BYU may have missed out on the Big One, but the 2009 football recruiting class should still be the best in Bronco Mendenhall's tenure as head coach.

Early this morning the high-pitched squeal of the fax machine means the Cougars should have more than 20 new student-athletes signing on the dotted line. One name that won't appear is Hawaii prep superstar linebacker Manti Te'o, who dropped BYU from his list two weeks ago. The top LDS recruit in the country said he will choose between USC, UCLA or Notre Dame. Another top recruit, Timpview lineman Xavier Su'a-Filo, is expected to choose between UCLA, LSU and Utah. His prep coach, Louis Wong, interviewed for the vacant Ute offensive line coaching job this week.

BYU is expected to sign as many as four four-star recruits today. That includes Snow Canyon running back Adam Hine (formerly Adam Timo), Timpview safety Craig Bills, Spanish Fork tight end Richard Wilson and McQueen (Reno, Nev.) linebacker Kyle Van Noy.

Mendenhall has insisted over the years that the star system employed to rank high school athletes is overvalued. BYU has never signed a five-star athlete (the highest ranking) since Mendenhall took over in 2005. The Cougars have signed eight four-star recruits in that time period and only one -- offensive lineman Matt Reynolds -- was a starter at the end of 2008.

That four-star list includes linebacker Vic So'oto (2005), who was injured early last year after earning a starting position; current LDS missionaries James Lark (QB, 2006), Marcus Matthews (WR, 2007), Jason Munns (QB, 2007) and Austin Holt (TE, 2008); former Snow All-American Tevita Hola, a defensive lineman who redshirted in 2008, and defensive lineman Matangi Tonga (2006), who withdrew from BYU after running into Honor Code problems.

Making do with two and three-star athletes, BYU has posted three straight undefeated seasons at LaVell Edwards Stadium, two Mountain West Conference titles and four straight bowl appearances.

BYU's 2009 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 39 by Rivals.com, the highest mark for a non-BCS school. Van Noy said he's excited about the players that will be joining him in the Class of 2009.

"Richard Wilson, he's going to be my roommate," Van Noy said. "I think it's cool to have a kid with his kind of talent. When you have a guy that passed up offers from teams like Miami and LSU and other SEC schools, that's cool to have. Brett Thompson is another guy that's coming, and he's going to be a big help at wide receiver."

Van Noy committed to BYU early in January and said he's excited to have the process completed.

"I'm so glad it will be over," he said. "It's a little stressful with all the phone calls, that's been annoying me a lot. It's just a great blessing to be a part of BYU."

It's considered a banner recruiting year for local athletes, also. Besides Bills and Wilson, BYU will sign Mountain View running back Anthony Heimuli and Timpview lineman Tui Crichton. Spanish Fork quarterback Breck Lewis is expected to sign with Weber State and Timpanogos defensive lineman Andrew Eide has chosen Southern Utah, among others.

BYU will hold its annual signing day party at LaVell Edwards Stadium for Cougar Club members and the media at noon.

• Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at ddickson@heraldextra.com

BYU FOOTBALL RECRUITING CLASS OF 2009

(Rankings from Scout.com)

**** Jray Galea'i, 6-0 170 S, Kahuku HS (Kahuku, Hawaii)

**** Adam (Timo) Hine, 6-1 175 RB, Snow Canyon HS (St. George, Utah)

**** Craig Bills, 6-2 202 S, Timpview HS (Provo, Utah)

**** Richard Wilson, 6-4 215 TE, Spanish Fork HS (Spanish Fork, Utah)

**** Kyle Van Noy, 6-4 202 LB, McQueen HS (Reno, Nev.)

*** Tui Crichton, 6-4 280 OL, Timpview HS (Provo, Utah)

*** Mitch Matthews, 6-5 195 WR, Southridge HS (Beaverton, Ore.)

*** Brett Thompson, 6-3 210 WR, Oak Ridge HS (El Dorado Hills, Calif.)

*** Riley Nelson, 6-1 195 QB, Logan HS (Logan, Utah-Utah State transfer)

** Trevor Bateman, 5-11 165 CB, Palm Desert HS (Indio, Calif.)

** Terry Alletto, 6-3 260 C, Ponderosa HS (Parker, Colo.)

** Peni Maka'afi, 5-11, 215 RB, Northridge HS (Layton, Utah)

** Anthony Heimuli, 5-11 225 RB, Mountain View HS (Orem, Utah)

** Remington Peck, 6-5 220 LB/TE, Bingham HS (South Jordan, Utah)

** Ryan Mulitalo, 6-3 295 OL/DL, Hunter HS (West Valley City, Utah)

** Fono Vakalahi, 6-4 320 OL, Bryan HS (Bryan, Texas)

** Lee Aguirre, 5-9 200 CB, Fullerton JC (Fullerton, Calif.)

* Brad Wilcox, 6-7 240 OL, North HS (Edmond, Okla.)

* Thomas Bryson, 6-5 215 TE/LB, Layton HS (Layton, Utah)

* Cody Hoffman, 6-4 200 WR/LB, Del Notre HS (Del Norte, Calif.)

* Brian Logan, 5-9 195 CB, Foothill Community College (Los Altos, Calif.)

(Jordan Atkinson, a junior college linebacker from Diablo Junior College, is a mid-year transfer and is already enrolled at BYU. Malosi Te'o, a running back who transferred from UNLV after serving an LDS mission, is also enrolled this winter.)