PROVO — For star running back J.J. DiLuigi, the long and winding recruiting road led him to BYU.
Last summer, after finishing his junior year at Canyon High School in California, DiLuigi, along with his father, embarked on a major road trip, driving hundreds of miles on a tour that saw them visit a host of schools — Wyoming, Colorado, Colorado State, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Utah, Boise State, UCLA and BYU.
Later, when DiLuigi decided to become a Cougar, he and his dad drove all night to Provo to commit to coach Bronco Mendenhall face-to-face. That was on June 15, months prior to his senior season. It's February now, and DiLuigi is still sold on BYU.
"I feel like that's where my heart is," the 5-foot-9, 188-pounder said this week. "For my trip to all the schools, my mom made me a grading sheet with a list of criteria, like facilities and coaches, as a way to compare the different schools. BYU shot out above everybody. I love the campus and the people there."
As part of a new recruiting strategy employed by Mendenhall, DiLuigi was one of 21 players who verbally committed to the Cougars before the 2006 season. The fruits of those labors will be realized today, national letter-of-intent day, as BYU is expected to sign at least 25 recruits.
"The core philosophy is, I understand the parameters and the unique expectations of BYU in a lot of different areas of these kids' lives," Mendenhall said. "I believe the core has to be established first and foremost of those kids. If I don't get those players, I'm not sure who we would play with. Our idea is to identify them as fast as possible and as accurately as possible, with all the criteria in place that BYU has. Then it will fill in after that ... Our idea with kids that have a strong spiritual component in their lives, an academic component, and a football component at a high level, that's where we start. As soon as we can identify them, that's who we intend to build the team with."
DiLuigi, who is not LDS, appreciated the fact that BYU was the first school to offer him a scholarship. He also feels a kinship with BYU because his values mirror those espoused by the LDS-owned school.
During his senior season, DiLuigi rushed for 2,167 yards and led his team to a state championship. DiLuigi helped Canyon High upset De La Salle High, a storied prep program that entered the title game undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the country, by gaining 131 yards and scoring a touchdown. He finished his career with more than 4,000 rushing yards and 82 TDs.
One California sportscaster compared DiLuigi to the San Diego Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson.
"I have quick jolt. I can juke when I need to," DiLuigi said. "I can lower my shoulder on people, and catch the ball out of the backfield."
Because of BYU's recruiting approach, when it hosted recruits in January, the vast majority of them had already committed to the Cougars.
"We had one recruiting weekend and that's all," Mendenhall said. "All the players but two who came on that had already committed and were solid from before the season started until now. It was more of a celebration of the season and their commitment than recruiting. Another chose to join the program at that point."
The player who committed to BYU on that recruiting visit, tight end Devin Mahina, was also pursued by UCLA, Oregon and Colorado. He said he waited to commit to the Cougars because "I wanted to make sure I was choosing the right school."
What the Cougars accomplished on the field in 2006 — an 11-2 record, an outright Mountain West Conference championship and a 38-8 victory over Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl — played a major factor in his decision. "(Mendenhall) is only in his second year, and they're already a championship team," Mahina said.
"There's going to be a lot more of that coming."
The Upland, Calif., product wants to be part of the stellar BYU tight end tradition, though he isn't expected to play until 2010. The 6-foot-6, 225-pounder plans to serve a mission starting next year.
"It's a good place," Mahina said of BYU. "I can get the best of both worlds with football and the church."
Signing day 2007
Editor's note: This is the third day of a series covering college football recruiting:
Monday: Whittingham, Mendenhall and recruiting
Tuesday: The top prep talent from the state of Utah
Today: Looking back at '06, ahead to signing day
Thursday: Complete coverage of national signing day
E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com