Three Recruiting Takeaways from the Spring Evaluation Period

For the first time since 2019, BYU just wrapped up the Spring recruiting evaluation period. The 2020 and 2021 evaluation periods were cancelled due to COVID-19. Here are three takeaways from BYU's first Spring evaluation period as a member of the Big 12 conference.

1. Swinging for the fences

BYU offered 19 prospects from the class of 2023. Of those 19, 17 hold competing P5 offers and all 19 hold competing FBS offers. Since joining the Big 12, the Cougars are not afraid to swing for the fences and go head-to-head with P5 schools for out-of-state prospects with no prior connections to BYU. Historically speaking, BYU has struggled to land prospects that fit that definition.

This is also a notable shift in strategy. During Kalani Sitake's tenure at BYU, 57% of BYU signees did not have a competing offer from a P5 school when they signed. BYU has signed a lot of players with athletic potential and size that were not heralded recruits, counting on their ability to develop those players into P5-level players after they arrived on campus. For the most part, that strategy was exactly what BYU needed during independence. The Cougars were able to establish better depth overall and find the right talent that led BYU to a 21-4 record over the last two seasons.

There were also games, however, that highlighted BYU's need for better depth before it moves to the Big 12. 2021 losses to Baylor and UAB come to mind.

Even if BYU lands only one or two players like that per class (out-of-state, highly-touted players with no prior connections to BYU), this shift in strategy will pay major dividends for the program in the future.

2. Prioritizing recruiting out of state

BYU offered approximately 30 players during the evaluation period. Of those 30, none of them live in the state of Utah. The numbers suggest that BYU's staff feels the need to bring in more out-of-state players to compete in the Big 12.

That doesn't mean in-state recruiting won't be important for BYU, it will. A lot of BYU's top targets in the class of 2023 are from Utah and the Cougars will always go after the top players that are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

However, BYU's staff hasn't been able to get out and evaluate prospects out of state since 2019. So perhaps COVID is skewing these numbers and next year we'll see these numbers return to normal.

3. The Power Five Impact

For the first time in program history, BYU had a P5 logo next to its name during the evaluation period. Big 12 affiliation paid dividends in the 2022 class, and a full recruiting cycle should pay greater dividends in 2023. While it's still early in the 2023 class, the Cougars have had more success competing against P5 schools. Nine four-star recruits have included BYU among their finalists.

In addition, Power Five status gives BYU a trump card against G5 schools. For better or worse, a P5 label is the single-most important indicator of recruiting success in this era of college football. BYU knows what it feels like to be on the opposite side of this phenomenon. Over the last 10 years, the Cougars have been on the losing end of similar recruiting battles; a P5 school would swoop in late and steal a recruit that BYU had targeted for months.

Over the last nine months, there have been a few examples where BYU has played its P5 trump card.