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Former Alta receiver Mack Richards intends on flipping his commitment from Hawaii to BYU, his father, Bill, informed The Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday.

Mack Richards signed a scholarship agreement with former Hawaii coach Norm Chow, and five days after graduation, began serving an LDS Church mission to Puebla, Mexico. That agreement expired after one year, essentially making Richards, who returns in mid-May, a free agent and eligible for recruitment.

Bill Richards said his son felt discouraged when communication from Hawaii tapered off once he left for his mission.

"Unfortunately, Hawaii did not do a good job staying in touch. In fact, over that year, he got zero communication from the staff," Bill Richards said. "He reached out to several of the coaches on a preparation day, and never got anything. He got a little bit discouraged with that. Where the program was struggling, I think he could see the writing on the wall."

Once Chow was fired and Hawaii assistant coach Lewis Powell, who recruited Mack, left for Utah, Bill Richards said his son felt like he needed to keep his "eyes and ears open" to potentially attending another school. Bill Richards said he and Sitake began conversing at a camp held at Alta when Sitake was coaching at Oregon State, and that Sitake asked for permission to start speaking with Mack before exchanging e-mails.

"When [Sitake] went to Oregon State, he started building a relationship there, and as things progressed, we thought [Mack] would end up in Corvallis. Coach Sitake and I visited a number of times over the phone," Bill Richards said. "Then there was the BYU coaching vacancy. After the coaching announcement was made official, [Sitake] reached out and said, 'Hey, really love your son; love to have him come play for us here.' They communicated over the last couple of weeks, [and Mack] wholeheartedly said, 'Yes, I want to come play.' That's kind of how everything evolved."

Bill Richards said the BYU staff has indicated they want Mack to sign his national letter of intent on Feb. 3, but "we're going to have to work out some of those details" because Mack is still in Mexico.

Richards was a standout for the Hawks at receiver, totaling 2,009 yards and 33 touchdowns on 125 receptions during his career. He was considered a two-star prospect by several recruiting outlets in high school.

Richards finished with 3,268 all-purpose yards, including returning three punts and three kicks back for touchdowns.

— Trevor Phibbs