BYU’s 2027 recruiting class is still small, but the Cougars have spent the opening stretch of July stacking quality in a hurry.
The latest surge came with commitments from Peyton Higginson, Lakepa Satuala, offensive lineman Kyle Nabrotzky and Uhila Wolfgramm, a quartet that gave Kalani Sitake a major lift as the month began. Those additions pushed BYU to 14 commitments and helped the Cougars climb to No. 2 in the Big 12 in 247sports’ composite recruiting rankings, trailing only Texas Tech.
That’s the big picture with this class so far: not a huge group, but one packed with high-end talent. BYU’s 2027 haul now includes 13 commitments at last count, and a lot of them carry three-star or better ratings. The headliners are receiver Blake Wong and Wolfgramm, and BYU landed both after beating out some of the country’s top programs.
The defensive line group is especially eye-catching. Wolfgramm joins Jeremiah Williams and Maa’imoa “Moa” Havili, and the result, as one of the analysts in the source material put it, looks like BYU’s best defensive line signing class in recent memory. The comparison made there was to Utah’s old “Sack Lake City” reputation, with the point being that Sitake appears to be building a much more imposing front.
There’s also real momentum in the secondary. BYU has already secured three three-star cornerbacks in Ryan Wooten, Kamoni Adams and Demichael Burks, who flipped from Fresno State.
That’s notable on its own, and even more so with Jernaro Gilford not in the fold. One of the analysts in the source material went so far as to say that trio could be the best cornerback signing group in BYU history.
The July run also stood out because of where the Cougars won those battles. While Sitake and other staff members were in Tonga, BYU picked up commitments from four prospects who had offers from Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt and Utah.
Those four were Wolfgramm, Satuala, Higginson and Nabrotzky. The source material called that kind of stretch rare, maybe even unprecedented.
Another point raised in the reporting: BYU’s NIL operation is clearly active, especially in the fight for Wolfgramm against Oklahoma. And even with Jay Hill and Jernaro Gilford working in Ann Arbor for Kyle Whittingham, BYU has still managed to land quality defensive backs. That was highlighted as a sign that the staff is recruiting well even without Hill’s usual recruiting presence.
The rest of the class includes WR Blake Wong, DL Jeremiah Williams, CB Ryan Wooten, CB Kamoni Adams, DL Maa’imoa “Moa” Havili, CB Demichael Burks, RB Erza Sanelivi, athletes Jaxson Rex and Tytan DeJong, and kicker James Thorley. The program also has 22 players slated to join from missionary service in the next few months.
Beyond football, Egor Dëmin is making noise in NBA summer league. In two games, the former Cougar has put up 46 points, 15 rebounds and six assists in 50 minutes, while shooting 15 of 27 from the field and 4 of 15 from beyond the arc.
And in another BYU note, Taylor Lovell reflected on her NCAA steeplechase victory in a separate piece.
In Other News...
BYU Suddenly Has A Major Defensive Question Before Camp
BYUs defense was already headed into a transition after Tanner Walls move to the NFL, and Faletau Satuala was supposed to be one of the players helping steady the back end. Instead, the safetys offseason has put a fresh layer of uncertainty on a unit that was expected to lean on him as a leader heading into 2026, especially after the Cougars 12-2 breakthrough last fall.
The concern now is less about what Satuala has already shown than when BYU will have him back on the field. A foot fracture suffered in an offseason workout has left him in doubt for the start of training camp in August, and for a defense trying to build on its best season in more than two decades, losing a player with his experience and production would be a significant early setback. [Read more 🡒]
Sitake Just Sent A Surprising Message About The Utah Rivalry
Big 12 media days offered an unusually measured tone from both sides of the Utah-BYU rivalry, with Kalani Sitake and Morgan Scalley showing public respect for each other and for the programs they lead. For a matchup that has long carried extra emotion, the message from the two coaches was less about stirring the pot and more about reminding everyone how much the game means when it is handled the right way.
That approach matters because the rivalry has too often been defined by the worst behavior around it, even as the players themselves have shown how much overlap there can be between the two schools. Keanu Tanuvasas move from Utah to BYU is the latest example of how the line between enemy and teammate can blur, and it adds another layer to a series that already feels personal before the opening kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
LJ Martin Holds The Key To BYUs 2026 Ceiling
LJ Martin has spent the offseason in a familiar spot for BYU, at the center of the conversation about how high this team can climb in 2026. The reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year finished last season as the conferences leading rusher despite playing through injury, and the expectation around Provo is that a healthy Martin gives the Cougars a different kind of ceiling entering fall camp.
Martin is also chasing a place in program history, with the all-time rushing mark still within reach if he keeps producing at the level he showed a year ago. Big 12 coaches already have him pegged as a preseason Offensive Player of the Year, which only adds to the pressure and the possibility around what BYUs offense could become if he stays on track. [Read more 🡒]