With the spring season finally upon us, teams are looking to get down to the trenches with recruiting to improve their teams. BYU has already made its presence felt by landing an elite four-star tight end, Brock Harris.
Harris’ recruiting hit a snag midway through his high school career. One of the early schools to show interest in him, BYU, made a coaching change. They replaced veteran tight end coach Steve Clark with newcomer Kevin Gilbride. However, Harris still found his way to the Cougars.
BYU 2025 Recruiting Update: Cougars Land Elite 4-Star Tight End, Brock Harris
Suddenly, the program that had been recruiting Harris was thrown a wrench. Harris is an Under Armour All-American, and he had a lot to think about. How would he, his parents, and everyone around him adapt to the new coach? Turns out, there was not much to worry about at all.
They still had a great relationship with head coach Kalani Sitake and offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick. However, the position coach can sometimes be the most important hire of a prospect’s decision to join a school.
On Monday, Harris turned in his pledge, committing to BYU over the likes of Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Oregon, and Utah. Harris is the fifth-rated tight end nationally by the recruiting service.
The 6-foot-6, 240-pound tight end is BYU’s fifth commit of the Class of 2026. He joins quarterback Kaneal Sweetwyne, edge rusher PJ Takitaki, tight end Ty Goettsche, and cornerback Justice Braithwaite. Harris’ .9719 composite rating is the third-highest for a BYU commit in 247Sports history.
“We absolutely loved Steve Clark,” Harris told KSL.com. “But Kevin is awesome, as well. When I heard that he was in the league for several years before this (job), it was obviously an attraction. He’s had a lot of success, and getting to see him coach in practice and meetings, it’s a no-brainer that he knows what he’s talking about. He can definitely help me get to the next level.”
At the end of the day, there was just too much to like about BYU for Harris. Harris caught 41 passes for 527 yards and nine touchdowns while battling an ankle injury and missing a few games midway through his 2024 season.
He has built great bonds with coaches at the Cougars’ camps every year since middle school. He visited a game last fall after BYU’s win over Arizona. He spoke with representatives from the school’s collective and grassroots organization, CougConnect, and he also visited Utah, Michigan, Georgia, and Oregon.
Ironically, during his visit to Oregon, he met a future BYU teammate in the four-star running back McKay Madsen. The two-sport standout was also one of the top throwers in the country and signed with BYU back in December. He revealed his decision at January’s Navy All-American Bowl.
He received a two-year mission call for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Argentina, which will follow one more record-breaking track and field season. Harris has similar plans to serve as a mission, and he and Madsen are likely to return around the same time after Harris graduates from Pine View in December.
Together this could be the next dynamic duo of BYU’s offense for years to come together. It’s future Roderick mapped out for Harris on one of his trips. Harris noted that it’s similar to the vision he’s shown other high-level prospects during their recruitment.
“A-Rod has shown me their plan, and they got into it a bit last year,” he added. “They’re going to start throwing the ball a lot more to the tight ends. They’d better.”
“But they’re getting super creative,” he said after a laugh. “A-Rod has a great mind, and they’re getting a ton of guys. Hopefully, I get a few more with me now that I’ve announced.”
With his decision in place, Harris wants to focus on his senior year at Pine View. He hopes to build on his 1,796 career receiving yards and 22 touchdowns. He also hopes to put the Panthers in a position to win a 4A State Championship.
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Harris is also ready to put an injury-plagued junior season behind him. He estimates that he returned at no better than 75% behind him.
“I just want to prove to everybody and to myself that I’m not overrated or anything,” he said. “I try not to listen to those people, but I know what I can do, and I’m excited to show my skills this upcoming season.”
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