QB Lyons, No. 49 recruit, picks BYU over Ducks

BYU secured its highest-ranked backmost pledge since 2002 erstwhile four-star enlistee Ryder Lyons, No. 49 successful the 2026 ESPN 300, announced his committedness to the Cougars implicit Oregon connected ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show" connected Tuesday.

Lyons, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound imaginable from Folsom, California, is ESPN's No. 5 pouch passer successful the 2026 people and entered Tuesday arsenic the nation's top-ranked uncommitted quarterback. While Lyons volition motion arsenic portion of BYU's 2026 people aboriginal this year, helium intends to service an LDS ngo travel aft graduation adjacent twelvemonth and volition not formally articulation the Cougars until the outpouring of 2027.

Following a drawstring of unofficial visits this outpouring that included stops astatine Michigan, Ohio State and Ole Miss, Lyons trimmed his finalists to BYU, Oregon and USC successful May and scheduled authoritative visits with each programme for June.

Lyons aboriginal canceled his travel to USC, yet closing his recruitment with visits to the Ducks and Cougars connected consecutive weekends from June 13-22.

With BYU, Lyons lands arsenic a imaginable backmost of the aboriginal with the programme that offered him his precise archetypal assistance connection successful December 2021. He is the second-ranked of 3 ESPN 300 commits successful manager Kalani Sitake's 2026 class.

"They've poured a batch into maine and made maine consciousness precise needed," Lyons told ESPN. "The emotion they've shown -- not conscionable the coaching staff, but everyone determination -- they've shown maine conscionable however overmuch they privation maine much than immoderate different program."

Lyons, the 2024 California Gatorade Football Player of the Year, would besides get connected field successful 2027 arsenic BYU's highest-rated backmost signee since Ben Olson joined the programme successful the 2002 class.

A skilled improviser who tin widen plays with his feet, Lyons exploded successful his sophomore play astatine Folsom High School. He completed 67.9% of his throws for 3,578 yards with 38 passing touchdowns and 8 interceptions arsenic a first-year starter successful 2023, past followed with different 3,011 yards and 46 touchdowns done the aerial arsenic a inferior past fall. Lyons has besides proven unsafe connected the crushed successful the precocious schoolhouse ranks, combining for 1,514 rushing yards and 37 rushing scores crossed 2 seasons arsenic a starter.

The Cougars person importantly stepped up their NIL efforts crossed the diversion section successful the past year, sources told ESPN. In December, BYU's men's hoops programme secured the summation of No. 1 wide imaginable A.J. Dybantsa, a coveted, 6-foot-9 helping who reportedly commanded a precocious seven-figure NIL deal.

The Cougars' shot programme present has its latest cornerstone successful a perchance historical 2026 people that includes in-state choky extremity Brock Harris (No. 32), the program's highest-ranked pledge since astatine slightest 2006, and in-state antiaircraft tackle pledge Bott Mulitalo (No. 105), who flipped from Oregon.

With signatures from Harris, Mulitalo and Lyons aboriginal this year, the Cougars would person their first-ever recruiting people with astatine slightest 3 apical 300 prospects successful the ESPN recruiting epoch (since 2006).

For manager Dan Lanning and Oregon, Lyons' pledge to BYU marks the program's latest high-profile miss successful the 2026 cycle. The Ducks were finalists for five-star violative tackle Jackson Cantwell (Miami) and No. 1 wide backmost Jared Curtis (Georgia) past month. On June 19, Oregon mislaid retired to Texas A&M successful the recruitment of five-star jock Brandon Arrington (No. 14).

The Ducks are present expected to crook their attraction to three-star passer Matt Ponatoski, a two-sport prima who visited the programme this past weekend, sources told ESPN. Boise State decommit Bryson Beaver is different caller visitant connected Oregon's radar with Alabama, Auburn and LSU besides among those registering important involvement successful the late-rising three-star backmost from Murrieta, California.

Upon Lyons' pledge, lone 2 of the 18 quarterbacks wrong the 2026 ESPN 300 stay uncommitted. No. 1 dual-threat passer Landon Duckworth (No. 104) is expected to perpetrate successful the coming weeks pursuing authoritative visits to South Carolina and Auburn. Four-star backmost Oscar Rios (No. 192) is acceptable to take betwixt Arizona and UCLA connected Friday.