Local Linebacker Owen Leishman Commits to BYU Football

On Friday, BYU added to its 2027 recruiting class. Local athlete Owen Leishman committed to BYU over competing offers from Utah and Utah State. Leishman took an official visit to BYU back in June. After taking a few months to contemplate his decision, Leishman locked down his recruitment and committed to the Cougars.

GO COUGS! 🤙@kalanifsitake @BYUfootball @Coach_Popp pic.twitter.com/zTS3aEGaUG
— Owen Leishman (@OwenLeish) September 11, 2026

Leishman plays on both sides of the ball at Rideline High School. He is listed as a wide receiver by 247Sports and he also plays tight end. We expect him to line up at linebacker at BYU, but he could move to the offensive side and play tight end as well. He has good size at 6'3 and he possess the speed to track down ballcarriers. He participated in the UA Next event earlier this year and clocked a 4.59 40-yard dash.

On offense, Leishman is a physical pass-catcher that is a physical blocking tight end as well.

4-0!@RidgelineFB pic.twitter.com/8rPabDQQJ7
— Owen Leishman (@OwenLeish) September 7, 2026

Leishman was flying under the recruiting radar until the summer. He went to summer camps at BYU, Utah, and Utah State. After those coaching staffs had a chance to see him in person, they all offered him on the spot. Lieshman took his only official visit to BYU and will now head to Provo to continue his football career.

3-0 to start the year! pic.twitter.com/pc8e7Inx1a
— Owen Leishman (@OwenLeish) September 2, 2026

Leishman was one of the last uncommitted defensive prospects on BYU's board. While the defensive staff could still extend offers to 2027 prospects, most of the 2027 class is settled. On the defensive side, Leishman joins fellow in-state defensive prospects Uhila Wolfgramm, Moa Havili, Peyton Higginson, Lakepa Satuala, Jag Ioane, and Tyton DeJong.

Other out-of-state defensive commits include Jeremiah Williams, Ryan Wooten, Kamoni Adams, Demichael Burks, and Jaxson Rex.

The 2027 class is the first recruiting class for BYU's new defensive staff, and if you're a BYU fan, it's hard to be upset with the results. BYU has perhaps its best defensive line class of the Kalani Sitake era with two four-star commits (Wolfgramm and Williams) and two three-star commits with a long list of P4 offers (Havili and Ioane). In the secondary, BYU has brought in three cornerbacks, Ryan Wooten, Kamoni Adams, and Demichael Burks. It wouldn't be surprising if two out of those three made an immediate impact for BYU next season.

BYU has been successful in the Big 12 the last two years. The key to sustaining that success is by continuosly recruiting at a high level. The defensive staff has shown capable of doing that after Jay Hill's departure.

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