Jasen Ah You Plans to Swing for the Fences as New Executive of Recruiting
Jasen Ah You was born a BYU Cougar - literally, he was delivered by the BYU Football team doctor. As a child, he woke up early on Saturday's to watch BYU football games from his local church building. Years later, Jasen is a BYU football alumni, the father of current BYU Linebacker Chaz Ah You, and BYU's newest executive of recruiting.
Ah You addressed the media today for the first time in his new position. Ah You is passionate about BYU's purpose and says there is simply "no place like BYU." Ah You also brings a unique perspective to BYU's recruiting department because his son, Chaz Ah You, was a highly-touted recruit coming out of high school.
Although Chaz had many connections to BYU during his recruitment, Ah You noted that "Chaz was not a shoo-in to BYU." The Ah You's were open-minded when they made visits to some of the top football programs in the country, but BYU was the only school that checked all their boxes.
Recruiting Vision
As BYU's new executive of recruiting, Ah You won't back down from recruiting the four and five-star players that are members of the church. Ah You said, "We're going to swing big. We're going after the top guys." Ah You added, "If we're going to play a P5 schedule, which we are, we are going to need P5 kids."
Coaches and evaluators often say that recruiting stars don't matter - Ah You's approach is different. He noted that, while not perfect, recruiting stars are a directional measure of recruiting success. "We did the research when I was at another University...people says stars don't matter, but they do." That doesn't mean BYU won't continue to seek out the "diamond in the rough" recruit. Ah You clarified that offering a recruit who may be under the radar will be a more collaborative effort among the coaching staff.
Among the four-star prospects that BYU will swing for is Kingsley Suamataia. Kingsley is a four-star Offensive Tackle out of Orem High School with over 30 offers from around the country. Ah You's efforts have put BYU back in the picture with Kingsley. Before Ah You was hired, Suamataia had all but written off the local school.
I asked Kingsley how BYU put themselves back in the picture. His answer was simple: "Jasen Ah You, my uncle, was a big influencer...now that he's the recruiting guy...they're all [BYU coaches] contacting now. I like it because they're a school that's just down the road. They've always been a top school for me."
Ah You emphasized the importance of finding players that were striving to do their best and adhere to BYU's high academic and honor code requirements. Finding players that fit BYU's culture is important, but Ah You noted that BYU is not "assembling a team of boy scouts...we are looking for players that will help us win. We will win."
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