Two notable high school football recruits in the Class of 2027 — Bode Sparrow and Brody Rudnicki — have whittled their college choices down to just a few in recent days, and both are considering the BYU Cougars and the Utah Utes.
First, Bode Sparrow, the top prospect in the state of Utah in the class of 2027 released his final four last week, and the Cougars and Utes are joined by the Oklahoma Sooners and the Oregon Ducks.
Listed by On3 at 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, Sparrow preps at Davis High and is widely considered to be a top-75 prospect in the entire country in the class of 2027.
He is being recruited as an athlete, with schools eyeing him as either a receiver or a safety.
Long considered an Oklahoma lean, Sparrow told On3’s Greg Biggins that he will visit there this weekend, Oregon the next, Utah the weekend after that and finally BYU the weekend of June 19.
Another top prospect from Utah in the Class of 2027, linebacker Krew Jones, has already committed to Oklahoma.
Oregon was the final add to Sparrow’s top four, as he cut Miami and Texas A&M.
“These are the four I have the best relationships with and the ones I felt most comfortable at,” Sparrow told Biggins. “I had some great options but these four are the ones I can really see myself at.”
Of BYU and Utah, Sparrow told Biggins, “I’ve been to both schools a lot and really like it there. I have a very strong comfort level and have known those coaches for a long time.
“I really like coach Scalley at Utah and think he’s going to do great things. With BYU, I like what they’re building and how they’re recruiting and I think Kalani Sitake is a great coach and someone I respect a lot. It’s going to be a very tough decision but I’m excited to play this out.”
Meanwhile, Rudnicki, the starting quarterback at Folsom High in California, has flown somewhat under the radar because he has mostly been the backup to former Bulldogs star Ryder Lyons, one of the best quarterbacks in the country in the Class of 2026 who signed with BYU (although Rudnicki did lead Folsom to a state championship last season after Lyons got hurt).
Despite that, Rudnicki has been a known commodity on the recruiting trail and on Sunday released a final three that includes the Cougars, Utes and nearby Cal Golden Bears.
Listed by 247 Sports at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, Rudnicki also holds scholarship offers from a number of schools in the Big 12 and Minnesota, along with a handful of others.
Before he officially released his final three, Rudnicki told On3’s Brandon Huffman last week that he will visit Utah the weekend of June 5, Cal the weekend after that and BYU the same weekend as Sparrow, June 19.
Rudnicki is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and told Huffman he plans on serving a mission prior to playing college ball.
“I’m ideally going to be making a commitment after my official visit or maybe before, depending on whether my family feels like we have all the information we need,” Rudnicki told Huffman.