Darnell Dickson

Daily Herald

In college football recruiting, all you need is love.

And an awesome program, and beautiful co-eds, and an appealing atmosphere, and the right classes, and an opportunity to play right away, and ...

BYU freshman running back Mike Hague committed to the Cougars in May of 2005, the spring before his senior year at Brighton High in Salt Lake City. He was recruited by both BYU and Utah.

"I loved the coaching staff (at BYU) from the day I met them," Hague said. "They just kind of took me in. Utah didn't come after me like BYU did. We all want to be loved, and BYU loved me."

A single advantage, or a number of them, can influence a recruitable athlete to choose a college. BYU and Utah, separated by only 40 miles or so, compete for many of the same athletes in football, both in-state and around the country.

At first glance, it would seem the schools have similar attributes: Mountain West Conference schools, the great outdoors, an opportunity to play, a good education, a dominant religion.

But BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall sees his school and the one "Up North" to be two very separate and distinct choices. Mendenhall tells recruited athletes to take trips and compare BYU with other schools to see if they would be a good fit in Provo. That approach has resulted an unprecedented 23 early oral commitments for the Cougars for the Class of 2007.

Promises, promises

If honesty in recruiting was required by NCAA rules, almost every major university in the country would be on probation.

Promises are made about playing time or the position the recruit will play. Lies are told about other schools recruiting the same player. Schools have gone on probation for giving athletes cash, or cars, or helping them pass classes they aren't even taking.

Or worse.

Recruiting can become a downright nasty war of words, even between Utah and BYU. And when one school wins the commitment of an athlete both schools wanted, reaction is typically like the old joke where a teenage boy asks a girl to dance, and she says "no."

"That's OK," the boy replies. "You're ugly, anyway."

So who's winning the recruiting battles between BYU and Utahfi It depends on who you talk to. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham once said the Utes were winning nine out of 10 in direct competition with BYU.

A look through the BYU media guide indicates 33 current Cougar players were pursued by Utah as well. That includes starters Travis Bright, Cameron Jensen, Quinn Gooch, Bryan Kehl, Jan Jorgensen, Ray Feinga, Manase Tonga (who was a Ute before his LDS mission) as well as Fui Vakapuna.

Utah's media guide doesn't list the scholarship offers fielded by its players.

BYU's 2006 recruiting class has nine players listed to have been pursued by Utah, including Hague, offensive linemen Ryan Freeman (Orem) and Braden Hansen (Alta) and the player considered the frontrunner in the 2007 quarterback race, former Arizona State recruit Max Hall.

In its Class of 2006, Utah can boast victories with Orem offensive lineman Zeke Wiley (who originally made an oral commitment to BYU) Juan Diego defensive back Mookie Murphy and defensive tackle Neil A'asa, a four-star recruit from Michigan.

BYU can claim big gets in the Class of 2007 with defensive lineman Star Lotulelei and defensive back Jordan Pendelton of Class 5A state champion Bingham and four-star quarterback commit Jason Munns of Kennewick, Wash.

Utah has six early commitments, including a quarterback from BYU's backyard, Spanish Fork's Griff Robles.

Intrigue in recruiting

In 2004, Provo's Timpview High won the 4A state championship with a dominating 42-0 victory over Lone Peak. Four players on that Timpview team -- quarterback Stephen Covey, lineman Matt Reynolds, receiver Luke Ashworth and running back Harvey Unga -- were among the most coveted athletes in the state.

Between the end of the prep football season in November and the February signing day, Utah went undefeated and won a BCS bowl game, lost head coach Urban Meyer to Florida and promoted Whittingham, a former BYU linebacker. Meanwhile, down south, Gary Crowton resigned as BYU's head coach and Mendenhall, the Cougars defensive coordinator, was promoted to the head job.

Covey was the first of the "T-Bird Four" to commit to BYU (Sept. of 2004) and was firm. Reynolds, who's father Lance Sr. was also up for the BYU head coaching job, would have probably followed his father if he had left BYU. Instead, Mendenhall asked Lance Sr. to stay on as assistant head coach. Both Ashworth and Unga were seriously considering Utah and at one point, Unga made an oral commitment to the Utes.

But eventually, both Ashworth and Unga signed with BYU. Ashworth and Covey are currently serving LDS missions. Reynolds returns from a mission this spring and Unga is recovering from a broken hip.

Ute fans will probably tell you they didn't want them anyway.

A Utah manfi

Hague said he grew up a Utah fan. He said he started hearing from BYU as a sophomore and rushed for 381 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior in 2004.

"Utah didn't even talk to me until BYU offered me," Hague said. "They (Utah) hadn't said a word. I was getting letter from schools from all over, and Utah hadn't sent me anything. BYU offered me and the next day, Utah had me come in. The next day, I committed to BYU.

"It wasn't a very hard decision. There's nothing like the feeling of being down here. The coaching staff up there are good guys and I liked them a lot, but there's nothing like being down here."

Hague said both schools had good attributes, but the BYU coaching staff made a big impact on him.

"There are a lot of similarities," Hague said. "There are a lot of returned missionaries at the U and they have (LDS) institute classes. But once I had a meeting with Coach Mendenhall, it was pretty much over."

Hague rushed for 2,003 yards and 32 touchdowns as a senior at Brighton, then began BYU fall camp at safety but switched to running back, then slot receiver. He has seen limited playing time in 2006, mostly on special teams and spot duty on offense. The highlight was a 77-yard run for a touchdown late in a 55-7 victory over UNLV.

Red vs. Blue

BYU meets Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday in the 82nd edition of the "Holy War," but Cougar recruiting coordinator Paul Tidwell said he didn't think the result would have much of an impact on recruits.

"We've had a great season and won a conference championship," Tidwell said. "I don't think it will sway them one way or another."

With so many early commitments, BYU's main focus has been to keep those athletes excited about the way the 2006 season has gone. And if they continue to be recruited by other schools -- even hated rival Utah -- hey, that's a good thing.

"If other schools are recruiting these kids and trying to sway them, they're pretty good athletes," Tidwell said. "We feel like we're going to hold onto them."

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

Get all your BYU sports news at CougarBlue.com

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B12.