PROVO — BYU commit Brayden Kearsley has been generated a lot of interest lately for a couple of reasons. Earlier this week he posted a picture on twitter of him burning a recruiting letter from the University of Utah while posting some smack about the rivalry — warranting plenty of negative attention from Ute fans.
Recently Utah took interest in Kearsley, sending him letters and a scholarship offer through the mail. While the letter was well-received on its face, Kearsley ventured to add his own spice to the rivalry by burning it.
“It was all in good fun and I thought it was funny, but a lot of Ute fans sure didn’t,” said Kearsley. “I received a lot of angry messages about it, but I don’t really care. I love the rivalry and I don’t want it to go away when I’m at BYU.”
Kearsley is a 6-foot-5, 280 offensive line prospect from Portland, Ore., who committed to BYU last summer. Since the time of his commit he’s done well to make a name for himself and is consistently ranked among the top offensive line prospects on the west coast by scout.com and rivals.
A lot of Cougar fans have questioned Kearsley’s commitment as he continues to make the recruiting rounds — listening to overtures made by top Pac-12 programs. He’s gone on record saying that he’ll listen to other offers and consider them.
So, should fans be worried?
Recently Kearsley took part in BYU’s junior day. Due to some injury issues, he spent his time on the sidelines and in Coach Mark Weber’s office while strongly encouraging other prospects to join him in committing to BYU.
“I love BYU and every time I’m at the school my commitment becomes stronger,” said Kearsley. “There’s a reason why I committed so early to BYU and it’s because there’s no question that it’s where I want to play. My hope is to bring as much exposure to BYU as possible from now until I sign.”
Kearsley didn’t enjoy a lot of junior day simply due to his inability to perform. On several occasions he all but begged coaches to allow him to play, but was turned down.
As Kearsley observed one-on-one drills, one 2013 prospect stood out among the others.
“That Peoples kid (Jonryheem Peoples) was the guy who really impressed me,” said Kearsley. “He was dominating guys on both sides of the ball. I wanted to go against him so bad, but now that he’s committed to BYU, I’ll get plenty of chances.”
Indeed Peoples did commit to BYU following junior day as first reported by the Deseret News.
Judson Duo
It was previously reported that Tre Flowers, from Judson Converse High School in Texas, recently took an unofficial trip to BYU. Turns out that his teammate and good friend Jarveon Williams also trekked to Provo.
Williams is a 5-foot-10, 185 cornerback prospect who has started at Judson since his sophomore season. His playing experience includes time at both linebacker and defensive back. He currently holds offers from Rice and Northwestern.
Flowers gave BYU a strong recommendation after seeing BYU up close, so Williams decided to take a look for himself along with his parents.
“It’s different (at BYU), but I like it a lot,” said Williams. “I’m used the big city, but I like how it’s quiet out here and I like the mountains and all that. I really enjoyed working out with BYU coaches and seeing the program up close.”
Williams worked out with BYU defensive backs coach Nick Howell during junior day — building a very good rapport.
“That was the highlight of the day for me — I really got to like Coach Howell a lot,” said Williams. “It was a good workout and I learned a lot of things. I’d love to learn more from him and hopefully I get my chance to play at BYU.”
Williams has BYU on top of his list of potential suitors following junior day and is hopeful for a scholarship offer. He was told by coaches that there is only one scholarship available for cornerbacks and they’ll work to further evaluate him against several junior college corners before offering.
Williams was told that he’ll likely play at boundary corner and nickel back should he end up at BYU. Both positions seem well-suited for the physical Williams.
“I love to hit — that’s what I love about football — that’s the best part of the game,” he said. “The way Coach Howell was explaining the positions to me got me real excited about the possibilities.”
Williams is not LDS, but like most Judson athletes, he comes from a strong Christian background.
“BYU holds the same standards and strong Christian beliefs that I do, so fitting in there wouldn’t be a problem at all,” said Williams. “I loved the feel of the place, the people, and everything else really felt good to me while I was there.”
Email: bgurney@desnews.com
Twitter: @BrandonCGurney