On Sunday night, quarterback Enoch Watson of Arizona committed to BYU as the program’s first QB commit in the 2024 recruiting class.
There are three other quarterback prospects scheduled to take official visits to the Provo campus this month as well, an indication the Cougars aren’t done in trying to court another quarterback in next year’s class.
Who is Enoch Watson?
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Watson is transferring to American Leadership Academy in Queen Creek, Arizona, this season, where he will be coached by two BYU quarterback legends — Max Hall is the head coach at ALA, and Ty Detmer the offensive coordinator.
BYU is the only school who has offered Watson a scholarship, according to 247 Sports, after he spent his previous time in high school at Coconino High, which uses a more run-based offense.
Last year in his second season as a starter, Watson completed 50.5% of his passes for 641 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions, according to MaxPreps. He also ran for 322 yards on 45 carries, with eight touchdowns.
It’s expected that Watson is likely to serve a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prior to enrolling at the school — essentially turning him into a member of the 2026 class once he returns.
His older brother, Pierson Watson, signed to BYU’s 2023 recruiting class as a linebacker prospect and is currently serving a mission in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
That would open up the chance for BYU to add another quarterback in the 2024 class and come in to compete for learning opportunities next season, with expected 2023 starter Kedon Slovis playing one season after coming to Provo as a graduate transfer.
What other quarterbacks is BYU recruiting?
There are three uncommitted quarterbacks in the 2024 recruiting class that have official visits to BYU scheduled for June, according to 247 Sports.
The Cougars have targeted quarterbacks on the recruiting trail in recent weeks amid two quarterback prospects they had offered scholarships to — Luke Moga (to Oregon) and Isaac Wilson (to Utah) — committing to other schools over the past two months.
Less than 24 hours after Watson committed to BYU, another quarterback prospect who had previously committed to a Pac-12 program announced he had re-opened his recruitment.
Why is Seattle native EJ Caminong — who committed to hometown Washington last fall — re-opening his recruitment of importance for BYU?
The biggest factor is that he is scheduled to take an official visit to BYU next Monday.
At the end of May, 247 Sports’ Brandon Huffman reported that Caminong would take an official visit to BYU on June 19 and California on June 22, after taking visits to Oregon State on June 2 and Texas A&M on June 9.
Caminong also announced Monday he would not be taking a previously scheduled official visit to Washington at the end of this week.
Caminong — a three-star quarterback recruit who BYU offered in early May, according to Huffman — is rated the No. 21 quarterback nationally in the 2024 recruiting class by both 247 Sports and ESPN, and No. 26 nationally by On3.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Caminong has seven scholarship offers — that includes each of the four schools he’s scheduled to visit this month, along with Washington, Colorado and Washington State, according to 247 Sports.
This comes after another three-star quarterback prospect, Maealiuaki Smith, visited BYU last weekend.
Smith — a 6-foot-4, 195-pound quarterback recruit from San Mateo, California — holds nearly 20 scholarship offers from Power Five programs, per his 247 Sports profile. Utah has also offered Smith.
So far, Smith’s official visit to BYU is the only one he has scheduled this summer, though Huffman previously reported that Oklahoma State and Michigan State are trying to schedule upcoming visits with Smith.
Smith is the highest-rated quarterback prospect that BYU has offered that remains uncommitted.
ESPN rates him the No. 17 QB recruit in the 2024 class, followed by Rivals at No. 26, 247 Sports at No. 31 and On3 at No. 35.
Smith completed more than 67% of his passes as a junior last season for 2,546 yards, 34 touchdowns and eight interceptions, according to MaxPreps.
He helped Junipero Serra High go 13-1 last season — the only loss coming to the No. 1-ranked team in the country, St. John Bosco, in the CIF Open Division state championship game.
BYU also has one other quarterback going on an official visit to the school in June: Granger High’s Carson Su’esu’e will take his visit on June 23, according to 247 Sports.
Su’esu’e is a three-star prospect who is headed to Utah for his senior season after playing in California at De La Salle High the previous three years.
In 11 games last season, Su’esu’e completed 60% of his passes for 766 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception for De La Salle, according to MaxPreps. He also carried the ball 48 times for 155 yards and seven touchdowns.
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Su’esu’e holds a dozen scholarship offers, a list that includes Utah and Utah State, where he will take an official visit this Friday, according to 247 Sports.