Folsom 5-star quarterback Ryder Lyons commits to BYU

Nation's highest-rated uncommitted player from California picks the Cougars over Oregon, USC

Folsom junior quarterback Ryder Lyons passes during Friday's season-opening victory over visiting Long Beach Poly. / Photo: Todd Shurtleff

The nation's previously highest-rated uncommitted high school football player has picked his college.

Ryder Lyons, a 5-star quarterback and California's No. 1 recruit overall from the Class of 2026, picked BYU over Oregon, USC and a host of other finalists, he announced Tuesday morning on ESPN.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior from Folsom hopes to follow in the footsteps of other great BYU quarterbacks such as Steve Young, Ty Detmer and Jim McMahon.

Lyons, a two-year starter, known for his ability to extend plays has completed 470 of 691 passes (68%) for 6,589 yards and 84 touchdowns, while also rushing for 1,537 yards and 38 more scores.

Ryder Lyons, the No. 5 ranked QB in the Class of 2026, has committed to BYU, he announced on the @PatMcAfeeShow 🌟 @SCNext pic.twitter.com/vWCDsDcZdg

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) June 24, 2025

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Lyons is the only 5-star recruit to commit to BYU and one of two quarterbacks, the other being Kaneal Sweetwyne, of Skyridge (Lehi, Utah). The Cougars have landed three top tight ends including four-star Brock Harris, of Pine View (St. George, Utah).

Lyons told Pat McAfee that ultimately loyalty was a big part of his decision, nothing that BYU was the first college to make him an offer. Ultimately, he couldn't refuse.

"They pulled the trigger on me first....they believe in me early," he said. "It's crazy how it all cames full circle."

Lyons is always working on things, said Sacramento Bee longtime scribe Joe Davidson, who has covered high school sports since in the Sac-Joaquin Section since the late 1980s. 

He calls Lyons currently the third best quarterback to ever come out of the wide Sacramento region of Northern California that includes more than 100 schools. 

The No. 1 QB, Davidson says, is another Folsom player, Cincinnati Bengals backup Jake Browning, who threw for state records of 16,775 yards and 229 touchdowns in just 46 games. He threw for 91 scores as a senior. 

The second-best was Del Oro’s Randy Fasani, who played a couple of NFL seasons (2002, 2003) after playing quarterback and tight end at Stanford. Fasani threw for 5,299 yards and 53 touchdowns during his prep career at Del Oro. 

“Lyons could emerge as the all-time best with a monstrous senior season,” Davidson said. 

Lyons plans on it. He told these talented documentary film makers that “I don’t just want to be the No. 1 quarterback in the country, I want to be the No. 1 player in the country.” 

BYU will get a one of one, beyond competitive and athletic — his dad Tim played strong safety at BYU and his older brother Walker, a 5-star tight end, will be a sophomore at USC next fall. His two sisters Kapri and Kassidy who are competitive athletes and younger brother Rock, who will enter Folsom next season is projected to stand 6-7 or 6-8 with perhaps the highest — literally — ceiling of all the Lyons. 

What sets Ryder above the rest might be his sheer passion and drive, which might show best in of all places, the basketball court, where he’s no high-scoring shot maker, but rather an all-hustle, energy guy adding constant spark for the region’s No. 3 team. 

In a column about the 5-star football,no-star hoopster, Davidson wrote: 

“Lyons is a banger in this sport, a bruiser, a grunt. If this was an adult league, he’d be the ringer with the sheepish grin. He uses his rock-solid, 6-foot-3, 225-pound frame to muscle up bigger players in the paint. He offers textbook chest passes, can handle the ball, can pass the ball, and can score on put-backs or a swooping layup across the lane. But scoring isn’t his thing. Hustle is. He dives on the floor for a loose ball, sneaks behind opponents to make steals, makes free throws and engages with the last players on the bench because he values all of his teammates.”

Lyons told Davidson: “I love competing, love basketball, love my teammates, my school, this community, and that’s why I play. It’s a different sport for sure. It’s good for me, too. It humbles me. In football, I have the ball and I play all the time and make plays. In basketball, I’m a role player. … “I’m nothing special. I’m just a high school kid.”

But with a football in his hand and the position he was born to play, said his dad, Lyons is sheer magic. If he makes it all the way to the NFL, he’ll never have been driven by cash or fame.

“I’m not chasing money,” he told film makers Nickinthecutt. “I’m chasing what I love to do. I love to play quarterback. That’s my passion. That’s what I enjoy doing. Any one who sees me knows that I love it. 

“I don’t just love the game part, I love watching game film. I love learning defenses. I love getting better and better.”

Like his brother, he’ll likely devote one year of missionary work after high school, then begin his mission to be the best player in college football.