BYU announces 2018 football recruiting class

PROVO, Utah (Feb. 7, 2018) — BYU head coach Kalani Sitake announced the 2018 recruiting class on Wednesday. The Cougars added 22 signees from nine states and one international recruit.

BYU signed 11 products out of Utah, two from California, two out of Washington and one each from Arkansas, Minnesota, South Carolina, Nevada, Arizona, Texas and Australia. The class includes 12 offensive players, nine defensive players and one specialist.

The Cougars will also welcome back to the program 14 scholarship players returning from serving LDS missions in time for the 2018 season.

“I’m looking forward to having each of our new recruits join our family and the great group of young men we already have here at BYU,” Sitake said. “Today is a great day to celebrate all of our new signees and their families. I’ve been really impressed with their backgrounds and all of the hard work and sacrifices they have put in to get here. I’m honored to be their coach.”

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BYU bolstered the trenches on offense with five linemen. Three Utah products including Harris LaChance (Herriman), Tysen Lewis (Ogden) and Connor Pay (Highland) join the offensive line along with Campbell Barrington from Spokane, Washington, and Jacob Smith out of Farmington, Minnesota. The five offensive linemen give BYU added size up front, averaging 6-foot-6 and 285 pounds coming out of high school.

The Cougars added two signal callers to the mix with in-state product Zach Wilson of Corner Canyon High School and Stacy Conner of Wylie, Texas. Wilson racked up almost 7,000 yards of total offense his last two seasons. Conner, a three-star athletic quarterback, has good pocket presence and the ability to run.

Two wide receivers and two tight ends signed to add more firepower to the offense. Four-star wideout Gunner Romney from Chandler, Arizona, and Brayden Cosper of South Jordan, Utah, boost the wide receiver corps while tight ends Dallin Holker, from Lehi, Utah, and Ben Tuipulotu of Fort Mill, South Carolina, join the program. Romney is one of the top prospects from Arizona while Tuipulotu is a talented athlete and the son of former BYU fullback Peter Tuipulotu. Cosper and Holker were two of the best pass catchers in the state of Utah.

The Cougars also added some ground-game talent with running back Amone Finau. The brother of 2016 signee, Sione Finau, the newest Finau is a versatile back that played running back, receiver and defense at Kearns High School.

On defense, BYU added an intriguing defensive line prospect in Chinonso Opara out of Juan Diego Catholic High School. The 6-foot-8, 270-pound Opara is young in his football career but offers a tremendous athletic upside.

Four linebackers also joined the program. All-around athlete Isaac Matua of Kearns, Utah, middle linebacker prospect Oliver Nasilai of Jessieville, Arkansas, Alex Miskela from Los Alamitos High School and local product Viliami Tausinga all signed. Matua played several positions in high school, including quarterback. Nasilai and Miskela are hard-hitting backers in the middle while Tausinga was a first-team all-conference selection at East High School.

In the defensive backfield, cornerback Brach Davis from Salt Lake City signed with the Cougars as well as corners Isaiah Herron and Malik Moore from Las Vegas and San Diego, respectively. All three add speed to the secondary as former high school sprinters. BYU added another defensive back in two-way star Talan Alfrey from Auburn, Washington. Alfrey was an all-state receiver and also the league’s defensive MVP.

The Cougars also welcome back 14 scholarship players from missions who will join the program for the 2018 campaign for their freshman seasons. Of those 14 players, four are mid-year additions: Jeremiah Ieremia, Devin Kaufusi, Hirkley Latu and David Lui. The other 10, Clark Barrington, Sione Finau, J.T. Gentry, Jaren Hall, Drew Jensen, Atunaisa Mahe, Darius McFarland, Skyler Southam, Max Tooley and Hank Tuipulotu are expected to join in the fall.

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