Oregon Ducks Predicted to Land 5-Star Quarterback Ryder Lyons After Jared Curtis Commits To Georgia

The Oregon Ducks have received a prediction to land 2026 five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons over the USC Trojans. This comes on the heels of five-star quarterback Jared Curtis committing to the Georgia Bulldogs over Oregon after a long recruitment.

St. Bonaventure's Dylan Dunst tackles Folsom quarterback Ryder Lyons during the fourth quarter of the CIF-State Division 1-A state championship bowl at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023. St. Bonaventure lost 20-14. | JOE LUMAYA/SPECIAL TO THE STAR / USA TODAY NETWORK

After missing out on one of the top quarterbacks in 2026 recruiting class, the Oregon Ducks could soon be making up for it by landing a signal-caller that's arguably even better.

On3's Steve Wiltfong logged an expert prediction Monday for the Ducks to land a commitment from 2026 five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons, the No. 6 overall player in the class according to 247Sports' rankings.

Wiltfong's prediction comes right on the heels of five-star quarterback Jared Curtis committing to the Georgia Bulldogs over Oregon after a tight battle. While Duck fans were certainly disappointed, an eventual commitment from Lyons would make the Curtis saga easier to forget.

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts against the Texas A&M Aggies in the second half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans have been seen as the favorite for Lyons, a Folsom, CA (Sacramento) native. On3's Pete Nakos recently logged a prediction on April 23 for the Trojans to land the home state product, but it's possible that Curtis' decision played a part in momentum now swinging in Oregon's favor for Lyons.

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Lyons' brother, Walker, is currently a tight end at USC. He had six catches for 36 yards as a freshman during the 2024 season.

“Coach Riley: three first picks in the NFL Draft, three Heisman winners, it’s very familiar, my brother goes there, they’ve been recruiting me for a while, so I don’t think there’s any quarterback coach in the country, to be honest," Lyons said, per On3. "Coach Riley knows what he’s doing.”

Lyons visited Oregon in April, sharing on social media that he was in Eugene. He still has an official visit set with the Ducks on June 13. He will be taking his official visit to USC a week prior on June 6.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning speaks during a press availability Thursday, March 13, 2025, at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in Eugene, Ore. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“Coach Stein, coach Lanning, how they’re doing as a program, they’re just building and building," Lyons said in an interview with On3. "Me and coach Stein have a great relationship, probably the best out of any other coaches."

"How they’re recruiting, a lot of people like to say it’s all Phil Knight money, but they don’t really understand how good they recruit … their culture is probably one of the best I’ve seen. How they play as a team, how they interact with each other."

The BYU Cougars are also set to host Lyons for an official visit on June 19. He already made two previous unofficial visits to Provo, as the Cougars have put an emphasis on building a relationship with him. But that could mean little if Lyons' mind is indeed already made up on choosing Oregon.

As for Oregon's current quarterback room, fans are hopeful that Dante Moore can reach the Heisman conversation in 2025. Austin Novosad provides intrigue behind him as a backup but it's clear the Ducks head into the season with some less-proven quarterbacks than they've been accustomed to over the last few years.