PROVO — National letter of intent signing day for college football is Wednesday and while bowl preparation is front and center, the Cougars are set to sign prospects midweek, then finish the 2020 class in February.

But from the expected signing of American Fork linebacker Bodie Schoonover to defensive end Ace Kaufusi at Kahuku High School in Hawaii, the more things change with the transfer portal and ever-evolving admissions standards at BYU, the more a lot remains the same.

By signing a class of 25 and having half of them leave for church service, assistant head coach Ed Lamb says it puts pressure on BYU recruiters and he likes it.

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“It forces us to be very picky in who we offer,” Lamb said.

When Lamb was head coach at Southern Utah, he heard a quote by Bronco Mendenhall saying he wanted recruits to actually recruit BYU. “I was off working my tail off recruiting and that didn’t sound like the right way to say that. It didn’t ring true on how a coach should approach recruiting. Then I came to BYU and I can see that. There is a lot that comes with being a BYU student (honor code, academics) and there really has to be a back and forth, a mutual interest. As a staff, we feel that more and more than at any time we’ve been here.

“We want to make that our base and reach out to find if a recruit is serious about being here, and if so, we are serious about them, but we do not have lot of space to just wait around,” Lamb said.

Defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki calls recruiting to BYU a challenge and says the staff has to seek players who are really seeking the BYU experience because they end up being the happiest and most productive.

These are players like linebacker Payton Wilgar, all the Kaufusi clan, safeties Dayan Ghanwoloku and Austin Lee, and tackle Khyiris Tonga. They fit, they like being at BYU and they excel. 

“It’s really complex,” said the coach. “I think we as a staff, we especially on defense, feel that we are a developmental program. Everybody wants tall, long kids that can run and big defensive linemen. The truth is, they go elsewhere. It’s just what it is. And so we know that we’ve got to get kids that are developmental kids, we got to get kids that want to be here. The big thing is, because of the honor code and how hard school is being independent, if it’s a kid that you’re having to trick to convince to get here, those kids don’t do well. Those kids always have in the back of their mind that they should have gone somewhere else.”

Tuiaki said this is evident elsewhere — this recruit feeling at other programs. “We see so many kids in the transfer portal, and you know, the transfer portal is unbelievable, just how many kids are in there. Now that I’ve recruited at different places and kind of here now, I think we’re almost derecruiting kids, you know, and just getting the ones that really want to be here. 

“Some of the conversations that I’m hearing with kids is that it’s fake recruiting, it’s just all talk, it’s not realistic. They’re not having fun or not starting and they want out. The transfer portal just shows what recruiting has done, which is given kids a false sense of just what they’re walking into to.

“Being here, being around Kalani, he has really taught me that his recruiting has to be a little more realistic for us and that’s all about finding a good niche.

“I think it’s got to be somebody that’s looking for this and to develop potentials. Really, I think the thing that has been big with Kalani is you’re getting a kid that really wants to be here, maybe a kid that’s passed up by others, that really only has a couple of offers here and there, even an FCS offer. But they are kids that are big, that are long, and that you can either put weight on or kids that are naturally already fast enough and teach them the game. I think that’s who we are. We’ve just got to continue to develop those tough kids.”

Take a player like Christopher Jackson, for example. Jackson is a receiver from the JUCO ranks who plans on signing with BYU this Wednesday, with plans to arrive for the winter semester and compete in spring practices.

Jackson grew up under extremely adverse circumstances and relishes the opportunity provided him by the BYU football program.

“I’ve been through a lot and I look at it as a blessing,” Jackson said. “It’s a blessing from God that I have the opportunity I now have to get a great education at BYU and play the game I love. It’s a huge blessing and I aim to make the very most of it.”

In late spring a year ago, AJ Steward helped BYU obtain two senior transfer running backs in Ty’Son Williams (South Carolina) and Emmanuel Esukpa (Rice) who have been injured this year. Along with freshman Sione Finau going down before the UMass game with an ACL tear, BYU could again use some backfield help.

A year ago, BYU picked up Theo Dawson through the transfer portal from Wyoming, along with Williams and Esukpa.

Aside from roster players and returning missionaries, Steward said he will always be looking to add talent from anywhere.

“We’re always looking for backs. I mean, we’re always looking for the best players in general and until somebody tells us we can’t. We’ll always try to push the envelope and if we have space, we’ll take the best players available,” said Steward.

“That’s my job, to bring the best running backs here possible, the best for our team and for our group. Not only talent-wise, but guys that fit into our program. That’s always my goal, and there won’t be a stone unturned, just like I said last year. I think it showed last year that the type of guys we brought in this season helped us win games and will continue to do that. That’s just what we believe in.”

So, does that mean he likes who he’s after right now?

“Absolutely, absolutely. We’re always looking for guys that add explosiveness to our offense and can be difference makers and especially guys that we think can make an immediate impact if necessary. We’re just going to continue to push the envelope and get the best players possible. Look at our schedule coming up, starting with this Hawaii game. Hawaii is a really good team, and then moving forward into next year we’ll face some great competition. Nobody’s doing us any favors so we need to have a really good group of guys that are prepared to accept the challenge and compete against really good teams,” said Steward.

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Other recruits BYU obtained in the past year through portal transfers were defensive back Shamon Willis, son of former RB Jamaal Willis, and offensive lineman Mo Unutoa from Utah.

Lamb hinted this past week that this would be a consideration for BYU, but grabbing recruits out of the transfer portal won’t be the base of what they do.

“Maybe some of our athletes who are waiting word on whether they’ll be back next year has something to do with that. The success we had with our transfer running backs is something we want to continue to look for. The emergence of Jackson McChesney and Tyler Allgeier moving back there (from linebacker) has that piece of the puzzle figured out.”

A year ago, BYU had quarterback Stacy Conner, running backs Riley Burt and Ula Tolutau, receiver Akile Davis, O-lineman Jacob Jimenez, defensive linemen Tevita Mounga and Wayne Tei-Kirby and defensive back Isaiah Armstrong put their names in the portal. There could be others come and go before the February signing date. 

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