BYU Football Utilizes New Recruiting Rule To Celebrate Utah HS State Champs
Nov 19, 2021, 9:38 PM
PARADISE, NV - SEPTEMBER 04: A detail view of a BYU football helmet on the artificial turf prior to the Good Sam Vegas Kickoff Classic featuring the Brigham Young University Cougars and the Arizona Wildcats on September 4, 2021 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – The BYU football program took time to publicly celebrate Utah High School Football teams that won state championships this season.
A month ago, BYU would not have been able to do that. But with new NCAA Division I rules for personnel and recruiting, the nationally-ranked BYU football team was able to send their congrats on behalf of head coach Kalani Sitake.
2021 UTAH STATE CHAMPIONS 🏆
Congrats to the Champs!! 👏👏
6A @LPHSKnights
5A @LehiFootball
4A @Ridgeline_Hawks
3A @GHS_Cowboys
2A @SanJuanFootball
1A Duchesne pic.twitter.com/08Zdwx3tRy— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) November 20, 2021
BYU football adapting to new recruiting rules
The rule falls under “Athletics Personnel – Endorsements.” It eliminated the restriction on the endorsement of specific entities. So now coaches can announce which high school football games they plan to attend in person as Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin did this week. Or they can take the congratulatory approach as BYU did.
That’s not the only new rule on the recruiting trail these days. Other unique opportunities to reach recruits that are now allowed by the NCAA include the approval of group text or group emails to a group of recruits. In addition, a school can directly send a prospect a personalized video created by a media company for recruiting purposes.
These moves aren’t groundbreaking, but they are another way to stand out from the crowd if utilized. BYU is doing that with congratulatory messages to the group of state champions in 2021.
2021 Utah High School Football State Champions
BYU sent the congrats graphics created by Dave Broberg to Lone Peak High School, who claimed the 6A state title after defeating national powerhouse Corner Canyon for the second time this season. Lone Peak has been a hotbed for BYU recruiting over the years.
The @LPHSKnights beat @CCHSFOOTBALL_ to win the 6A State Championship. 🏆🏈
Here is Lone Peak's game-winning score. ⬇️
Read more on the @kslsports app!#GameNightLive #KSLGameNight @GNLRewind pic.twitter.com/mVefEyzMBR
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) November 20, 2021
In 5A, Lehi crushed Springville 35-6 to claim their fourth state title in program history.
Lower classification champions were determined last week as Ridgeline took home the 4A title. Grantsville had a come-from-behind victory against Morgan in 3A, San Juan held off Beaver in 2A, and Duchesne took down Layton Christian in 1A.
BYU has made the state of Utah a top priority in its recruiting efforts. In the current 2022 recruiting cycle, 13 of BYU’s 16 commitments are from the Beehive State, headlined by four-star prospects Cody Hagen (WR, Corner Canyon) and Aisea Moa (DL, Weber).
The early signing period for the 2022 recruiting class begins in less than a month on December 15 and runs through December 17. Then the regular period takes place from February 2, 2022, to April 1, 2022.
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.
