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PROVO -- Since Bronco Mendenhall became head coach at BYU in 2005, each recruiting class has produced at least one freshman all-American.
Who will be next to win the award for BYU?
"I never know who is going to play as freshman, but I do know that one of them will be an all-American," Mendenhall said. "I don't know which one of these guys will be, but it will be somebody. This is another really good recruiting class."
It isn't a class full of top tier recruits according to the experts, but Mendenhall is excited about the players being brought in this year.
"Last year's class had a ton of so-called superstars in terms of potential and exposure and rankings, etc.," Mendenhall said. "What we needed more from this class was a great BYU class in terms of positions and stability."
The most highly touted recruit out of this class was Ryker Matthews, who was ranked as the top recruit out of Utah and No. 11 among offensive lineman nationally by Rivals.com.
Mendenhall also had high praise for Stehly Reden, an all around athlete who played on the offensive and defensive lines, out of Valley Center, California.
"Staley Reden might be my favorite player, potentially, on the entire recruiting class," Mendenhall said. "I don't know what he's going to play, but he's going to be really good."
The Cougars will also have 14 former players or signees who are returning from missions for the 2011 season. Many of the returned missionaries were able to see significant playing time before they left, and are expected to contribute this fall.
The list of return missionaries includes:
| Name | Position | Height | Weight | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Alisa | LB | 6-1 | 215 | Provo, UT/Timpview HS |
| Kevan Bills | LB | 6-3 | 225 | Provo, UT/Timpview HS |
| Camern Comer | DB | 6-0 | 189 | Springville, UT/Springville HS |
| Ian Dulan | DL | 6-1 | 255 | Hilo, HI/Kamehameha-Hawaii HS |
| Kaneakua Friel | TE | 6-5 | 235 | Kaneohe, HI/Kamehameha HS |
| Spencer Hadley | LB | 6-1 | 221 | Connell, WA/Connell HS |
| Adam Hine | RB | 6-1 | 175 | Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon HS |
| Solomone Kafu | OL | 6-2 | 309 | Rio Linda, CA/Rio Linda HS |
| Rex Morgan | DB | 5-10 | 177 | Greeley, CO/Greeley West HS |
| Iona Pritchard | LB | 6-0 | 234 | South Jordan, UT/Bingham HS |
| Daniel Sorensen | LB | 6-1 | 208 | Colton, CA/Colton HS |
| Justin Sorensen | K | 6-1 | 222 | South Jordan, UT/Bingham HS |
| Christian Stewart | QB | 6-0 | 190 | Orem, UT/Timpanogos HS |
| Brock Stringham | OL | 6-5 | 280 | Highlands Ranch, CO/Mountain Vista HS |
