Hawaii
BYU Football Makes Final Cut For Top Hawaii Recruit
PROVO, Utah – BYU football is in the mix for Hawaii’s top recruit in the class of 2026.
Offensive tackle Malakai Lee announced his top six schools on Friday. The four-star prospect is the No. 1 prospect in the state of Hawaii, and his top schools include some of college football’s top brands.
BYU football makes Top Six cut for Malakai Lee
Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Texas, USC, and BYU are the top six programs for Lee, a 6-foot-7, 310-pound prospect out of Kamehameha High School in Honolulu.
TOP 6️⃣ !!! Mahalo @Hayesfawcett3 @On3sports @On3Recruits pic.twitter.com/nS9TpE8WWK
— Malakai Lee (@MalakaiLee2) February 7, 2025
The list of schools that didn’t make Lee’s top six is also notable. Arizona, Miami, Nebraska, Oregon, Tennessee, UCF, and Utah are some programs that offered scholarships but weren’t in the final cut.
BYU’s coaching staff visited Lee in Hawaii last month.
Lee has already been selected as a Polynesian Bowl participant for the game next year in 2026.
He’s rated as the 145th overall recruit in the country for 2026 and the 12th offensive tackle by the 247Sports Composite rankings.
BYU football is coming off an 11-2 season and final ranking of No. 13 in the AP Top 25 poll for the 2024 season.
The recent on-field success in a power conference and recent NFL success along the offensive line could be a compelling pitch to Lee.
After a 15-year drought of no offensive linemen being drafted at BYU from 2005 to 2020, BYU’s offensive lines have produced NFL talent under head coach Kalani Sitake.
Brady Christensen, Blake Freeland, and Kingsley Suamataia were all former BYU offensive linemen selected in the past four NFL drafts. The Cougars are expected to have another selected this April with Caleb Etienne, who was a First Team All-Big 12 selection at offensive tackle in 2024.
BYU football currently has three commits in the 2026 recruiting class.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
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