The following BYU football recruiting National Signing Day primer is provided by Vanquish The Foe, SB Nation’s excellent BYU blog:
BYU Football Recruiting: National Signing Day Commitments, Targets & Needs
BYU is bringing in another solid class under coach Bronco Mendenhall.
The 2012 recruiting class for BYU includes some highly-recruited prospects, including Elite 11 QB camp MVP Tanner Mangum. Mangum is a four-star QB out of Idaho who turned down Arkansas, Boise State, and Utah to go to Provo. Mangum’s ratings from scouting services have done nothing but rise during the past season after his Elite 11 camp performance. There are high hopes for the Mangum era. The Cougars’ other highly-rated recruit is DE/LB Troy Hinds, also a four-star player, who had offers from many in the Pac-12.
The problem with those commits? Well, this is BYU, and those kids are Mormon, I believe (c. Bobby Bowden). Mangum and Hinds will serve two-year missions for the LDS Church before starting their BYU careers.
But what the missionary program taketh, it also giveth. BYU secured a commitment from QB Taysom Hill, who while a missionary rescinded his commitment to Stanford after Jim Harbaugh left for the NFL. At the time of his recruitment from high school, Hill was a four-star prospect, and as of now BYU fans should have a "Good enough for Harbaugh, good enough for me!" attitude. BYU also welcomes home DT Russell Tialavea and S Craig Bills from missions, both of whom have good playing time under their belt.
The gem of the 2012 class for BYU may be linebacker Butch Pau’u out of Anaheim, California. He’s a player Brandon Huffman, West regional recruiting manager of Scout.com, reports “there’s not a better linebacker in the West.” Pau’u brings along his Anaheim teammate DE/LB Jherremya Leuta-Douyere, another three-star prospect. With a group of defensive lineman set to graduate after 2012, the Cougars are also bringing in junior-college defensive tackle Marques Johnson from El Camino in California. The 300-pounder should help BYU’s success in stopping the run.
Offensively, a few three-star skill players boost the class. Wide receiver Josh Weeks comes from Show Low, Arizona, and at 6-4 could be a steal from a small town just like BYU got with Cody Hoffman. Fellow receiver Dylan Collie, the younger brother of Austin, is the fourth Collie to play at BYU, while there is hope that 6-2 running back Jamaal Williams will become the gamebreaker the RB corp needs.
BYU doesn't have a lot of scholarships left to give, as Bronco Mendenhall and the Cougars tend to get recruiting done early. But there are a couple spots, one thanks to the departure of Jake Heaps. A final target for BYU is Texas offensive lineman Hiva Lutui, a four-star prospect with many suitors. Lutui could be an anchor for BYU's line going forward, a line that always seems to produce.
