Former Corner Canyon Quarterback and Yale Signee Cole Hagen Talks Transfer To BYU

Cody Hagen, the 4-star BYU wide receiver commit and little brother to Cole Hagen, announced on the ESPN 960 airwaves this week that his older brother will transfer his commitment from Yale to join BYU as a preferred walk-on.

Cole recently returned from his mission to Washington, D.C. for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Prior to his mission Cole was a dual threat quarterback at Corner Canyon High School. During two years as the starter Hagen went 28-0 bringing home two state titles. He threw for 7,065 yards, 80 TDs, and 23 INTs. Also running for 1,766 yards and 20 TDs. He was Utah’s Gatorade Player of the Year.

We had a chance to talk to Cole about his decision to come to BYU post-mission.

“Yeah we had a decent amount of contact,” Cole said when talking about his communication with BYU in high school. “We went to one of their spring games and talked with them for a bit there. I went to their camp. They came and watched me throw a time or two at my high school and some other conversations here and there were over text.”

Despite those conversations, Hagen never received an offer from BYU. According to 247 Sports the 3-star received offers from Yale, Harvard, Utah Tech, and Weber State. He ultimately would commit to Yale in the spring of his senior year.

Somewhere along the way he decided to decommit from Yale and come to BYU as a preferred walk-on.

“It was definitely a tough decision that took a lot of thought and consideration,” Cole said. “But just as I got away from everything for a bit I felt that this would be better for me in the long run. I’d still be open to going out to a school like Yale for a graduate degree. I think that would be cool.”

“I guess after a while of thinking about it I just felt that this was what would be better for me in the long run. It’s tough to say anything bad about a place like Yale. Great school, great program, and awesome coaches. I just felt like BYU was the place for me.”

Hagen has talked to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Aaron Roderick.

“I’ve talked briefly with coach Roderick over the phone. Just saying hello and talking about what’s next. Nothing too deep.”

Hagen is the type of quarterback that would fit well with the scheme of Roderick’s offense. Not only as a passer, where he posted amazing numbers, but as a runner too. It’s become clear that Roderick likes having athleticism at quarterback. Many times at Corner Canyon, Hagen would scramble for yards or be called on designed runs. BYU has been doing the same thing the past several seasons with Zach Wilson and now Jaren Hall.

Hagen will be enrolling at BYU this fall but will greyshirt this season and join the team officially in January.

“Since I’m greyshirting what I can do is limited for this season,” Hagen said. “I’ll be at a lot of practices and things just watching for the most part. Then I’ll officially start going with them in January for next season.”

Cody Hagen, Cole’s littler brother, will be serving his mission in the California, San Bernardino mission. When asked how Cole would feel about the potential of passes to his brother at BYU, “I think it would be awesome if we end up playing together again. It was a lot of fun in high school. I would love to do it again.”

The 4-star wide receiver caught 57 passes from his older brother for 939 yards and 10 touchdowns. Cody grew on that sophomore season to become the top Utah receiver in the class of 2022. He will return home from his mission before the 2024 season where he will rejoin Cole with the Cougars.

Cole will join an already solid quarterback room at BYU. Assuming Jaren Hall leaves for the NFL after the 2022 season there will be competition for the next starter. If Aaron Roderick and the BYU coaching staff stay true to how they have handled quarterback competitions in the past, Hagen will have every opportunity to try to win the job come fall of 2023.

You can watch high school highlights of Hagen below.