BYU Announces Stellar Recruiting Class

Courtesy of BYU Athletics

PROVO, Utah – BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall today announced the Cougars’ national top-25 football recruiting class, featuring 26 talented recruits. The top class of Mendenhall’s five-year tenure in Provo, BYU’s 2010 signees include 14 defensive and 12 offensive standouts.

"I’m extremely excited about this class,” Mendenhall said. “This class is full of outstanding young men who are fantastic football players and quality individuals. I think they share a common vision for our program. We are excited to have them be part of BYU football.”

The 2010 class features 26 high-school seniors, including three mid-year enrollees—quarterback Jake Heaps, wide receiver Ross Apo and running back Joshua Quezada—who signed scholarship agreements in December. 2009 signee Kyle Van Noy also enrolled in January, adding to the overall strength of BYU’s incoming players. Scout.com rated Van Noy the No. 11 outside linebacker nationally in 2009.

Six Cougar signees in the 2010 class are rated among the top 20 recruits nationally at their respective positions, including Heaps (No. 1 quarterback by Scout.com), Zac Stout (No. 8 middle linebacker by Scout.com), Graham Rowley (No. 11 guard by Scout.com), Apo (No. 13 wide receiver by Rivals.com), Blair Tushaus (No. 15 center by Scout.com) and Bronson Kaufusi (No. 19 defensive end by Scout.com).

The Cougars signed 10 of the top 16 players from Utah, including the state’s top-rated prospect, Kaufusi out of Timpview High School, and the 2009 Deseret News Mr. Football recipient Tuni Kanuch, an offensive lineman out of Bingham High School.

Joining Kaufusi and Kanuch (No. 6) among the top 16 recruits from Utah signing with BYU are linebacker Toloa’i Ho-Ching (No. 5, Alta High School), Kanuch (No. 6), linebacker Sae Tautu (No. 8, Lone Peak High School), offensive lineman Jordan Black (No. 9, Alta High School), tight end Bryan Sampson (No. 10, Pleasant Grove High School), linebacker Joey Owens (No. 11, Pleasant Grove High School), running back Algernon Brown (No. 13, Skyline High School), defensive lineman Jordan Afo (No. 15, Cottonwood High School) and offensive lineman Manu Mulitalo (No. 16, Granger High School).

Overall, the Cougars signed four offensive linemen, four running backs, two tight ends, one quarterback and one wide receiver on the offensive side of the ball and six linebackers, five defensive lineman and three defensive backs to the defensive unit. Eleven recruits hail from Utah, five from California and three from Texas while Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Kansas, Arizona, Washington and Hawaii are also represented in the class. 2009 signee Van Noy prepped in Nevada.

BYU's class is ranked No. 22 in the nation by Scout.com and No. 24 by ESPN.com—the top-rated recruiting effort from the Mountain West Conference and among schools from a non-automatic qualifying BCS conference. This year’s BYU class tops its No. 40 Scout.com rating in 2009 and No. 42 class in 2007.

BYU’s recruiting efforts have helped the Cougars become one of only five programs in the nation to win 10 or more games each of the last four years. BYU has earned a 43-9 record over that span—a standard topped by only four teams nationally—while finishing among the nation’s top 25 each year. In 2009, BYU went 11-2 to finish No. 12 in the final rankings.

      2010 BYU Football Signees Roster
      Name               Pos.   Height   Weight   Hometown/Last School
      Jordan Afo         DL     6-4      300      Salt Lake City, Utah/Cottonwood HS
      Ross Apo           WR     6-4      190      Arlington, Texas/The Oakridge School
      Jordan Black       OL     6-7      235      Sandy, Utah/Alta HS
      Algernon Brown     RB     6-1      205      Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline HS
      Tayo Fabuluje      DL     6-6      255      Arlington, Texas/The Oakridge School
      Alani Fua          DL/TE  6-5      210      Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian HS
      Kori Gaines        DB     5-9      170      Loganville, Ga./Grayson HS
      Jacob Hannemann    DB     6-1      190      Highland, Utah/Lone Peak HS
      Jake Heaps         QB     6-2      205      Issaquah, Wash./Skyline HS
      Toloa’I Ho-Ching   LB     6-0      225      Sandy, Utah/Alta HS
      Jordan Johnson     DB     5-10     175      North Andover, Mass./Brooks School
      Tuni Kanuch        OL     6-1      285      South Jordan, Utah/Bingham HS
      Bronson Kaufusi    DL     6-6      220      Provo, Utah/Timpview HS
      Teu Kautai         LB     6-1      200      Arlington, Texas/The Oakridge School
      Collin Keoshian    LB     6-2      225      Canyon Country, Calif./Santa Clarita Christian
      AJ Moore           RB     5-10     190      Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley HS
      Manu Mulitalo      OL     6-3      305      West Valley City, Utah/Granger HS
      Joey Owens         LB     6-2      215      Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove HS
      Drew Phillips      RB     6-0      175      Boaz, Ala./Boaz HS
      Joshua Quezada     RB     5-11     210      La Habra, Calif./La Habra HS
      Graham Rowley      DL     6-4      270      Waialua, Hawaii/Waialua HS
      Bryan Sampson      TE     6-4      210      Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove HS
      Zac Stout          LB     6-2      220      Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian HS
      Sae Tautu          LB     6-3      215      Highland, Utah/Lone Peak HS
      Travis Tuiloma     DL     6-3      290      Topeka, Kan./Washburn Rural HS
      Blair Tushaus      OL     6-2      270      Scottsdale, Ariz./Notre Dame Prep.
      *Kyle Van Noy      LB     6-4      209      Reno, Nev./McQueen HS

      *Member of the 2009 recruiting class who enrolled in January