BYU still has two uncommitted targets in play, and both sit near the top of the Cougars’ 2026 board.
The more straightforward case is Owen Leishman. He had no offers before June, then started stacking them fast after college coaches saw him in person.
Utah State was first after its camp. BYU followed after Leishman attended the BYU Elite camp in Provo.
Utah came next after its camp. That stretch turned him from an overlooked prospect into a linebacker recruit with real momentum.
Leishman’s measurables help explain why schools kept coming back. He was timed at 4.59 in the 40-yard dash at the UA Combine in April, and he brings a 6'3, 210-pound frame to the table.
He also plays tight end at Ridgeline High School. BYU did not offer him until June 11, but a week later he was back on campus for an official visit.
He was the only prospect to take an official visit to BYU before the June recruiting window closed, which gives the Cougars a clear edge for now. Still, he has not set a decision date, and the longer that drags on, the more his recruitment can shift.
Jag Ioane is a different kind of battle. The three-star defensive end plays at Orem High School, just up the road from BYU, and he is expected to be part of one of the state’s best defenses in 2026.
Ioane has drawn plenty of attention because of his burst off the line and his 6'4 frame. In June, he took official visits to Utah, BYU, Washington, and Michigan.
He remains undecided, but if BYU can land him, it would be a major finish to what would already be the best defensive line class of the Kalani Sitake era.
If BYU were to close on both Ioane and Leishman, the Cougars would jump to eighth in the Big 12 recruiting rankings. Right now, with a smaller class, BYU sits 12th among the league’s 16 teams.
In Other News...
BYU Transfer Debate Gets Tougher The More You Look Back
The transfer portal has become part of modern college football life, but the long view on BYUs departures since 2020 makes the decision look a lot less automatic than it sometimes does in the moment. Eighty-one players have left the Cougars in that span, and just over half landed at other FBS programs, giving the program a sizable sample of what happens after players move on and try to find a better fit elsewhere.
A closer look shows the outcomes have been mixed enough to complicate any simple portal narrative. Some former Cougars saw their roles shrink after leaving, while a large group essentially held steady at their new stops, and others ended up in lower divisions or off rosters altogether. For BYU, the takeaway is less about one dramatic success or failure than the reality that transferring does not guarantee a step forward, and in some cases it can leave a player right where he started or worse. [Read more 🡒]
Why Kalani Sitake Staying At BYU Suddenly Feels Even Bigger
With coaching turnover hitting the Big 12 again, Kalani Sitakes place at BYU has taken on a different kind of weight. He is now the conferences longest-tenured head coach, a reminder that stability still matters in a league where change has become the norm. Sitake has built his program around a LaVell Edwards-inspired approach that puts player development, culture, discipline and sacrifice ahead of chasing the biggest financial pitch.
That message has resonated inside the locker room, too. Sitake chose to stay at BYU when he had other options, and most of his starters are back for the upcoming season, giving the Cougars a level of continuity many programs can only hope for. In a conference constantly reshuffling its hierarchy, BYU suddenly looks like a team with both an established voice and a roster willing to follow it. [Read more 🡒]
ESPN Just Put Ty Detmer In Rare Air With College Football Legends
ESPNs latest jersey-number project sent a little more spotlight toward the states football lineage, and it was a familiar name at the center of it. Ty Detmer, the BYU quarterback whose college career still looms large in Provo, was among the players ESPN identified at the top of their numbers, joining a list that also included Utah ties like Merlin Olsen and Haloti Ngata.
For BYU fans, Detmers inclusion is the kind of national nod that never really gets old because it reinforces how long his legacy has traveled beyond campus. The broader list also surfaced a couple more Utah-connected names in the mix, with Robbie Bosco and Jordan Gross earning runner-up recognition, a reminder that the regions football history keeps showing up whenever college greats are ranked and re-ranked. [Read more 🡒]