BYU Lands Commitment From Eight-Man Football Standout Cooper Ross

PROVO, Utah – BYU football has been active on the recruiting scene the past two weeks during the camp season. Many scholarship offers have been extended to young prospects in the 2023 and 2024 classes, but few have gone out to 2022 prospects.

BYU has been very deliberate on who they offer in the 2022 class due to limited scholarship numbers.

On Tuesday, BYU liked what they saw from one of the 2022 campers in tight end Cooper Ross from Heritage Academy Mesa in Mesa, Arizona. The Cougars offered a scholarship to Ross, and the two-time all-state performer jumped at the chance to commit to BYU.

WOW! Dreams do come true! After a great camp at BYU, and talks with @coachtuiaki, @CoachSitake, and @CoachPHadley, I have been offered and have committed to play for @BYUfootball! Huge thanks for their confidence, and to my family, @CoachPerrone and @HeritageReese for everything! pic.twitter.com/hUzD1xSVt1

— Cooper Ross (@CooperJRoss) June 16, 2021

Ross wrote on Twitter, “WOW! Dreams do come true! After a great camp at BYU, and talks with @coachtuiaki, @CoachSitake, and @CoachPHadley, I have been offered and have committed to play for @BYUfootball!”

Both Ilaisa Tuiaki and Preston Hadley work closely with BYU’s defensive line, so it might be foreshadowing where Kalani Sitake and staff envision Ross playing at the next level. In six games last season at tight end, Ross recorded 34 receptions for 637 yards and 15 touchdown grabs for Heritage Academy Mesa.

BYU coaches are always big on adding prospects with big frames that can be developed when they get to Provo. Ross is listed at 6-foot-5, 245-pounds.

Eight-man football players to BYU

What’s interesting about Ross is that his high school plays eight-man football. The last time BYU landed a commitment from a prospect that played eight-man football instead of the traditional 11 was Collin Keoshian. Keoshian set eight-man football records in the state of California. He lettered one year at BYU before transferring to JUCO ball, then later Illinois State in the FCS ranks.

National Signing Day is this December. When Ross signs, he will be only the third player in BYU football history to sign from an eight-man football team. The other is former star defensive tackle Wayne Baker. Baker played at BYU during the early days of the LaVell Edwards era in the 1970s.

Ross is the seventh commitment to BYU in the class of 2022. The Cougars now have the 50th best class in the 247Sports Team Composite Rankings for 2022.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.