McKay Madsen Believes ‘No More Excuses’ Not to Play for BYU Football
On Tuesday, five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons committed to BYU in one of the most monumental recruiting wins in program history. After landing Lyons, BYU has climbed into the top 35 of the national recruiting rankings.
BYU isn’t done adding to its 2026 recruiting class. Most of BYU’s top targets are expected to make their college decisions over the next few weeks.McKay Madsen, a four-star BYU signee in the 2025 class, posted on social media after Lyons announced his BYU commitment. “No more excuses…BYU is the place!McKay Madsen, a four-star BYU signee in the 2025 class, posted on social media after Lyons announced his BYU commitment. “No more excuses…BYU is the place!!”BYU head coach Kalani Sitake has made similar comments about BYU’s recruiting efforts: the excuses to not choose BYU are in the rearview mirror.
Conference affiliation? No longer a problem since BYU joined the Big 12. No path to the playoff? BYU has a path to the national championship through the Big 12. Winning track record? BYU won 11 games in its second year in the Big 12 and has won 10 games or more in three of the last five seasons. NFL pipeline? Some of the best players in the NFL are BYU alumni.NIL? BYU is very competitive in terms of NIL. NIL isn’t the only reason for BYU’s recruiting surge. After all, would Lyons choose UMass if they had the highest NIL offer? Certainly not. BYU is checking all the boxes and that’s driving the recruiting surge.
During the independence era, BYU struggled to consistently sign recruits with competing P5 offers. That’s no longer the case.
Madsen is a perfect example. He had not shortage of colleges to choose from. He narrowed his list of options to BYU and Oregon before choosing the Cougars late in the recruiting process.
Madsen will start his BYU career at running back. Therefore, Madsen and Lyons could be the long-term future of the BYU backfield.
