5-Star Recruit Ryder Lyons To Commit To BYU Over Oregon Ducks, USC?

On3's Steve Wiltfong reported that Lyons is in fact down to Oregon and BYU, and Wiltfong laid out the reasons why Lyons might be leaning towards either school:

"Lyons was in Eugene last weekend. No program has recruited him harder. He sees the track record of offense, the success the quarterback is having with the last two being Heisman Finalists and Bo Nix hitting the ground running in the NFL," wrote Wiltfong. "This past weekend he got around power players that help the athletes off the field."

"BYU aligns with Lyons faith. He’s had several family members attend school there. It’s a program coming off a good season. How high do the Cougars go from an NIL standpoint?" Wiltfong continued.

Oregon and BYU have battled for recruits in the past, but none have been as high-profile as Lyons. Four-star offensive lineman Bott Mulitalo decommitted from Oregon in March before committing to BYU in April.

Can Ducks coach Dan Lanning beat out BYU coach Kalani Sitake for Lyon's commitment on Tuesday?

According to 247Sports' rankings, Lyons is the top quarterback left uncommitted. 247Sports currently ranks Lyons as the No. 5 quarterback in the country and the No. 19 overall recruit. The five-star quarterback is from the northern part of California, making the distance from either BYU or Oregon to home somewhat negligible.

However, Sitake and the Cougars got the last visit from Lyons over the weekend before his announcement which is typically not a good sign in recruiting.

As Wiltfong mentioned, Lyons is a member of the Latter-day Saints faith, giving BYU an inherent advantage when recruiting Lyons because of the school's connection to the Church. Additionally, BYU has shown an increased commitment to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) in men's basketball by landing five-star recruit A.J. Dybantsa who's reported NIL deal is upwards of $8 million.

Lyons is expected to serve a one-year mission trip as part of his LDS faith after high school. He will not be on campus at whichever school he chooses until 2027, so the Ducks have pursued a number of the top quarterback prospects in the class of 2026.

Most recently, Lanning and his staff have shown increased interest in four-star quarterback Matt Ponatoski and three-star quarterback Bryson Beaver. Oregon was also a finalist for five-star quarterback Jared Curtis before he committed to Georgia, and the Ducks previously held a commitment from four-star quarterback Jonas Williams before he flipped to USC.

There are two strong reasons why the five-star quarterback may pick the Cougars over the Ducks: Lyon's faith and BYU receiving the last visit.