All Eyes on Top BYU Target Ryder Lyons as 'Decision Time' Nears

Ryder Lyons is undoubtedly the top target on BYU's recruiting board. The five-star quarterback would put BYU's quarterback room in an excellent position in the future, and on top of that, his commitment could sway a few others to BYU. Lyons is as elite as it gets. Should he choose BYU, he would be the highest-rated player to sign with BYU since five-star quarterback Ben Olson signed with the Cougars in 2002.

Lyons is reportedly nearing a college decision. He told Rivals "it's decision time" in a recent social media post.

Who will it be👀

Oregon, BYU, USC, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Michigan and several others in the mix for five-star Ryder Lyons pic.twitter.com/CAn2qDoSao
— Rivals (@Rivals) June 12, 2025

BYU is one of the finalists in Lyons' recruitment. Ole Miss, Michigan, and Ohio State have been trying to get him on campus for an official visit. As of a few weeks ago, he had plans to take official visits only to USC, Oregon, and BYU in that order. While he didn't officially announce a top three, his official visit schedule suggested a three-way race between BYU, Oregon, and USC.

Then, Lyons cancelled his official visit to USC and ended up in Provo on the same weekend. Lyons took a few pictures with kids at BYU's Summer camp that later surfaced on social media. On the same weekend, Lyons' older sister posted a TikTok with Ryder, hinting at a potential decision.

The text on the video said, "Where is your brother committing to for football?" The sound of the video said, "I know something you don't, I know something you will never know."

For obvious reasons, the video sparked rumors about Lyons and BYU. The timing of Lyons' surprise BYU visit was perhaps the most notable of all. That weekend, a federal judge approved the house settlement that implemented restrictions on NIL deals. Players were incentivized to sign NIL deals quickly that weekend to take advantage of pre-settlement rules.

Still, nothing was announced and Oregon was still firmly in contention to land the coveted quarterback. Lyons was scheduled to take his official visit to Oregon the following week. That was a week ago. As of this writing, Lyons is scheduled to take his Oregon official visit starting today (Friday).

However, there was a notable development up in Eugene over the last week. Oregon extended a scholarship offer to another 2026 quarterback. The Ducks offered Boise State commit Bryson Beaver. Now, why would they do that (cue the Brian Windhorst meme) just days before Lyons was scheduled to take his official visit? Lyons has been the top target for the Ducks ever since they missed out on five-star Jared Curtis. Oregon is now pushing to get Beaver on campus for an official visit and Beaver backed off his Boise State commitment.

Sure, the Oregon staff might want to take multiple quarterbacks in this class. Sure, Lyons is scheduled to return home for the 2027 season, so Oregon might want to bring in a quarterback in 2026. All of those things are possible. But you could also conclude that Oregon felt like they needed to start working on a backup plan if they missed out on Lyons.

We're not reporting anything. Rather, we're connecting the dots of the last few weeks.

BYU has been recruiting Ryder Lyons for years. In fact, the Cougars were the first school to offer him a scholarship back in December of 2021. The years of recruiting are coming to an end soon, and BYU is in a good position. Things can change quickly and Oregon will certainly push as hard as they can. BYU will have the final say next weekend.

All eyes are on Ryder Lyons as he nears his college decision. Lyons will headline a star-studded group of official visitors in Provo next week.

I am beyond humbled and truly blessed to have received my first offer from BYU!!! The work continues! #GoCougs 🤙🏽🔵 pic.twitter.com/i5BTehdfUC
— Ryder Lyons (@ryderly0ns) December 3, 2021