When ESPN's Myron Medcalf wrote about the BYU Cougars men's basketball program signing the nation's No. 3 recruiting class, led by No. 1 overall prospect AJ Dybantsa, he may have landed on the athletic department's unofficial mantra.
BYU super booster and Focus Services CEO Paul Liljenquist made a declaration that has rung true well beyond the signing of mega-recruit Dybantsa.
"You're not going to outbid us," Liljenquist said.
It would be overly simplistic to attach those words directly to Tuesday's commitment from Folsom (California) five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons.
But it's not a bad place to start.
There's a simple truth in the NIL era, particularly when it comes to five-star quarterbacks and potential NBA lottery picks.
Money talks.
And unless you're willing to spend that money, it's going to be difficult to win those recruiting battles.
Dybantsa's November commitment gave the Cougars their first-ever five-star basketball recruit. But not just any five-star recruit.
MORE: Why AJ Dybantsa picked BYU over Alabama, others
The 6-foot-9, 210-pound all-world prospect is viewed as the likely No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
That commitment reportedly cost between $5-7 million, according to Yahoo! Sports.
On the gridiron, outside of a trio of commitments from more than 20 years ago - the infancy of modern recruiting - BYU's highest-rated commitment came via Pine View (Utah) four-star tight end Brock Harris this April.
If the commitments of Dybantsa and Harris were a sign, snagging Lyons over the likes of Ohio State, Oregon and USC on Tuesday was a rallying cry.
BYU is a major player in the modern world of college recruiting.
Sure, it helps significantly that Lyons is a member of the LDS church, a group that makes up roughly 98-99 percent of BYU's student body. But there have been elite LDS athletes before who have turned down the Cougars for what they deemed to be more prolific athletic opportunities.
Kalani Sitake and his coaching staff deserve credit for presenting Lyons and his family with a vision for his future.
Perhaps "Zach Wilson 2.0," but with much more NFL success.
However, it can't be ignored that Yahoo! Sports has reported Lyons was offered a significant NIL deal attached to the Cougars - one that far exceeded that of Oregon or the other major contenders.
If true, it's further evidence that BYU is NIL locked and loaded.
MORE: Florida State QB gives Alabama bulletin board material with savage message
Securing both the nation's most celebrated basketball recruit and the nation's top uncommitted quarterback in the span of seven months is a statement for any college athletic department. But it's completely uncharted territory for BYU, and these days, we have an understanding of what that likely means.
Getting just one of those student-athletes would have been a historic win for the school. Landing both - with an elite tight end prospect in between - speaks volumes about where BYU is and where they see themselves going.
Dybantsa will hit the court for the Cougars in the upcoming season, while Lyons is scheduled to begin an LDS mission in January, effectively making him a 2027 prospect.
In both sports, the future is bright for BYU.
And it's clear the modern world of recruiting suits the school - and its boosters - just fine.
MORE RECRUITING NEWS:
- Miami Hurricanes recruiting class surges to No. 1 nationally
- Nick Abrams II discusses Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and Oregon
- Surprising Arch Manning prediction could shake up 2026 NFL Draft
- Oregon poised to land 5-star recruit Immanuel Iheanacho