth potential that could grow into bigger things. That’s the key in recruiting is the ability to identify that athletic ability and then be able to slide them forward into positions that are best going to suit them. We do need to be more disruptive on the defensive line. We know that.”

Dallin Johnson staying true to his commitment
“It says a lot about him and his character, his integrity and all those things. In today’s world, there’s so much noise that these players hear, to see someone like Dallin stay to what he committed to was huge. It’s different for every person and for him he wanted to play at BYU. He had the opportunity and stayed true to it.”

Recruitment of Ephraim Asiata
“Sione Po’uha was a huge in recruiting and is huge. There is a reason why Kalani, I and Coach Roderick wanted him here. He’s a phenomenal recruiter, does a great job getting close to the families. There was already a previous relationship there with the family. Coach Poppinga did a phenomenal job, adding that relationship to the mix. We’re super excited about him. We are excited about that family coming here to BYU. That is not always an easy thing. I hope everyone’s considerate to that on both sides of this thing. That’s not always an easy deal. People have to do what they feel is best for them. We’re grateful for them coming here and we believe he’s going to be a phenomenal player for us.”

Keys to roster rendition
“I think all the guys believe in what we are doing. We have a lot of guys coming back that have played a lot of football for us. They’ve been through some ups and downs but they believe in the culture that Kalani has established here. I think they believe in what we are doing on offense. Those guys have a unity about them. The group of wide receivers have all kind of been together for a bit now. They have something they want to prove next year as a group. We have offensive lineman returning that have a chip on their shoulder about something they want to prove. There is a unity amongst the group offensively that the year didn’t go the way we had hoped. We didn’t play the kind of offense that we’ve been playing the last few years, and those guys have a huge chip on their shoulder to stick together and keep getting better.”

Quarterback room
“There’s a good chance we’ll bring in one quarterback from the portal. In fact, we plan to. The room is pretty full right now, but we are going to bring in one veteran player. We feel that if we bring in one veteran player and mix that with the guys, we have we will be set.”

Wish list moving forward
“We have a couple of offensive line spots we would like to fill. We really like the group that’s coming back, and we are adding a couple of guys mid-year. I don’t feel like it’s a desperate need, but we are going to be really smart and patient how we fill those spots. We would still like to build depth there a little. We are well stocked at wide receiver, tight end and running back right now.”

Moving Keanu Hill to tight end
“Playmaking ability at that position. He’s been a great playmaker for us in his career. This year he struggled a bit with an injury to his shin that slowed him down. He is so tough that he wanted to play every week. He fights to keep his weight down, I mean he is 6-foot-4, 225 to 230 pounds on any given day. We felt like with our depth at wide receiver why fight it and let him get to 235 to 240 pounds. He is already one of our best blockers on the whole team at any position. We feel like moving him to tight end makes perfect sense.”