HOUSTON — Earlier this month, in the middle of my grandson’s weightlifting session at Atascocita High in Texas, LSU head coach Ed Orgeron showed up. The national coach of the year of the NCAA champion Tigers was there to offer Class of 2022 offensive lineman Kam Dewberry, who has offers from everybody who is anybody in college football.
Needless to say, it caused no small ruckus at the school located near Humble.
Dewberry, reportedly 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, is the kind of recruit who can pick his school. Monster recruiters are after him.
Utah, BYU and Utah State are not in the mix for a guy like Dewberry.
Utah is closer at getting in this kind of mix now that the Utes signed a top 30 class this past week.
BYU’s honor code restrictions and academic elitism will prevent the program from chasing a wide universe of recruits. It’s even more restrictive than just five years ago with then-coach Bronco Mendenhall, who saw the writing on the wall. BYU is making fewer exceptions for athletes under a 3.0 GPA and a 25 ACT score.
On Twitter this week, former Cougar Derwin Gray declared “Under these academic requirements, I would not be able to be a student-athlete at BYU. Today, I have two doctorates and have written four books. I was the only in my family to graduate from high school. All I needed was a chance.”
To beat schools with top 30 recruit classes (USC, Tennessee), Kalani Sitake has to overachieve with intelligence, scheme and coaching. Can he do it? It is a huge challenge.
Utah State can cast a wider net than BYU and if you believe in the internet ranking systems, BYU is slipping in recruit rankings from 49th in 2016 to 66th the following year, then 78 and 81 before this class, which is ranked 71st by 24/7 Sports.
And with that, here are a few bold predictions about the Class of 2020 recruiting among the instate schools.
First, with Utah’s uptick with this class, the Utes should earn their first Pac-12 title within the next four years. Won’t come in 2020 with the 130th ranked team in returning production (48% offense and 27% defense), according to ESPN. But this class, in time, could do it. I predict a title within four years and the continued production of faces in the NFL draft.
Ute corner recruit Clark Phillips III should become the next Jaylon Johnson.
“I don’t think there’s any question about that,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said Tuesday. “Our net has been cast fairly wide, we’ve got guys from a lot of different parts of the country. More than anything else, we’re able to stand toe-to-toe and win some of these battles against high-profile schools.”
At BYU, this linebacker class is one of the best in recent memory. With Tate Romney, Bodie Schoonover, Josh Wilson, Alex Muti and Preston Lewis, expect the Cougar defense to produce some playmakers out of the current and future crop that will replenish faces seen at the next level in Fred Warner and Kyle Van Noy.
In 2020, BYU could have more speed on the roster than at any one time in this decade. Sitake hopes it converts into more situational and one-on-one position wins, especially on offense as he works towards 2021, the year he’ll basically have all his own recruits on roster back from missionary service.
At Utah State, Gary Andersen will be rebuilding and it will take some time, but this class is the foundation of what should be a challenge to the Mountain West crown within three seasons after a search to replace Jordan Love at QB.
Look for the Aggie defense to get a big boost out of UCLA defensive line transfer Marcus Moore, and 6-foot-6 receiver Justin McGriff will be a huge target. John Gentry, a running back out of Houston, Texas, could make waves immediately and Boise State transfer Keegan Duncan is a big load to handle at 6-3, 220.
“Just watch the tape on Marcus,” Andersen said. “And Keegan, he is a young player but I expect him to come in and compete for a starting job.”
The 2020 signing date is in the rearview mirror.
Now it’s all about spring practice, offseason workouts and what really matters, the actual games played on the field come fall.
This is where evaluations and rankings really add up.