Those are all factors used to rate recruiting classes.
But Brigham Young football coach Bronco Mendenhall judges his recruits by a different standard. For Mendenhall, it all comes down to character.
While introducing BYU's 21-man recruiting class Wednesday afternoon in the Cougar Club room at LaVell Edwards Stadium, Mendenhall made it clear he won't be scouring the Internet to check how his 2008 class stacks up.
"We don't really care how many stars whoever ranks our recruits," Mendenhall said. "Every player, once they come to BYU, has no stars. What we care about is how many they leave with, and we'll make that determination after the fact."
BYU was dealt a late blow when linebacker Uona Kaveinga (Leuzinger High, Calif.) backed out of his oral commitment to the Cougars and chose to attend USC.
To illustrate his point about ratings being overrated, Mendenhall displayed a graphic showing how 14 of BYU's 22 starters last season received no stars from recruiting services. The eight who received stars averaged only a 2.5 on a five-point scale.
Yet, BYU finished the season 11-2, ranked No. 14 in the nation and captured its second straight undefeated Mountain West Conference title.
BYU's 2008 class has been ranked No. 53 by Scout.com and No. 54 by Rivals.com, but "it simply means nothing" to Mendenhall.
BYU's recruits came from a pool of 40 players who fit BYU's athletic, spiritual and academic criteria. Eighteen of them are expected to go on LDS Church missions, including five who will leave immediately (Austin Holt, Jake Murphy, Kevan Bills, Spencer Hadley, Michael Yeck).
BYU already had received 17 oral commitments by August, and every player kept his word despite interest from other programs.
"That says a lot to me about who they are," Mendenhall said. "I like to coach players that I like, and I like them more if I trust them, and this is one of the first ways they can demonstrate they can be trusted."
Although BYU targeted specific players, one of their highest-profile recruits sought out BYU. Harmony High (Fla.) receiver O'Neill Chambers attended a BYU camp, and Mendenhall figured he would "fade off into the sunset" once it was over. But Chambers persisted, and proudly wore a BYU hat sand T-shirt at a signing ceremony at his high school on Wednesday.
"I am ready to go right now," Chambers said. "I want to leave and hurry up and get in shape to get back to football mode."
rpotkey@sltrib.com
Rivals.com
1. Alabama
2. Notre Dame
3. Florida
4. Miami
5. Oklahoma
53. BYU
60. Utah
Scout.com
1. Alabama
2. Notre Dame
3. Miami
4. Georgia
5. Florida State
53. BYU
67. Utah
CSTV
1. Alabama
2. Notre Dame
3. Florida
4. Ohio State
5. Oklahoma
ESPN.com
1. Miami
2. Clemson
3. Florida
4. Alabama
5. Georgia
National class rankings
Bernard Afutiti Mt. San Antonio Coll. (Calif.) DL Ranked 4th on team in tackles with 41.5
Michael Alisa Timpview High LB/RB Had four INTs and three sacks for state champions
Kevan Bills Timpview High LB Had 59 tackles for state champions
Atem Bol L.D. Bell High (Hurst, Texas) WR Born in Sudan. Moved to U.S. at age 11.
Jerry Bruner Evergreen High (Wash.) RB/LB Named Defensive Player of the Year in league
O'Neill Chambers Harmony High (Fla.) WR Had 39 catches for 965 yards and 10 TDs
Cameron Comer Springville High DB Three-year starter and team captain
Spencer Hadley Connell High (Wash.) LB Earned Associated Press 1A all-state honors
Austin Holt Bingham High TE All-state selection had 29 receptions for 490 yards
Solomone Kafu Rio Linda High (Calif.) DL Made 50 tackles, including 35 solo
Tolu Moala El Camino College (Calif.) LB Won a JC state title in 2006
Jake Murphy American Fork WR Had a team-leading 41 receptions along with 13 TDs
Garett Nicholson West High DB Rushed for 1,071 yards and 10 TDS. Runs 100 in 10.85
Seta Pohahau Aragon High (Calif.) RB Rushed for 1,926 yards and 21 TDs
Iona Pritchard Bingham High LB Credited with 88 tackles and six QB hurries
Daniel Sorensen Colton High (Calif.) DB Two-way all-conference selection made 87 tackles
Justin Sorensen Bingham High K Holds state record for PATs, FGs and longest FG (62)
Brock Stringham Mountain Vista High (Colo.) OL Made Denver Post all-Colorado offensive team
Jesse Taufi L. Beach City College (Calif.) OL Named to Rivals.com JC Top 100
Shiloah Te'o Kahuku High (Hawaii) DB First-team all-state selection as junior and senior
Michael Yeck Keller High (Texas) OL Named to Dallas Morning News Top 100
BYU
