BYU football recruiting: 2016 C Caden Haws signs with the Cougars

Caden Haws, a 6-foot-2, 265-pound center prospect out of Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for BYU. Haws originally planned to commit to the Cougars back in September, but his offer was pulled by the old staff before he could. Fortunately, the new coaching staff extended a new offer to Haws and he's now officially a Cougar.

Haws is rated as a three-star prospect and ranked as the 17th best center in the country according to the 247Sports Composite. Barring any signing day surprises, Haws' composite rating of 81.06 will make him the second highest rated offensive lineman the Cougars are expected to sign today. He also had offers from the three service academies and interest from Arkansas, Nebraska, and Yale.

Haws was the co-winner of the 2015 Willie Roaf Award for his play during his senior season at Pulaski Academy. Haws also won two Arkansas 5A State Championships (2014, 2015) while at Pulaski.

One thing is pretty clear from watching Haws' tape, he likes to finish people. He plays with that same physicality and nastiness that made BYU fans fall in love with Tejan Koroma's highlights a few years back. That style has worked pretty well for Koroma and could set Haws up to be his eventual replacement.

There is some concern that it may be tough for Haws to add additional bulk, due to his compact frame. Up to this point, Haws has used that frame to his advantage to get leverage on opponents and relied on his strength to overcome any size disadvantage. We'll have to wait and see if he can do that at the FBS level.

Haws has plans to serve a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but he has yet to decide if he will do that immediately or if he will play a year for the Cougars before leaving.

Here's a look at highlights from Haws' senior year: