BYU's 2026 recruiting class may be one of best in program history

This article was first published in the Cougar Insiders newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each week.

An interesting back-and-forth took place in Big 12 recruiting the past seven days. In a surprising run, BYU took the lead in recruiting rankings for the class of 2026 as the No. 1 class, then Texas Tech got a commitment from a five-star offensive tackle and replaced BYU at No. 1 spot. But the Cougars received two huge commitments from highly ranked athletes on Monday and that elevated Kalani Sitake’s recruiting 2026 class back to No. 1, according to 247sports.

As of Tuesday, BYU’s 2026 class ranking was No. 19 nationally, just ahead of Texas Tech. This after going from 26th to 23rd then ranked 19th in five days.

Special Collector's Issue: "1984: The Year BYU was Second to None" Get an inclusive look inside BYU Football's 1984 National Championship season. Buy Now

This is quite remarkable for the program as discussed with defensive coordinator Jay Hill in this piece, where he says being a P4 program has made all the difference in the world for BYU recruiting.

Those two commits on Monday were linebacker Braxton Lindsey from Rogers, Arkansas and defensive lineman Nehemiah Kolone from Stillwater, Oklahoma. Both had multiple P4 offers and are figured to make an immediate impact on the Cougars roster. Kolone had offers from Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Baylor, UCF, Kansas and Kansas State. Lindsey had offers from three SEC schools, including Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.

On Tuesday, Jaxson Gates, a 6-foot-1 corner with 10.39 speed in the 100 meters, previously committed to Syracuse, committed to BYU coaches. In 24 hours the Cougars added three-star Kolone (No. 104 DL), four-star Lindsey (No. 23 linebacker), and three-star Gates (No. 49 rated corner). Gates, from Damien High in La Vern, California, had offers from Syracuse, Michigan State, Utah and Boise State.

So far, this class has more P4 offers than the last four classes combined at BYU.

Cougar Insider predictions

There is no Big 12 preseason poll this year, so we’ll make our own predictions on key elements of preseason speculation. Please list the order of how you think the Big 12 standings will turn out and give us your pick for offensive player of the year, defensive player of the year and special teams player of the year.

Jay Drew: Here’s my predicted order of finish:

Kansas State Texas Tech Utah Arizona State Iowa State TCU BYU Baylor Kansas Houston Colorado Cincinnati UCF Arizona West Virginia Oklahoma State

Offensive player of the year: Behren Morton, QB, Texas Tech

Defensive player of the year: Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech

Special teams player of the year: Will Ferrin, BYU

I was one of those reporters who had it completely wrong last year, so wrong that the league did away with the media preseason poll in 2025. So take all this with a grain of salt. A lot of people are high on Arizona State after last year’s finish, and because the Sun Devils have quarterback Sam Leavitt back.

I’m not completely sold, though, as ASU goes about replacing Cam Skattebo.

I’m going with Kansas State and Texas Tech to play in the Big 12 championship game because I really like their quarterbacks, and I also think Devon Dampier is going to be just what the doctor ordered for the Utes’ offense. I would put BYU higher if the quarterback situation was less shaky, and I also think the Cougars’ schedule is going to be much more difficult than last year’s.

Dick Harmon: Here are my Big 12 preseason picks:

Texas Tech Iowa State Arizona State TCU BYU Utah Kansas State Baylor Kansas Houston Cincinnati Arizona UCF West Virginia Colorado Oklahoma State

Offensive player of the year: QB Rocco Becht, Iowa State

QB Rocco Becht, Iowa State Defensive player of the year: LB Isaiah Glasker, BYU

LB Isaiah Glasker, BYU Special teams player of the year: Will Ferrin, BYU

If we learned anything from last year, it is that this is a competitive league that features teams that can beat each other on any given day. Polls are an exercise in rolling the dice. The Big 12 features this in the preseason. It’s called parity, and it’s why they did away with the preseason poll at Big 12 media day. It was worthless, as are our opinions here. But they draw interest. Either BYU or Utah could find themselves at the top of the standings at the end if things go their way.

The Cougars got lucky with some games last year, and they’ll need that luck to continue if they are to have a chance. BYU is far more equipped to fight in the trenches in Big 12 play than the past two years. Both BYU and Utah will field outstanding defenses that can win games. While the Jake Retzlaff situation hurts BYU, it also opens the door for a more accurate passer to step forward and prove himself. Retzlaff’s interceptions at key junctures cost the Cougars at least two games in Big 12 play and Aaron Roderick will need his weapons to step up and make a difference for the Retzlaff replacement.

It is interesting to see that in a computer simulation of Big 12 games, BYU finishes third and Utah 13th. You can see this simulation here.

Cougar tales

AJ Dybantsa’s teamwork, rebounding and free-throw makes at critical times, as well as his ability to draw defenses away from his USA teammates, led to MVP honors at the U19 FIBA World Cup this past week in Switzerland, where the Americans defeated Germany for the gold medal.

On Monday and Tuesday, head coach Kalani Sitake joined key players at the Big 12 football media days in Frisco, Texas. Here is a preamble of what Jay Drew believes are the hot topics for the Cougar contingent there.

From the archives

From the X-verse

Hunter earns Bob Bowlsby Award (@BYUT&XC)

Reminder on Jay Hill’s defense (@GregWrubell)

BYU ranked 14th in preseason (@CF_Budge)

Extra points

Jake Retzlaff has clear road to transfer (Deseret News)

Chase Roberts welcomes leadership role (KSLsports)

Background on Lesa Burgess story (Deseret News)

Fanalysts

Comments from Deseret News readers:

While existing on crumbs, the Cougs have prospered.

Now on equal footing for the first time ever, the Cougs will be roaring like a tiger (oops), a bear (oops), a lion, (oops) champions. The finest college sport program in Utah history

— worf

Look at 247Sports recruiting page for BYU. BYU went from 81st to 24th in seven years. The brutal reality of this progress is that it will place BYU in front of Utah for years to come. Utah simply no longer has any real significant recruiting advantage.

— Steeltalon

Up next

Click here to read article