BYU Football Gearing Up For Weekend Of Heralded Recruits Visiting
Jun 2, 2022, 9:42 AM
BYU Football mascot Cosmo carries a flag at LaVell Edwards Stadium. (Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo)
(Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo)
PROVO, Utah – BYU football has a big weekend ahead of them. The Cougars will be hosting some of their top recruiting targets in the class of 2023 for official visits.
BYU’s four visitors this weekend include four-star tight ends Walker Lyons and Jackson Bowers, four-star edge rusher from American Fork High Hunter Clegg, and three-star offensive tackle Ethan Thomason.
BYU official visit this weekend!! 🤙🏽 pic.twitter.com/LcKMy3p84u
— Walker Lyons (@walkerly0ns) May 30, 2022
Recruits only get five official visits during their recruitment. An official visit allows a university to finance a recruit’s multi-day visit.
The experience BYU football looks to deliver on Official Visits
The planning and logistics that go into an official visit are now under the direction of BYU Football’s new Director of Campus Experience Brandon Bradley. Bradley, a former BYU cornerback, switched from an academic advisor role at the faith-based institution to a spot on Kalani Sitake’s football staff. He wants recruits to have a well-rounded experience during their official visits.
“I would really like to focus on the experience of the athlete but even a little more of the family that is involved in the process,” said Bradley. “I feel like, every parent wants their kid to go somewhere where they feel like they will be taken care of and the experience would be great. And I feel like it’s invaluable for us to be able to help the parents feel that and see that. While also helping the athlete to see that this is a place they should be and we have all of the things in place for them to be successful.”
Four high-profile prospects
Lyons, out of Folsom, California, is the highest-profile prospect of the four visitors, rating as the No. 74 prospect overall in the nation for the class of 2023. Along with BYU, Lyons has official visits lined up with Utah and USC.
Lyons is the son of former BYU defensive back Tim Lyons, a teammate with current BYU coaches Kalani Sitake, Ed Lamb, and Aaron Roderick.
OV #1 @BYUfootball pic.twitter.com/3gBWXMI4jO
— Hunter Clegg (@HunterClegg) May 12, 2022
The last time Lyons paid a visit to BYU’s campus was in March during spring practice for an unofficial visit. On that visit, he was also with Hunter Clegg, the nation’s no. 186 recruit in the 247Sports Composite. Clegg is one of the top recruits from Utah this fall. He also has official visits lined up for Utah on June 17 and Stanford on June 24.
BYU official visit June 3-5 @BYUfootball 💙🖤🤍
— Jackson Bowers 4⭐️TE (@jackson_bow3rs) May 12, 2022
Jackson Bowers hails from Mountain View High School in Arizona. The same school that produced BYU greats, John Beck and Max Hall. Along with BYU, Bowers has visits lined up with Washington and Arizona.
Let’s GOOOO!! 🤙 https://t.co/cdR6UFy4Ee pic.twitter.com/bj08ddzoAa
— Ethan Thomason (@EthanThomason77) May 30, 2022
Ethan Thomason has been a top target for BYU’s 2023 recruiting efforts for a while. Thomason hails from Fort Collins, Colorado. At 6-foot-8, 315-pounds, he has an elite build to play tackle at the college level. Back in March, Thomason had an unofficial visit to a BYU spring practice where he stood alongside offensive line coach Darrell Funk observing practice.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
