Highly sought-after Arizona linebacker Tate Romney says he will sign with BYU

PROVO — BYU football coaches have received some good news on the eve of another national signing day.

Tate Romney, the Arizona Linebacker of the Year and the brother of current Cougars Gunner and Baylor Romney, told the Deseret News Tuesday morning that he will sign with BYU on Wednesday.

“It was a hard decision, with the options that I had, but I think BYU is the right place for me overall,” Tate Romney said via text message. “Looking forward to playing for the Y.”

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Romney has said he plans to serve a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before enrolling at BYU. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior is rated as a three-star prospect by 247sports.com and was also considering Oregon, Arizona State and Utah. He also had offers from Cal, Colorado, Washington State, Utah State and others.

BYU coach Kalani Sitake and offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes made an in-home visit last Thursday to meet with Romney and his parents, Jeni and Kade.

Romney said last week that he probably won’t have a ceremony involving the suspenseful choosing of a ball cap or anything of the sort. He said he might not even announce it on social media, as is the custom for recruits these days. That’s just not his style.

He said last week that if he did choose BYU, his brothers playing for the school currently would be a “big factor” in his reasoning.

“I would love to play with my brothers, for sure,” he said. “But since I am going on a mission, I am not sure if I would be able to play with them, really. It would be a cool opportunity to play together at BYU, like they did.

Gunner Romney will be a junior this fall, while Baylor Romney will be a redshirt sophomore.

Having signed 13 players during the early signing period last December, BYU is still pursuing commitments from several other high-profile recruits, including American Fork defensive end Bodie Schoonover, Olympus athlete Scotty Edwards and Miles Davis, a receiver from Las Vegas, who was injured most of his high school career and has flown under the recruiting radar of most schools.