The Next Jake Heaps

Now that the Jake Heaps recruiting story is cooling down, we can start working on the Next Big Mormon Star.

Now it’s apparently 6-foot-5 defensive end Kona Schwenke, of Hawaii’s Kahuku High. Rivals.com, through USA Today, says numerous schools in the West have offered him scholarships, including BYU, Utah and Washington. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/recruiting/football/2009-06-17-hawaii-de_N.htm.

And yes, the report said, he wants to serve an LDS mission.

A couple of thoughts on this player. First, if Washington loses him, it might start to get paranoid. Clearly, Husky coach Steve Sarkisian knows how to recruit LDS kids. He played at BYU and made a strong bid for Heaps. But after losing him to BYU, it could be a killer to lose another Mormon.

Then there’s Utah. Schwenke said he needs someone who will understand his mission goals and certainly Ute coach Kyle Whittingham would. He’s thrived off returned missionaries. Considering Utah’s success with Paul Kruger – a returned missionary and also a defensive end – it will likely get serious considration from Schwenke.

Meanwhile, if BYU lands him, it will bode very well for the future of the school’s football program. If it continues to get the cream of LDS players, its program should thrive for years.

Will Schwenke, like Heaps, choose BYU? Is Washington even a contender? Will Utah’s recent success, plus its ties to LDS players, make the Utes the top choice?