Font ResizeBrigham Young University football coach Bronco Mendenhall on Saturday secured an oral commitment from Kori Gaines, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound safety from Loganville, Ga.
Gaines, who will be a senior at Grayson High, said he was directed toward BYU by former Cougar defensive lineman Lenny Gregory, who was known as Lenny Gomes when he was at BYU. Gregory is now an assistant coach at Grayson.
"BYU was the greatest fit for me," Gaines said. "I went there for an unofficial visit two or three weeks ago and just fell in love with the place. I felt really comfortable there. I considered some other schools, and compared them to BYU, and no school stood out more than BYU."
Gaines said he called BYU defensive coordinator Jaime
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Read Jay Drew's "Coach Gregory was there when I made the decision to commit to BYU," Gaines said. "I'm grateful to him for letting BYU know about me."
Gaines said he is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which sponsors BYU. He called himself a "strong Christian" and said BYU's honor code will present no problem for him.
"I already follow that in my everyday living," he said.
Gaines is BYU's 21st commitment from the class of 2010. Mendenhall has said BYU has 23 scholarships to hand out this year.
Gaines said he earned all-county recognition the past two years and was selected to the Chevy All-State team last year in Georgia's highest classification,
He said he had no other Division I offers, but had an assurance from Furman University that he could play for them if no major school offers came along.
