When BYU joined the Big 12 Conference ahead of the 2023 football season, most assumed there would be a boon to the recruiting numbers in the process. It's been a slow burn, but the process seems to have paid off.
BYU's recruiting class of 2026 is shaping up to be a stellar one. Perhaps, it is becoming one of the best in BYU history. That is even without a true five-star, nationally-acclaimed recruit such as Jake Heaps in 2010.
Where this class thrives is in its depth and breadth versus just a shiny object at the top.
That doesn't mean the 2026 class doesn't have premier talent. Tight end Brock Harris and offensive lineman Bott Mulitalo are both highly-touted, four-star talents. Both of them are top-100 recruits nationally, according to 247Sports.
The important part of the story for BYU and those two recruits is that they are in Utah. One of the more crucial parts of building a successful football program is not letting your local high school talent sign elsewhere, or with your in-state rivals.
As of now, BYU has commits from five of the top 20 recruits in Utah. The Utes, on the other hand, are yet to land a hard commit from a top-20 player in Utah for the class of 2026. That could change, of course, if Utah lands the top recruit in all of the state in Salesi Moa. He is currently mulling offers from Utah, Michigan, Washington, Tennessee, and Michigan State. BYU is not in the mix.
However, the two recruits mentioned who already committed to BYU rank No. 2 and No. 3 respectively in the state. It's not often BYU can nab two of the top three recruits in Utah. Plenty of top-tier programs recruit in Utah. USC, Oregon, Washington, and several SEC teams have poached top recruits from Utah in the past.
BYU is starting to win more and more of those battles in their own backyard.
It isn't all about those two four-stars, either. Terrance Saryon is a three-star that had originally committed to Washington. BYU went into Husky territory, in Vancouver, WA, and got Saryon's commitment.
Tight end Ty Goettsche is a top 10 recruit out of Colorado.
The Cougars still have plenty of lines in the water, as well. Four-star offensive lineman and top-100 overall recruit Tommy Tofi is scheduled for an official visit next month. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) edge rusher Prince Williams is choosing between BYU, Arizona and Utah as well. There is plenty of room for this class to get even better.
Now, the class of 2026 is shaping up to be one of the best in recent memory. As of now, it ranks 31st nationally against other programs' own class of 2026.
In the Big 12, it currently ranks sixth out of 16. Their two four-star commits are more than Iowa State, Texas Tech, UCF, Cincinnati, TCU, Houston, West Virginia, Arizona, Kansas State, Colorado, and Utah have.
Comparing to past BYU classes, if their 31st ranking holds, it would be their highest recruiting class ranking since 2010. BYU has not even been inside the top 35 in that same timeframe. They struggled to maintain above-average recruiting rankings in the independence era.
BYU has only had four top-40 recruiting classes since the year 2000. 2026 is shaping up to be right up there among the best they have had this millennium.