New recruits will make big impacts
Dick Harmon
Who will make an immediate impact? What are the trends?
Tough to say when we don't have practices, games and competition on the Division I playing field to scrutinize recruits.
I'd say three immediate impact players in the MWC would be Wyoming's Dax Crum, Utah's Aiona Key and BYU's Justin Sorensen.
Crum, a 6-foot-4, 215 pound quarterback, signed with ASU before going to Mesa Community College when Dirk Koetter was replaced by Dennis Erickson.
Utah's JC receiver Key, once at Boise State, could be the guy because he has the skill set to operate well in Utah's offense.
I could see BYU's Sorensen making a big difference in the Cougars' special teams with his kickoff range and field-goal depth.
Trends? Look no further than at what two-time MWC champion BYU is doing after going 22-4 over the past two seasons. BYU's key word is early.
As in early evaluation, early offers and early commitments.
Of course, any school could offer and commit a busload of stiffs. But getting quality is a new art form around the country that's taken hold in Provo.
Bronco Mendenhall appears to be getting ahead of the rest of the league in this national trend of offering prospects early. He got Sorensen very early last year and already has commitments from four prep players in the class of 2009.
BYU received 17 oral commitments by the end of July 2007, four to five times that of any other MWC school, and among the top five nationally. Again, it is a trend, one which has spurred interest in the NCAA allowing football players to have an early signing date, sometime in November.
"If you know, why wait?" is how BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe explained the current BYU philosophy. "Sure, it can be risky, a guy may not pan out. But if you know, why not signal to him what you are thinking and get ahead of the pack of recruiters?"
How does the early stuff get going?
Well, it calls for a complete shift in how fast recruiters are willing to do research and decide. It also calls into play the critical role "Junior Day" and summer camps play in reaching a decision and game plan with a recruit.
Already in 2008, Mendenhall moved his junior day from March, in connection with spring football, to January, a few weeks ago.
An example?
Early last June, Mendenhall received a commitment from Timpview linebacker Michael Alisa, a linebacker and running back who had started his football career on the North Shore of Oahu. He'd been a life-long BYU fan at Kahuku High School, where the Cougars hoped to get another recruit, safety Shiloah Te'o.
Recent comments
dick harmon is so boring to read
Anonymous | Feb. 11, 2008 at 4:09 p.m.
Hey Stats -
Always wait til next year, right? You loaded...
AZ Coug | Feb. 8, 2008 at 8:45 p.m.
Actually what BYU does to the Ute and Aggies is called a "beat...
RE: Sickening and Homie | Feb. 8, 2008 at 1:48 p.m.
