There’s still a lot of football to be played.

But there might be just as much hype around BYU basketball right now.

So after the Cougars' football practice on Tuesday, I drove over to Pleasant Grove to get an update on AJ Dybantsa’s recruitment.

The No. 1 player in the country — who is mulling over BYU as his college destination — led Utah Prep Academy to a win over the best team in the country, Link Academy. Dybantsa had 18 points and 13 rebounds.

And after the game, he told me why he moved up his commitment date from February to before Christmas.

“Oh, I just didn’t want to wait any longer,” he said. “It is just going to be too much. I think I can make my decision within a month. So I’m not going to wait two more months.”

BYU is one of the finalists with several other schools like Alabama, Kansas, North Carolina, Kansas State, Baylor and Auburn.

Wherever he goes next year, he wants to be competitive on the national stage.

“March Madness, Final Four,” Dybantsa said. “Then the NBA, NBA Finals.”

The Big Thing

Keelan Marion knows what he’ll be doing on Saturday in the team hotel: keeping a close eye on Arizona and Kansas State.

The Cougars need one of those two teams to win to have a chance at the Big 12 title game. By kickoff at 8:15 p.m, they should know if the Houston game means something or not.

“We have a long time in the hotel. We will know a little bit of something,” Marion said when I talked to him.

But even if it doesn’t work out for BYU, Marion knows he will have more meaningful football left in Provo. The wide receiver intends to be back at BYU next year, he said. He is a redshirt junior, but will graduate in December.

“I’m a senior in the classroom but I’m a junior on the field,” he said. “I’ll definitely be back.”

BYU’s receiving room will look different next year. Darius Lassiter and Chase Roberts will be gone. It leaves Marion as a top three guy, along with JoJo Phillips and likely Cody Hagen.

“Whoever decides to enter the draft, the guys who come back will continue to work. Keep that rhythm with Jake [Retzlaff],” Marion said. “It is not like we are bringing in a bunch of new guys who don’t know anything. We should be fine.”

The only question left: Will Roberts or Lassiter have any more meaningful snaps left in a Cougar uniform? They should know by kickoff.

Question of the week

Do you think BYU will get the help it needs to make the Big 12 title game?

Fourth down

1. Jay Hill

BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill has always carried himself like a head coach since he got to Provo. It makes sense. He was a head coach at Weber State for over a decade.

And now, he is being linked to the Utah State head coaching job. On Tuesday after practice , he left the door open to take the job in Logan.

But I still think this could be about leverage with BYU. Hill should be up for a contract extension with the Cougars at the end of this year — along with most of the coaching staff. The threat of taking a job in Logan only drives up his price.

2. Core group

BYU’s core group of seniors like Connor Pay, Tyler Batty and Chase Roberts are leaving the program after this year. They helped Sitake usher BYU into the Big 12 and Pay and Batty were even here for the COVID-19 pandemic. Saturday will mark the end of BYU’s first Big 12 era.

3. Houston D-Line

Houston’s defensive line is one of the best BYU’s seen this year. Right up there with SMU and Utah. BYU’s offensive line has been banged up the last few weeks. It will take a strong performance from that unit for BYU to win.

4. Slow starts

BYU’s last two weeks have been marked by astonishingly slow starts. Particularly, the first defensive drives have killed the Cougars. Kansas marched right down the field and ASU ran it down BYU’s throat. With a reeling Houston offense, that needs to change for Jay Hill’s unit — especially because Houston’s defense will give Jake Retzlaff some trouble on Saturday.