The Hotline is delighted to provide West Coast fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports.
He submitted the following report on June 26 …
BYU’s big move
The 2024 season showed that Brigham Young was finally ready to compete in the Big 12. The Cougars were front-runners for much of the year before dropping two of their final three games and missing a berth in the conference championship game.
But a victory over against Colorado in the Alamo Bowl provided some confidence entering the offseason.
Kalani Sitake and his team have found it.
The Cougars reeled in the No. 1 recruit in the West when five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons announced his commitment on the Pat McAfee Show on ESPN.
Lyons chose the Cougars over Oregon and USC. He’ll delay enrollment for a year to serve a church mission, but BYU offered indisputable evidence that it will be a real threat in recruiting.
Hello, Buffs
It has been no secret that Colorado coach Deion Sanders wants to make waves with the NCAA’s transfer portal. As a result, the Buffaloes have been one of the quietest teams on the recruiting trail this spring.
Currently ranked No. 102 nationally and dead last in the Big 12, they are finally showing signs of life. The Buffs landed a pair of commitments this week.
One of them was three-star cornerback Maurice Williams from Louisiana. More notably, they grabbed the highest-rated pledge in their class: four-star safety Preston Ashley from Mississippi.
CU also hosted a bevy of official visitors in the last two weeks, so the class could continue to improve.
Bruins sizzle
UCLA fans may not have gotten used to recruiting success after the hollow Chip Kelly years. But the Bruins stayed hot, literally, with two of the top players from Hawaii committing over the weekend.
Hawaii state power Kahuku High School provided a double-dose of good news for UCLA defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe, himself a product of Hawaii football.
Linebacker Malaki Soliai-Tui and safety Madden Soliai, teammates and cousins, announced their commitments to the Bruins at a ceremony on the North Shore of Oahu.
Two days later, one of the top receivers in Texas, speedster Xavier Warren, announced he would be heading to Westwood.
Beaver becomes a Duck
A few years ago UCLA signed a linebacker named Trojan (Jeremiah). Now, Oregon has landed a Beaver.
Despite missing out on Ryder Lyons, the Ducks salvaged their quarterback recruiting with a commitment from Elite 11 finalist Bryson Beaver.
The one-time Boise State commitment saw his recruitment explode after a stellar workout at last month’s regional event in the Bay Area, which punched his ticket to the finals.
Since then, schools like Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi scurried to get involved.
But Oregon’s offer convinced him to take an official visit to Eugene and, ultimately, become a Duck.
Who’s on top?
The top uncommitted quarterback out West is another Elite 11 Finalist, Oscar Rios.
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Rios, who took over for Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles at Downey (California) High School, is down to Arizona and UCLA.
The Bruins were his childhood favorite, but Arizona has made a strong case. Rios will decide at the end of this week.
Another prospect set to announce is top-100 running back Brian Bonner, from Valencia (California). His finalists are Penn State, UCLA and Washington. Expect a decision by July 1 for the four-star.
And Idaho’s top prospect, four-star offensive tackle Kelvin Obot, will choose between Utah, Michigan, Nebraska and Oregon.
Now what?
The NCAA is in a dead period until Sept. 1: Recruiting can take place, just not in person.
There are no more official visits until the fall; nor is off-campus recruiting permitted.
It’s time for the coaches to sew up their classes and hit the river, lake, beach or wherever, before they prepare for the 2025 campaign.
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