Coveted Cornerback Ryan Wooten Jr. Commits to BYU Football

On Sunday morning, the BYU football program picked up a commitment from coveted cornerback prospect Ryan Wooten Jr. Wooten committed to BYU over competing offers from the likes of Florida State, Florida, Penn State, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, Washington, West Virginia, Nebraska, and Minnesota among others.

IM HOME!!! https://t.co/m2PkoYdtvI
— Ryan Wooten, Jr. (@RyanWooten_27) May 3, 2026

Wooten is a high three-star cornerback prospect from New Jersey. New Jersey has never been a regular recruiting ground for BYU. The cornerback room is under the direction of first-year cornerbacks coach Lewis Walker. It was Walker who went into a new region to offer Wooten, and it paid off.

Wooten's recruitment moved quickly. He picked up an offer from BYU on April first. One week later, he scheduled an official visit to BYU for the month of June. Later, Wooten and his family made the trip to Provo and visited with BYU head coach Kalani Sitake. Just over one month after receiving a BYU offer, Wooten Jr. committed to play for the Cougars.

The departure of former cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford left big shoes for Walker to fill. Gilford had been the cornerabcks coach since 2016, and he had produced some of the best cornerback play in modern BYU history. Wooten's commitment signals that Walker is capable of filling Gilford's shoes.

It doesn't take long to see why Wooten holds offers from so many Power Four programs. Wooten has great length at 6'2, high-end closing speed, and he is physical. He has the potential to be a multi-year starter at BYU. Historically, high-level cornerback prospects have had the chance to come in and contribute early at BYU. We expect Wooten to have a similar career at BYU once he learns the defense.

Junior year film!! Blessed to have been able to share the field with my brothers. @CoachRichHansen @KinslerLatish https://t.co/AgCrOdifwS
— Ryan Wooten, Jr. (@RyanWooten_27) December 1, 2025

The Cougars will need to replace seniors Evan Johnson Jayven Williams after the 2026 season. Wooten will take one of those two roster spots.

Wooten is the fourth player to commit to BYU in the 2027 recruiting class. He joins Jeremiah Williams, Tytan DeJong, and Ezra Sanelivi as BYU commits. The months of May and June are the most important recruiting months of the year for BYU in this new recruiting calendar. BYU will host most of its official visits in June. BYU is building a great foundation for the 2027 class heading into the official visit window.

The 2027 class is off to a great start for new defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga. The key to Jay Hill's success at BYU was elavated recruiting. So far, Poppinga and his new staff have maintained the recruiting standards that Hill established in his time at BYU.

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