BYU gets big 4-star linebacker boost

Kalani Sitake is entering year ten of his tenure as the head coach of the BYU football program, and it would be easy to make the case that the 49-year-old Tongan-born coach is just hitting his stride.

The Cougars started the season 9-0, were ranked as high as No. 7 in the country, finished 11-2 and capped their season off with a commanding win in the Alamo Bowl over Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter and the Colorado Buffaloes. Now, not even a month after scoring one of the most notable bowl wins in recent program history, BYU has landed a commitment from a four-star high school All-American who had been weighing offers from both Oregon and UCLA, proving that Sitake wins off the field as well.

“Clovis (Calif.) North linebacker McKay Madsen is going to BYU,” writes Brandon Huffman of 247 Sports. “Madsen announced his commitment to to the Cougars at halftime of the 2025 Navy All-American Bowl at the Alamodome.”

McKay Madsen is the highest-rated commit that BYU has scored in their 2025 recruiting class, though it should be noted that before he steps foot on the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium, Madsen will be fulfilling his LDS mission and therefore not be making his debut with the Cougars until the 2027 season. Even still, it’s nice to have a player like McKay stashed away.

McKay is not your run-of-the-mill four-star linebacker… he was also pursued by BYU as a running back. He finished his senior season with 49 tackles and four interceptions defensively, and 1,238 rushing yards and 21 total touchdowns on the opposite side of the ball. BYU deciding to offer on both sides of the ball was only part of the reason Madsen ultimately chose the Cougars.

“They’ve offered for both sides of the ball. Both position coaches, coach (Justin) Ena for linebackers and coach Harvey (Unga) for running back, are so amazing,” Madsen said. “Every time I’m up there, they show a lot of love. It’s a beautiful campus and a beautiful place and they have such an amazing culture, and that’s a big part of it. My older siblings go there, my mom went there. It’s been great relationships since they started recruiting me.”