it, this is a very good recruiting class so far.

I'm not as big a recruiting guy as some on this board, but no matter how you look at it, this class is impressive enough to impress even a casual follower like me. What are some ways to analyze this class?


Highly ranked recruits (stars, offers from other schools)?
Last year at this time, the BYU coaches had gotten several verbal commitments from recruits who later had great senior years, but were not highly sought after when they committed to BYU (two notable exceptions were James Lark and McKay Jacobson). Almost all BYU fans would say it turned out well, with really the only question mark now being Moncur.

This year, in contrast, virtually all of the verbal commits have had offers from other high profile programs and/or lots of praise from at least one internet recruiting service. Munns has drawn multiple stars and rave reviews from one and all, two of our WR recruits have been called "one of the top WRs in the West this year" by different recruiting experts, our JC line recruits have both been offered by more than one high profile BCS school, and our other recruits have some recognition that fans can point to as to why BYU would offer--like State defensive player of the year or State sack leader, or something similar.

Does this notoriety matter? Not really, but it sure lets BYU fans rest more easily when they look at a list of recruits they knew nothing about before they committed.


Solidifying our recruiting base with LDS and Utah kids?
BYU has been all over the highest profile LDS and Utah kids this year. Some of the highest profile players have already committed to the Cougars like Munns and Mathews, while BYU is still in the running for the highest profile Utah recruits like Simi Fili and Houston Cassita.

One improvement which seems to be apparent this year over last is that BYU got a much quicker jump on the best LDS recruits outside of Utah. Of the 9 LDS verbals we have received so far, they hail from places as diverse as California, Washington, Texas, Arizona, and Colorado.


Good message discipline (working the plan)?
In reading TotalBlueSports.com articles on all of our verbal commits, I have been impressed with how consistent some of the comments have been from one recruit to the next. Almost all of them have commented on the uniqueness of the BYU coaches' approach, and they mention how BYU is "the total package" athletically, academically, and how BYU can help them personally.

This strikes me that the message that the coaches are taking with them in their recruiting contacts with players is strategic, and that they are doing a very good job in articulating it to recruits.

Another constant from recruits is how impressed they are with the players on the team--that they all felt welcomed and comfortable, that the team felt like a family, and that they liked the camraderie everyone shared. Mauga, for example, said that in meeting the team, he didn't feel like the players were "sizing him up"--something which appears to be common at other schools.

It appears that all the team building that Bronco constantly harped on last year is paying dividends.


Compared to last year?
According to Brandon Gurney on TBS, it took until September last year to get ten verbal commitments. The BYU coaches have surpassed that total this year by mid-June--before the BYU football camps start. Considering that we got around 4 commits from Camps last year, we may be over halfway done with recruiting before the Summer is over.

Last year the coaches got on the highest priority recruits like Lark and Jacobson quickly. This year, they have done the same, locking up another national QB recruit in Jason Munns, and more national WR recruits in Kessman and Mathews.

At this time last year, the coaches were completely focused on shoring up our recruiting base, and they delivered with several LDS and Utah recruits. This year, they have not only matched that, but they have been able to expand the focus a bit with some non-Utah, non-LDS recruits. The coaches have also been more aggressive in the Junior college ranks early this year than they were last year.


Surprises?
One of the surprises of this year's recruiting has been how quickly the coaches have gotten recruits who knew little about the school to commit after BYU contacted them. Last year, it seeemed our early recruits were lifelong BYU fans, or Utah residents who had had some previous contact with BYU.

This year, by contrast, we got a commitment today from Magnum Mauga who is not from BYU, is not LDS, and knew nothing about BYU until talking to BYU coaches. Jason Munns is another one who said in the first TBS article about him that he didn't know much about BYU, and that he was leaning towards his hometown school (Washington St)--until the coaches were able to showcase BYU to him.

Another surprise so far this year is how the ratio of LDS to non-LDS recruits among early commits has gone down (which makes us all very happy). It was alarming last year to hear the coaches say they could hardly get any non-LDS recruits to even trip to BYU. This year, it appears that the coaches have found the formula to reverse that worrisome trend.

One more "surprise" (this is not really a surprise, but it is a nice fact to note) is how balanced the commits have been by position so far. Every BYU fan remembers how nerve wracking it was to see BYU go down to the wire before they got some JC DB and DL recruits last recruiting season. This year, we have commits from the following position players already:

1 QB
2/3 WR (1 WR recruit may play corner)
2 safeties
2 defensive line (1 JC recruit)
2 offensive line (1 JC recruit)
1 linebacker


So, to reiterate, no matter how you slice it, the BYU staff is putting together an impressive, balanced, and strategic recruiting class this year. It is impressive efforts like these in so many areas over the last year from our staff which has BYU football fans smiling again, and optimistic for the future.