4-star Brock Harris, top tight end in Utah, commits to BYU football

ST. GEORGE — Brock Harris' recruiting path hit a snag midway through his high school career.

One of the early schools to jumpstart his recruitment, BYU made a coaching change, replacing veteran tight ends coach Steve Clark with newcomer Kevin Gilbride.

Suddenly, a program that had been recruiting the Under Armour All-American in some form since eighth grade was thrown a wrench. How would Harris, his parents, and those around him adapt to the new coach? They still had a good relationship with head coach Kalani Sitake and offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick, but the position coach may be the most important, or at least underrated, hire of a prospect's decision.

Turns out, there wasn't much to worry about.

Harris turned in his pledge Monday, committing to BYU over Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Oregon and Utah, and lowering the gate on a recruitment for Utah's No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2026 in the 247Sports composite rating and fifth-rated tight end nationally by the recruiting service.

The 6-foot-6, 240-pound tight end is the fifth commit of the Class of 2026 for BYU, joining Skyridge quarterback Kaneal Sweetwyne, Lehi edge rusher PJ Takitaki, Colorado tight end Ty Goettsche and Arizona cornerback Justice Braithwaite. Harris' .9719 composite rating is the third-highest for a BYU commit in 247Sports' history.

"We absolutely loved Steve Clark," the four-star prospect 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."

In the end, there was just too much else to like about BYU for Harris, who caught 41 passes for 527 yards and nine touchdowns while battling an ankle injury and missing a couple of games midway through the 2024 season. He built strong bonds with coaches at the Cougars' camp every year since middle school, visited a game last fall after BYU's win over Arizona, spoke with representatives from the school's collective and grassroots organization CougConnect, and took additional visits to Utah, Michigan, Georgia and Oregon.

That last one was intriguing for Harris, because in Oregon he met a future BYU teammate: four-star running back McKay Madsen.

The two-sport standout who is also one of the top throwers in the country and signed with BYU in December, revealed his decision at January's Navy All-American Bowl, and then received a two-year mission call for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Argentina that will follow one more record-breaking track and field season.

Harris has similar plans to serve a mission, and he and Madsen are likely to return around the same time after Harris graduates in December from Pine View.

Together, the duo could play a dynamic role in BYU's offense for years together. It's a future Roderick mapped out for Harris on one of his trips, and is similar to the vision he's shown other high-level prospects during their recruitment, Harris noted.

"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, build on his 1,796 career receiving yards and 22 touchdowns, and put the Panthers in position to win a 4A state title.

But is it a relief to have the weight of the state's top-rated recruits — and one of the best on the west coast — in the rearview mirror?

"It definitely is a relief," he said. "But there's also a bit of a bittersweet thing to it, as well. It's been almost three years now of building relationships with all of these coaches, and they're all great people, great coaches and great staff.

"But it is nice to be able to lock in and know where I'm going to go, where I'm going to be happy at, and to be able to work on my craft from here on out."

He's also ready to put that injury-plagued junior season, where he estimates 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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