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Isaac Wilson, Zach’s brother, causes a “Holy War” meltdown with a visit to Utah

Posted by sultanIn Last Modified


Zach Wilson’s brother, Isaac, is an absolute baller. He is currently a sophomore junior in high school on a fast track to the next level.

As a two-star recruit, Zach had just five Power Five conference offers and ended up at BYU. Isaac, a four-star prospect, has already collected 13 scholarship offers as the 12th player at his position in the 2024 class.

Arizona, Louisville, Miami, Oklahoma State and Oregon are already committed to the youngest of the four Wilson brothers, who is receiving an insane amount of recruiting letters. As is BYU. Like Utah.

This is where things get interesting.

The Cougars and Utes are bitter rivals. The two campuses are separated by 45 miles. BYU is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and approximately 36% of Utah students identify as Latter-day Saints, more than half of whom were raised in the faith.

When two schools meet on the gridiron, it is called a “Holy War”. It’s one of the most passionate rivalries in college football.

Mike Wilson, the patriarch, played football at Utah.

“Big Mike” Wilson played offensive line at Utah. (Image provided. @wilsonohana:/Twitter)

Lisa Wilson, matriarch, met her husband while attending Utah State. Zach grew up wanting to play for the Utes and attended the Kyle Whittingham Football Camp in 2007.

(Photo courtesy of the Wilson family) BYU quarterback Zach Wilson with current Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham at a Utah camp in 2007.
Young Zach Wilson in Utah. (Image: Wilson Family)

But all three older Wilson brothers played at BYU. Zach played quarterback from 2018-2020, Josh is currently a sophomore and Micah is currently a freshman.

And what happened?

The Wilson family’s turn from red to blue is well documented. While the whole story goes much deeper than that, the gist is pretty simple.

Zach was committed to Boise State when BYU called and asked if he wanted to drive up for a visit. At first it was a hard no.

I said, no way, no way. Nope, no chance. We don’t go down there. That’s not an option. We wrote them off because they didn’t recruit Zach at all. They didn’t even send him a letter.

— Lisa Wilson, via The Salt Lake Tribune

However, after head coach Kalani Sitake explained why his program was previously disinterested in Zach, the Wilson family reluctantly agreed to visit. They were “treated like royalty” and pleasantly surprised by the school, its people and staff, Lisa said.

Meanwhile, Utah did not offer Zach a scholarship.

If offered, he would play “Utesum”. It was his dream.

But no, no offer. The rest is history.

Zach committed to BYU and went on to be drafted No. 2 overall by the Jets. Josh and Micah followed their older brother to Provo.

But where will Isaac Wilson end up?

BYU offered Isaac very early. The Cougars were among the first to do so.

Utah, on the other hand, took some time. Lisa even threw shade at the Utes for their lack of interest.

They finally proposed back in November.

Last weekend, Lisa went down to Salt Lake City with Isaac to visit. He posted a photo with his son and two Pac-12 championship trophies from the past two years.

Lisa and Isaac Wilson at the University of Utah. (Image: @lifeaccording2lisa/Instagram)

As expected, the visit caused an absolute stir among both fans. Meanwhile, there were BYU and Utah fans who were rational about the process, many were not.

Some Utes fans were outraged that their school would ever consider offering a traitor. The others were upset that they would be hanging out with Lisa, who used to “talk bad”… *checks notes* about her alma mater.

And that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the proverbial corridor, BYU fans had an equally vocal response.

Many of them used Utah fans as an for example why shouldn’t he go there? Few defended The Wilson family. Others were upset that the family would again consider “crossing over”.

One specific theory stands out.

Lisa told everyone to calm down, but no one did. The Utes and Cougars melted away.

Isaac may decide to sign in the Early Signing Period next December. He may decide to wait until National Signing Day in February 2024. Either way, if he puts pen to paper for Utah or BYU, or even commits to a program, the entire hive state will explode.



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