BYU Football Recruiting: Former Oregon State signee Christian Folau flips to BYU

Linebacker Christian Folau announced on Twitter Tuesday that he will be transferring to Brigham Young University for the 2017 football season. Christian was a star in the state of Utah in 2015 and originally committed to Oregon State before leaving on his LDS mission. He was also committed to Stanford and Wisconsin at different points during high school. During his senior season, he was 6’1” and 240lbs playing inside linebacker for East High School in Salt Lake City.

Many close to the program are not too surprised at the news, as it is well known that Christian and BYU head coach Kalani Sitake have a great relationship. Sitake and current BYU defensive coordinator, Ilaisa Tuiaki, were both coaching in Corvallis and recruited Folau.

The offer list was quite extensive coming out of high school with big names such as Wisconsin, Stanford, Oregon and Washington along with others like Utah and Oklahoma State. For a full list, you can check them out on 247sports. ESPN listed Folau as the 14th best inside linebacker in the 2015 class.

BYU’s linebacking core is perhaps the strongest position group on both sides of the ball this year, but you can never have too much depth. Looking over his offer list, it’s clear that big time linebacker coaches wanted him, so perhaps he is the real deal. It will be nice for Christian to be able to learn from veterans like Fred Warner and Francis Bernard. With the linebacker depth BYU has and Folau’s recent mission return, BYU could elect to redshirt him.

A few things that stand out on film is his ability to keep the eyes on the football at all times and rarely find himself out of position. His patience is another aspect of his game that stands out, which is critical when moving up to the D-1 level.

Check out Christian Folau’s highlights via Hudl:

Welcome to BYU, Christian! Best of luck.