Breaking Down the Numerical Potential of BYU's 2023 Class
Over the last several months, BYU has been wrapping up its 2022 class through the traditional signing day and through the transfer portal. Earlier this week, Vanderbilt transfer Gabe Jeudy-Lally committed to the Cougars, and a few more transfer targets could surface in the next couple moths. Besides a player here or there, however, the class of 2022 is mostly in the books.
Now we turn our attention to the class of 2023. Given BYU's recent invite to the Big 12, the overall momentum of the program, and the strong class of players with ties to the program, BYU's 2023 class has the potential to be one of the best in school history. Numerically speaking, it has the chance to be the best in school history, but BYU's coaching staff has its work cut out for them if they are going to get the 2023 class to that level.
So how highly could BYU’s 2023 class be ranked? In this article, we’ll explore the numerical possibilities of BYU’s 2023 class.
The Ceiling
The list of highly-recruited prospects with connections to BYU reaches double digits. Four-star recruits like Spencer Fano and Siale Esera are just down the road from BYU’s campus. Walker Lyons and Smith Snowden are sons of two former BYU players. Players like Ethan Thomason, Liona Lefau, Jackson Bowers, and Hunter Clegg are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then there are highly-touted players like Cormani McClain, Jaden Rashada, and Kelze Howard who don’t have traditional connections to the program, but have been on BYU’s campus for unofficial visits.
If the Cougars signed the players listed above, the three commits already on board (Stanley Raass, Pokaiaua Haunga, Hezekiah Anahu-Ambrosio), along with Tausili Akana, Taliafi Taala, and Isaiah Kema, their 2023 class would rank approximately 10th-15th in the country among the likes of Clemson, LSU, and Miami.
To be clear, BYU won’t sign all these players even in the best-case scenario. Signing even 5 four-star players would make for one of the best classes in BYU history, let alone 10. The point of this first section is to give an idea for the numerical potential of this class.
In the above scenario, BYU would sign two five-star players in Cormani McClain and Jaden Rashada, and another high four-star player in Tausili Akana. Recruiting rankings are purposely top heavy, so having those three players in the class would push BYU approximately 15 spots up the rankings. In other words, if you take those three players out of the equation, BYU’s class would rank in the 25-30 range in the team recruiting rankings.
For reference, Oklahoma State ranked #29 in the 2022 recruiting rankings. That was the best ranking of the teams that will make up the new Big 12.
A Realistic Goal
Since signing all of those players is an unrealistic goal, what’s a more reasonable target? As previously mentioned, signing a class of five four-star players would make for one of the best classes (on paper) in BYU history.
In this author’s opinion, cracking the top 40 is a realistic goal for a BYU program that is recruiting as a power five program for the first time in its history. What kind of players would BYU need to sign to crack the top 40?
While a few of these names are interchangeable, the Cougars would need to sign at least five four-star guys like Spencer Fano, Walker Lyons, Siale Esera, Hunter Clegg, and Jackson Bowers. Then BYU would have to fill the rest of its class with mid to high three-star players. If the Cougars added another four-star player like Smith Snowden or Kelze Howard, BYU would likely be a lock to crack the top 40 for the first time since 2010.
A class in the top 40 would likely rank in the top third of the schools that will form the new Big 12.
The numerical potential of the 2023 class is unprecedented, but the Cougars will be battling the top brands in the sport for their top targets. Obviously, the members of BYU's staff have their work cut out for them, but if they hit on a few of their top targets, BYU's 2023 class has the potential to be very special.
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