The BYU Cougars will likely have multiple players chosen in the upcoming NFL Draft. That hasn’t happened in awhile.

The NFL draft comes next week and the BYU Cougars should have multiple players selected.

This is something that hasn’t happened in a while.

Certainly the Cougars included players in the draft, but for the past few years there has been one here, one there. Drops. Drops. Drops.

In fact, you’ll have to go back to 2010 to find a draft where BYU picked multiple players. That year Dennis Pitta and Harvey Unga were selected. And you’ll have to go further through 2005 to find a draft that selected more than two players (Brady Poppinga, Shaun Nua, and Scott Young).

This year the Cougars look like a no-brainer with three players on board, and that number could easily rise. These are the fruits of an 11-1 season that included a season close in central Florida.

Quarterback Zach Wilson is of course the headliner. It has been a subject with an intense national focus since the end of the BYU season and is expected to be the second draft design choice for the New York Jets on Thursday evening. Failing that, few design watchers will see it fall further than No. 3, where the San Francisco 49ers are waiting.

But this is just the beginning. BYU offensive tackle Brady Christensen is forecast to be the draft pick for day two and possibly a late first round player, while defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga turns out to be the pick for day three.

And that’s not the end of the list. Wide receiver Dax Milne, security guard Tristan Hoge, offensive tackle Chandon Herring, Matt Bushman, linebacker Isiah Kaufusi, Safety Troy Warner and cornerback Chris Wilcox could also snoop for a week and will almost certainly get invitations from free agents if they don’t do this. I am not picked up.

It would take a lot of things for BYU to approach their best NFL drafting performance ever: 10 Cougars were removed from the 1984 national championship team, even though the draft included more rounds even then. However, this is still a turning point for the independence-era cougars.

(BYU photo) | Brady Christensen (67) is seen in action against McNeese State on September 22, 2018. Christensen is expected to be selected in the upcoming 2021 NFL draft.

A trend or a one-off?

The big question now: is this a slip-up or the beginning of something sustainable?

BYU coach Kalani Sitake believes the Cougars can continue to build on the success.

“It’s been a priority since day one,” said Sitake. “If you look at the past few years, we have tried to develop our program. I’ve said it before, I want to get people into the NFL – that’s a priority for me. In my opinion [the] The league needs our boys and I think we have boys who can go out there and be successful. “

Until last season this success was hard to come by. The Cougars left the Mountain West Conference and became independent of football in 2011. There is no avoiding the fact that BYU’s draft fortune fell sharply after decoupling from the conference and continued attempts to join a Power Five league. After 23 players were drafted in the 1990s and 21 in the 2000s, the Cougars only drafted nine players over the next decade.

BYU DESIGNED BY PICKS: A 15-YEAR SNAPSHOT

Under Bronco Mendenhall (2005-15)

2006: Todd Watkins, WR, Rd. 7, Arizona Cardinals

2007: John Beck, QB, Rd. 2, Miami Dolphins

2008: Bryan Kehl, LB, Rd. 4, New York Giants

2009: Austin Collie, WR, Rd. 4, Indianapolis Colts; Fui Vakapuna, RB, 7th Cincinnati Bengals

2010: Dennis Pitta, TE, Rd. 4, Baltimore Ravens; Harvey Unga, RB, Rd. 7 (Supplementary Draft) Chicago Bears

2013: Ezekiel Ansah, DE, Rd. 1 / No. 5, Detroit Lions

2014: Kyle Van Noy, LB, Rd. 2, Detroit Lions

2016: Bronson Kaufusi, DL, Rd. 3, Baltimore Ravens

Under Kalani Sitake (since 2015)

2017: Jamaal Williams, RB, Rd. 4, Green Bay Packers

2018: Fred Warner, LB, Rd. 3, San Francisco 49ers

2019: Sione Takitaki, LB, Rd. 3, Cleveland Browns

But Sitake brought some player development chops with him from Utah, where he served as assistant and defensive coordinator from 2005 to 2014. BYU’s offensive coordinator, Aaron Roderick, also has a family tree in Utah (2005-16). The Utes have been producing NFL draft picks regularly for years under Kyle Whittingham. It’s no apple-to-apple comparison – Utah is now a Power Five team playing in the Pac-12 – but they certainly brought some of that philosophy with them to Provo.

Roderick, of course, doesn’t know how many players BYU will be producing for the NFL from year to year, but he makes it clear that the Cougars want players who have NFL ambitions. In fact, if a quarterback recruit isn’t interested in getting into the NFL, then Roderick isn’t even interested.

“I mean, not everyone will do it, but that should be an important goal of yours if you are going to play QB for me,” he said. “So we try to recruit players in every position who have a chance. Then if you always have enough players with the raw materials and do a good job developing it, you must have a draft at some point. I think you will see more over the next few years and it has been a huge focus in our recruitment and development. “

(AP Photo) | BYU defender Khyiris Tonga (95) tries to knock down a pass from Southern California quarterback Kedon in a 2019 game in Provo. Tonga is expected to be one of several Cougars to be included in the upcoming 2021 NFL draft.

Develop. Develop. Develop.

And this is where BYU employees have become more and more successful: through development.

Among the players who volunteer for BYU every year, the three-star recruits are the largest part. The Cougars snap up a four-star star on occasion, but three is the average. The goal, of course, is to develop these three stars into something more when they are upper class.

The best example of a three-star recruit succeeding in Provo?

Wilson.

The Corner Canyon product has been under-recruited from most programs, including its beloved hometown of Utes. Instead of having the opportunity to play for his favorite team, Wilson played for his rival.

Following the success Wilson had in the 2020 season, overtaking a total of 3,692 yards, 33 touchdowns, and just three interceptions, Roderick’s phone lit up almost immediately when NFL scouts called for more information on the Draper native . It was exhausting for a while, said Roderick.

“There was a minute I spent so much time doing it that it consumed my time here,” said Roderick. “Of course I am happy to do it for him. I’m proud of him, happy for him, but yes, there are a lot of teams that like him. I don’t know when he will leave, but I know there are a lot of teams that really like him. “

However, Roderick said BYU staff will continue to investigate under-recruited and overlooked athletes to get them to Provo – and the coaching staff’s recruitment efforts.

Sitake needs a lot of recognition here.

He is now in his sixth year at the top of BYU football, which means the Cougar roster is now filled with his recruits. Keep in mind that many BYU players choose to do a two-year mission in the Church before enrolling.

And that’s another hump that BYU employees have to overcome: mission legs.

After returning from their respective missions, most athletes wear a red shirt for a year to get their legs back under them. For those coming back throughout the school year, they may wear a gray shirt in the fall before enrolling in January.

“Seeing the people who were involved in recruiting Brady Christensen, for example, was a great job for everyone who recruited him and then everyone who developed him,” said Roderick. “And he was an undersized guy who was super athletic and there were some coaches here who saw a vision of what he would be in five years. That can be said about Dax Milne and Zach and a few others. “

At the end of the day, Sitake will continue to make the NFL a regular part of his recruiting conversation: “If you play at BYU, you can play at the next level.” And the NFL-tied players from the 2020 team are sure to help make the sale more compelling.

“I think we can continue,” said Sitake. “Like I said, we have a lot of people who can join the NFL this year, and I think we’ll have more next year. I haven’t said that in the last couple of years, I think we have a good group of people who can make it to the NFL and make a difference in their dreams there. “

NFL DRAFT

All times mountain

When • Thursday, April 29th, 6pm; Friday, April 30th, 5pm; Saturday, May 1st, 10 a.m.

TV • Chap. 4, ESPN, NFL network