I think when people are talking about academics at BYU being a barrier or difficulty for some sports commits it is less about enrollment standards and more about the standards and grades they need to maintain in order to stay eligible and play. I think most everybody who went to BYU will admit the classes are designed to be difficult (for the most part) and being in classes with other geniuses can ruin curves or make you feel like a complete idiot if you are just a little bit behind.

I believe people are saying that especially when combined with the amount of time and effort required to play, practice, and study football (and most other collegiate sports) that the academic standards can be hard if not impossible for some great players who aren't as naturally gifted intellectually. This tends to lead these recruits away from BYU and to other schools with less stringent academic standards without even taking the HC into account. 

As a recent Econ grad from BYU I can attest that some classes are just designed to be hard and depending on your major, like in Business School if you even get in then the classes can work against you depending on how smart everyone in your class is. 

Don't get me wrong I loved BYU and am a proud Alumni, but I think there should be some recognition and acceptance that the difficulty of a BYU education can lead some higher performing players to look elsewhere because they don't feel they have the intelligence, skills, or time to also perform academically at the level that is accepted.

Just my two cents.