Utes in 4* TE Walker Lyons Top 6

[younglurch]

2023 4* TE and #4 TE prospect in the country Walker Lyons has named Utah to his top 6. Others include OSU, Stanford, Bama, USC, and Poo Poo.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but we weren’t on his radar until the Rose Bowl, I believe. Brant and Kinciad should have massive campaigns this next season, so we should have a compelling pitch. 

Utes also recently got a cyrstal ball for 2023 4* DE Hunter Clegg out of Utah. 

[NarfUte]

Correct. We weren’t in his top 11 but are now in the top 6. Good sign.

[cj13]

Clegg and Lyons have been top prospects for the Cougs for a while. Would be nice if we can continue to grow our recruiting power over them as they transition to Big12 by taking these guys.

[MineralUte]

Looks like we were the very first to offer Lyons. Hopefully being the first helps in his decision.

[Stone]

Clegg and Lyons know each other. Maybe they’ll want to go somewhere together.

Having the older Clegg as a PWO would seem to help sway younger brother. Also, Clegg’s dad knows Scalley from younger years.

For LDS kids that want to be in that type of environment, Utah is a great option to get big time football. TDS going to the BigXII should help them, but for kids from the western US (such as Lyons and Clegg), the Pac12 footprint, media markets, and trips to the Rose Bowl are going to have a lot more cachet than what the diminished Big XII will have to offer. 

[Central Coast Ute]

This is great. I’m assuming he’s LDS and that’s why he has poo poo in his top 6. My guess is he chooses Stanford because they will hold a scholliefor a mission. Sorry everyone, but if it were my kid, that’s where I’d push for him to go.

[MDUte]

Same. You never know if football will work out for a career option. Being a smart kid with an opportunity to get a Stanford education, that’s where I’d be pushing my kid to go to give him the best possible backup plan.

Yes, he’s LDS and according to the Deseret News he’s planning to graduate early and immediately go on his mission.

[chinngiskhaan]

Meh… it’s an undergraduate degree… get good grades, pick a major that doesn’t suck… probably have to go the graduate school route anyway. There are very few undergraduate degrees that mean anything these days, and I’m willing to bet that most football players don’t pick those degrees.

goid grades and football are enough to get you into a good graduate school program.

[Central Coast Ute]

Are you seriously going to claim, even these days, that an undergraduate degree from Stanford doesn’t mean much?

[chinngiskhaan]

90% of undergraduate degrees won’t earn you a job that is good enough to provide for a family, regardless of where you go to school. Unless you are earning a STEM related BS degree, it isn’t going to be worth what you are paying for it. I don’t care if you are going to Harvard, you won’t get a job in your field that will pay you enough to provide for a family out of college. If you think he’s going to study mechanical engineering or whatever while at Stanford you are kidding yourself.

The fact that he made a name for himself playing college football for a good team will get him plenty of decent jobs, degree or not.

For the current college generation, a graduate degree is now the expectation rather than the rule if you want to make enough money to afford a decent home in most of Utah. Hell, even most graduate degrees won’t get you a job that is good enough to buy a home in Utah without a second income.

[HoosierUte]

One of my law partners son attended Stanford on a football scholarship. That measly undergraduate degree has opened doors all over the country that this kid would have never had access to otherwise. He is working for a hedge fund and doing very very well. You can absolutely get a valuable degree from Stanford while playing football.  

[Charlie]

Of course a Stanford degree is awesome. However, it means more to the older generation than the younger generation. The greatest value is right out of school when education is primary and experience is minor. Over time, where you went to school becomes minor compared to experience. And it varies by field of work. Lawyers and finance folks will use the ‘I love me’ wall much more than technology folks. My experience in tech is very soon what you have been able to do recently becomes paramount. In the big tech centers still, networks and school do carry significant weight.

[Central Coast Ute]

Wearing a ring from Stanford will open doors for you 20 years after graduation that otherwise would remain closed. Regardless of generation.

[wcrunner]

CCU posted:  Are you seriously going to claim, even these days, that an undergraduate degree from Stanford doesn’t mean much?

He is right. Although I left the bay area a few years ago, the top companies are still hiring from Stanford and Cal. Those resumes go directly to the top of the interview list. My HR dept friends say that they are still looking for them. Those degrees carry a lot of weight.

[MDUte]

Sorry dude, all undergraduate degrees are not equal. Stanford is the best of the best and provides access to jobs that simply aren’t available at most other schools. If you’re wanting to get a graduate degree like an MBA you’re going to need several years of work experience. Having a great job out of Stanford gives you a huge leg up, not only in earnings initially, but also getting accepted to your grad program of choice.

