BYU Wraps Up Dominant Run of In-State Recruiting

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake at BYU Football Fall Camp | BYU Photo

Recruiting the state of Utah has always been a priority for the BYU staff. The 2026 class represented an opportunity for BYU with so many highly-rated players. The Cougars capitalized, wrapping up the best class in program history.

On Friday, BYU flipped Utah commits and four-star recruits Jaron Pula and Kennan Pula. Now that the Pula twins are officially part of BYU’s 2026 signing class, the Cougars have wrapped up a dominant run of in-state recruits.

Five of the top 10 in-state recruits are now committed to BYU (247 Composite). Two have committed to Utah, and the others have committed to Iowa, USC, and Texas A&M:

1. Salesi Moa (Utah)
2. Brock Harris (BYU)
3. Bott Mulitalo (BYU)
4. Tradon Bessinger (Iowa)
5. Esun Tafa (USC)
6. Helaman Casuga (Texas A&M)
7. Lopeti Moala (BYU)
8. Jaron Pula (BYU)
9. Mataalii Benjamin (Utah)
10. Kennan Pula (BYU)

In the Kalani Sitake era, this will be the first class that BYU has signed five of the top 10 players. BYU had never signed more than three in Sitake's tenure.

Top 10 recruits in the state of Utah that have signed with BYU | BYU On SI

The talent in the state of Utah is getting better and better. The players ranked 11-15 are really talented as well. This year, those players are nearing four-star status. BYU signed 8 of the top 15 players in the state of Utah. BYU had never signed more than 5 of the top 15 in previous signing classes.

Top 15 recruits in the state of Utah that have signed with BYU | BYU On SI

BYU had to beat out the biggest brands in the sport to land these players. All eight of these in-state players had multiple competing P4 offers and most of them had 20+ offers from P4 schools.

More and more schools have come to the state of Utah to recruits, and it was critical for BYU to fend off some of the national brands that were pushing for local players.

BYU still has a few months to add to the 2026 class. However, most of the 2026 recruiting attention will turn to the transfer portal over the next few weeks. The transfer portal will open for a few weeks in January. It will be the only transfer window of the offseason.