Is This Kalani Sitake’s Best Defensive Line Class Ever at BYU?

The Cougars have a trio of coveted DL commits in the 2027 class

BYU commit Uhila Wolfgramm with BYU head coach Kalani Sitake and associate head coach Sione Po'uha during his official visit | X: @UhilaMFW4

On Thursday, four-star defensive end Uhila Wolfgramm committed to BYU over Oklahoma. While Wolfgramm's recruitment turned into a two-team race between the Cougars and the Sooners, there were 23 other schools that offered Wolfgramm during his recruitment.

Wolfgramm joins two other defensive linemen that are already committed to the Cougars: Jeremiah Williams and Moa Havili. Williams, a four-star recruit in his own right, picked the Cougars over competing offers from North Carolina, UCLA, Georgia, Colorado, Miami, Michigan, Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Tennessee, USC, Utah, Notre Dame, and Washington among others. Similar to Wolfgramm, Williams has college-ready size - he is listed at just over 300 pounds. Unlike Wolfgramm, Williams projects as a defensive tackle in BYU's defense.

Then there is Granger High School standout Moa Havili. Havili became a national recruit almost overnight. After a few standout performances in camps this spring, Havili hauled in competing offers from Alabama, Michigan, North Carolina, Cal, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, and Boise State. Then, he received his dream offer from BYU and committed shortly after. Havili projects as a defensive tackle.

Between Wolfgramm, Havili, and Williams, you could make the argument that it's the best defensive line class in the Kalani Sitake era. In fact, the data can make that argument for you.

By the Numbers: BYU's 2027 Defensive Line Class

Star ratings have changed a lot even over the last six or seven years. Without getting too far into the details, there has been ratings inflation. Therefore, our preferred method of measuring recruit quality over time is competing Power Four offers. BYU's three defensive line commits in this class average 14.3 competing Power Four offers each.

Competing P4 offers of BYU defensive line commits | BYU On SI

14.3 competing Power Four offers per commit is the highest in the Kalani Sitake era. It's just ahead of BYU's record-setting 2026 class, and it is miles ahead of BYU's prior recruiting classes dating back to 2016. After BYU's disastrous season in 2017, combined with a lack of direction in the independence era, BYU's recruiting really dropped off.

For example, this was BYU's 2020 defensive line class.

Player	Competing P4 Offers	Competing FBS Offers
Bodie Schoonover	3	4
Drason Havea	1	1
Isaiah Perez	0	1
Josh Larsen	0	0
John Nelson	0	0
Sitalingi Havea	0	0
Tuipulotu Lai	0	0

This is not a knock on any of those players. Rather, it's an example of how far BYU's recruiting has come over the last seven years. No scheme or blitz package can make up for a lack of talent in college football. Ultimately, it was recruiting that led to the downfall of BYU's former defensive staff.

Competing offers turned out to be a leading indicator for the old BYU defensive staff - they simply didn't have enough talent to generate defensive stops.

The good news for BYU fans is that if competing offers continues to be an indicator of the future, it signals good things for the BYU defense under Kelly Poppinga.

In college football, defensive lines can control games. Texas Tech was loaded on defense in 2025, but it was the Tech defensive line that took that defense from good to excellent.

BYU's defense has been good and at times great over the last few seasons. However, BYU's defense has been a tier below the best defenses in the country. In the opinion of this author, the key to taking that next step and becoming of the nation's best defenses is elite defensive line play. BYU's recent recruiting classes suggest dominant defensive line play could be coming to Provo.

And yes, the 2027 defensive line class looks like the best in the Kalani Sitake era.

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