There are times in which Peyton Higginson, a prep football safety and receiver, wishes he could divide himself into thirds.
Higginson, a three-star recruit who will be a senior at Salem Hills High in southern Utah County this fall, is trying to decide where he wants to play college football in 2029 — after he returns from a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Higginson, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound prospect ranked as the No. 88 athlete (two-way player) in the country in the 247Sports composite rankings, has narrowed his choices to three schools: Michigan, BYU and Utah State.
Not coincidentally, the Wolverines, Cougars and Aggies are coached by men who share Higginson’s faith and have been recruiting him since he was a freshman in high school — former Utah coach Kyle Whittingham (Michigan), BYU’s Kalani Sitake and Utah State’s Bronco Mendenhall, the former BYU, Virginia and New Mexico head coach.
All three guys are among the best coaches in Beehive State history, Higginson notes.
Additionally, Higginson has had a strong relationship with new Michigan defensive coordinator Jay Hill — the former head coach at Weber State and BYU defensive coordinator — for longer than that.
Higginson told the Deseret News on Saturday that he will make his announcement later this week, or early next week after the holiday weekend.
“It’s going to be a tough call,” he said.
The phenom who received his first scholarship offer before he suited up as a freshman — it came from Washington State — said all three of his finalists have put together respectable financial packages (NIL and revenue sharing offers) to varying degrees but that money won’t be the deciding factor in his decision.
“There’s obviously a difference, but like I have said all along, I am not looking at only that,” he said.
What will be the deciding factor?
“I want a place where I’m going to develop on the field and off the field at a high level. I don’t want to just be a football player. I want to be in a program that’s going to teach me how to be a dad, how to be a father, a husband,” Higginson said. “So that is something that I’ve been looking for, and I feel like all these final schools are really good at that. They are places that are going to set me up financially outside of football.
“When I’m done with football, whether I go play 10 years in the league, or I’m done after college, I am looking for a place where I’m going to have good opportunities and a good network to be successful,” he continued. “Money obviously nowadays is a big thing in college football, but I’m not making my decision based on money, because money’s gonna come.”
Why Peyton Higginson is a big-time recruit
Higginson was ranked higher within Utah before recruiting services started bumping up other guys after they committed to bluebloods such as Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon and Penn State. He had offers from Utah, Purdue, Cal, Boise State and Colorado State before trimming down his list.
Recruiters love him because of his versatility, bloodlines and speed for a player his size. He broke onto the scene in a big way a few years ago when he shined for the Puka Outlaws, an elite 7-on-7 team backed and mentored by former BYU receiver Puka Nacua, now a standout in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams.
The No. 1 recruit in the state, Davis High’s Bode Sparrow, was also on that team and Higginson was viewed by many as just as fast and athletic as the recent Oklahoma commit, and perhaps more versatile.
“Bode is a baller, man,” Higginson said. “Oklahoma got a good one.”
Higginson got on the radars of many schools when he performed well before his freshman year with Trackit Verified, a college and high school athletic testing platform.
The No. 3 prospect in the state, Ridgeline’s Krew Jones, who is transferring to Orem, also picked Oklahoma and has actively been recruiting the No. 2 prospect in Utah — Maple Mountain’s Uhila Wolfgramm — to join the Utahns in Norman.
Wolfgramm told 247Sports on Monday that he will decide between OU and BYU later this week.
Then there’s Higginson, whom BYU and Utah State have made a huge priority. Higginson did not make an official campus visit to Ann Arbor because the Wolverines had limited official visits available this month. However, he went to Michigan on his own dime a few months ago and is familiar with the program and its facilities.
Higginson’s versatility, athleticism impressive
Salem Hills’ head coach, Jeff Higginson, is Peyton’s uncle, and the rising senior has another uncle on the Skyhawks’ staff who coaches the receivers. Former BYU defensive end John Nelson and former USC standout linebacker Porter Gustin are Peyton’s second cousins.
Higginson caught 40 passes for 574 yards and nine touchdowns in 11 games last season, and also had 81 total tackles and three interceptions on defense.
“I consider myself a receiver/safety,” he said. “That is what I am getting recruited to play. Boise State (and assistant coach Frank Maile) offered me to play linebacker, but other than that it has all been receiver and safety. That’s kind of what I see myself playing.”
Higginson plans to graduate from high school in December, then start his mission in February of 2027 when he turns 18.
Is BYU in the lead for Higginson?
Jeff Hansen of Cougar Sports Insider on the 247Sports network has written that BYU is in the lead for Higginson and that the Cougars’ biggest threat will come from Utah State, and not Michigan.
Higginson said he has “always kind of been a BYU fan” growing up in the Spanish Fork area and has a lot of connections to the program.
“The coaching staff at BYU has been awesome,” he said. “Kalani is one of the best head coaches in the business. You can feel it as soon as you get there. He’s got a good thing going there.”
Bronco, USU making a strong pitch
Higginson acknowledges that Utah State might not be among his finalists if it wasn’t for Mendenhall, who went 6-7 last year in his first season in Logan. The Aggies went 4-4 in the Mountain West and will be joining the Pac-12 next year.
Higginson said he also has a good relationship with USU defensive coordinator and safeties coach Nick Howell, who was with Mendenhall at BYU and went with Mendenhall to Virginia in 2016.
“Bronco is awesome. The way he runs the program, and the coaches that he’s surrounded himself with, are impressive,” Higginson said. “You can tell that Bronco is a special coach and a special person outside of football, too. Not very many coaches have had the same coaches at every school. It is awesome and impressive the way he runs that program. It’s tough, it’s gritty, but I feel like I’ve got a pretty good chance of getting to play early there.”
Utah State is open to letting Higginson play on both sides of the ball, with Howell’s blessing.
“Coach Howell has been on me since my sophomore year,” Higginson said. “We’ve built a great relationship throughout the process, and I’ve really enjoyed it up in Logan.”
Michigan willing to wait two years
Michigan’s coaching staff is stocked with Latter-day Saints, as Whittingham not only lured Hill away from BYU but also took offensive coordinator Jason Beck, defensive ends coach Lewis Powell and tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham with him from Utah. Michigan’s staff also includes former BYU players Koy Detmer Jr. and Micah Simon and former Utah offensive line coach Jim Harding.
“They know all about missions, obviously,” Higginson said. “Jay Hill arguably has been the best coach at recruiting me. I have built one of the greatest relationships in my life with coach Hill. I just love the way coach Hill runs a defense and how he uses his safeties. That’s why the Michigan offer is in my top three.”
Higginson said he believes Whittingham and Hill will still be at Michigan when he returns from his mission in 2029.
“Also, it is Michigan. They play in the Big House. It is in the Big Ten. There’s not much better football,” he said. “So that definitely all kind of ties in. But at the end of the day, the people make the place.”
And when those people are all familiar with Higginson and his family for years, the decision becomes that much more difficult.