[Rick]

It’s the reputation and network that separates Stanford and the Ivy League from all the rest. I’ve worked in higher education for a significant number of years and the network of support graduates of premier institutions have access to is incredible. I think the U surpasses the Y in many disciplines in undergraduate education – and most graduate disciplines, but the network available to Y students is impressive. President Randall made building a better network of Alumni support for business graduates a priority in the Eccles School. I hope it becomes a significant priority at the university level now that he presides.

[stbone]

My own experiences have shown that alumni networks are regional. Because of this regionality, an Ivy League degree is not worth near as much East of Massachusetts, and I suspect a Stanford degree is not worth very much outside of CA. YMMV, but I went to a big name, top 5, east coast law school, and the name and alumni network get me next to nothing in the west. If you want to work in the Bay Area, Stanford is tops, but who wants to live in the Bay Area.

[MDUte]

I can’t speak for how law schools work. But I went to a Top 4 MBA program. And I can tell you first hand these networks are national. It’s not about the education, although it’s outstanding. The value of these programs is in the network & credibility/reputation. The recruiters that come on campus only recruit at a select number of schools for particular jobs and they come from all over, not just regionally. And students also are able to tap into the alumni network for jobs they are interested in. And these networks are known for “taking care of their own.”

My peer classmates who did their undergrad at Stanford or Ivy League schools received jobs that I didn’t even know existed. Because they weren’t an option for me coming out of the Eccles School of Business back in the day. These students had gotten a lot further in terms of earnings and work experience and marketability because of the jobs they had access to coming out of undergrad.

[stbone]

But where are the jobs?

My experience is that if you are willing to live in the geographic area where the schools alumni cluster, then it is very beneficial. But, once you leave that area, the benefits drop off. For example, the Stanford network will get you much farther in the Bay Area than it will in NYC.

Maybe it is different between business and law school, but, based on my experience, I encourage people to attend the best school they are accepted to in the general area where they want to live and work. If they want to live in the Bay Area, then Stanford. If they want to live in NYC, then NYU or Columbia.

[MDUte]

Must be just the difference between law and business school. My friends had jobs lined up on both coasts, down in Texas, in the Midwest, Northwest, basically every major metro area. And the alumni network in all of those areas is strong.

[Central Coast Ute]

Rick gets it.

[Dallas]

It’s not about the degree or even the education, it’s about the network and connections. Stanford is the clear winner there.

[Stone]

A Stanford education is hard to pass up, for sure. But these top recruits all image they will be playing in the NFL one day, so the football program likely takes precedence. Stanford has a good program – but its recent trajectory is not good. The program may be reverting to its mean as a mediocre football program.

[Central Coast Ute]

Yep, they do. That’s why, like I said, I would push for my kid to choose Stanford. 17 year olds don’t have a very good perspective.

[LetItRide]

plus Stanford has shown theirs cards during the pandemic. Sports is not even secondary. 

I say Utah is there with SC(home) Bama(credentials) and  OSU (reputation). 
Where Utah has an advantage is that our leading receiver last year was a TE. Plus Kincaid is no slouch. Both NFL prospects. 

 

 

[MDUte]

I get this argument and for the most part it’s true about your stereotypical jock athlete. But there are a number of high performing academic athletes. For example, when I was at the U some of my friends were on the Final Four basketball team. One of which was Drew Hansen. Drew maintained a 4.0 throughout college. His Senior year 1 teacher gave him his only A- so he ended up with like a 3.995. Drew wasn’t good enough to go on to the NBA. But he was super smart and ended up going to Stanford Law for graduate studies and has had a very successful career after basketball. Morgan Scalley was a similar type of student and could have done whatever he wanted but found his way in to Coaching which obviously has been very lucrative. I have no doubt that Britain Covey is the same type of student as well. And I imagine this Walker Lyons kid falls into this category from what I’ve heard about him. Even though he’s a 4* Top 100 player coming out of high school, there’s still greater odds he doesn’t have an NFL career than he does. The percentages are just so low. Of all 125 guys on the team scholarship and non scholarship, we are looking at 2 or 3 getting drafted and a handful of others fighting for a UFA spot on a roster. And for those fortunate enough to get a spot, 80%+ will not last more than a couple of years. And for those that last their 2 years in the league, the majority don’t make enough money to last them a lifetime. It’s unfortunate because most of these players are the stereotypical “jocks” that took all of the classes in college that kept them eligible and had tutors to get them through the rest. So they don’t have much of an education to fall back on. They will have football connections that hopefully they can leverage. For these high academic type of kids that are able to take advantage of the college education they are receiving, it’s definitely wise and to their advantage to do so IMO.

[McBride of Frankenstein]

I’m glad you don’t recruit for the Utes :-).  Remember Utah helps all their kids succeed academically.