“It sounds like he’s gonna make an announcement on Tuesday.”  5-star Ryder Lyons’ recruitment has evolved into a showcase of modern college football’s shifting landscape. Over the past few months, Lyons has visited six powerhouse programs—Michigan, Ohio State, Ole Miss, USC, Oregon, and BYU—each time emerging with a fresh perspective on how the pieces of his future fit together. These visits were not perfunctory; they involved multi-day immersions, intense tape sessions, campus events, and deep conversations. For instance, during an Oregon spring visit, Lyons’ family spent hours in meetings with Will Stein and O-line coach A’lique Terry, reviewing game film together—a level of engagement that stood out in his recruitment. But beyond the X’s and O’s, recruitment isn’t complete without examining off-field dynamics.

BYU has leveraged its LDS-aligned environment and NIL strategy to meaningful effect. Lyons, whose father Tim is a BYU alum and who maintains deep family ties to Provo, has already brought friends and teammates to BYU’s campus—all on official visits—while USC notably declined a similar gesture. Meanwhile, Oregon, backed by Nike’s financial muscle, has poured resources into culture and recruiting outreach; yet observers note Oregon has struggled to close high-profile QB targets in recent cycles (such as Jared Curtis)

Layered on top of this is Lyons’ commitment to serve an LDS mission, which reshapes timelines and priorities. With enrollment deferred to 2027, his decision hinges not just on playing time but on feeling aligned spiritually, socially, and developmentally. BYU, clearly built for such a journey, contrasts with traditional powers where early playing time or legacy ties might shape the pitch. As June 24 looms—his commitment date set—the weight of environment and identity becomes more visible, setting the stage for Brian Smith’s analysis, on The Portal, about where the QB could go.

“Ryder Lions is a guy that could go anywhere. I’ve been around him— his personality— he could fit into any crowd, and that’s why you look at his list and you’re like man, this is about as broad as it gets: Miss, Oregon, Michigan, BYU, Southern Cal. I don’t know if you can get any broader.” Smith highlighted how Lyon’s openness carved a recruiting path through diverse programs—from Big Ten giants to faith-based BYU—reinforcing that no single criterion dominated his process.

“If he wants to go play for Billy Napier—good luck. I mean that’s gonna be sitting behind a certain DJ Lagway way. But anyway, the point is still the same … he looked at his recruiting process different. He visited all over the country and he just picked schools based on comfort, I guess, because there isn’t one specific criteria …” Noting Lyons’ absence of a singular filter—whether scheme, conference, or status—Smith pointed to comfort as the final litmus test, overloading traditional recruiting models.

“And that’s why when I saw that he was announcing quickly, I’m like ‘Oh wow, I didn’t see that coming. He came off the OV from BYU—which by all accounts went very well—but he’s got a brother, it’s tight end at Southern Cal, he’s been to Oregon a bunch of times, he’s been to Old Miss multiple times, he’s been to Michigan etc. Man, I would not bet a nickel on any one direction. If I have to pick, I’ll just go BYU because it’s his last visit in the LDS thing—but that is a confidence level 1 to 10, on a 1.”

The Cougars’ surge just makes sense. Take it from Lyons’ Folsom coach Paul Doherty. “I think he’s genuinely committed to his faith, and I think that weighs a lot at BYU. BYU is in the Big 12, and you’ve got a chance to play maybe sooner rather than later,” was what Doherty pointed out. Despite Ducks making multiple attempts and OC Will Stein growing a “really, really good” relationship with Lyons, BYU is giving the young star what he truly needs: a tailor-made ecosystem for his specific journey.

Ducks might have the 4-year business opportunity, but the Cougars are playing directly into Lyons’ LDS faith. Further, when you start taking this discussion into the field, BYU’s argument becomes even stronger. Forget the Ducks’ offense, under former pass coordinator and current OC, Aaron Roderick, the Cougars have managed to turn into a legit “Quarterback U,” churning out players like Zach Wilson, Jaren Hall, and Kedon Slovis.

And on a side note, Kalani Sitake‘s squad has been winning recruitment battles against the Ducks for 4 years straight. Be it Kingsley Suamataia, Harrisson Taggart, or McKay Madsen, this has been a hot streak that Lanning just cannot break.

Despite the $89 billion luxury, the Oregon “Nike” Ducks might just lose this battle to the blue and white camp. But while Lanning is bracing for a potential gut punch from Provo, there’s another coach in Southern California who should be feeling even worse.

Lincoln Riley’s recruitment fumble

How does a program with a head coach billed as the ultimate “QB whisperer” and the recruit’s own brother on the roster somehow fail to even make the final two? That’s the million-dollar question echoing through Southern Cal. See, USC was the fan favorite. A solid record with Caleb Williams, plus the brother connection with Ryder’s older brother, TE Walker Lyons, on the squad, should have been an unbeatable pitch.

Being a program that dominates the Southern California recruiting landscape, letting a 5-star legacy prospect from their own backyard get away without a real fight is a major red flag. This flips GM Chad Bowden‘s commitment upside down and once again proves that maybe Riley’s offensive genius and the allure of Hollywood might not be the trump card they once were.

As Oregon and BYU invested time and built deep relationships, USC seemingly faded into the background, a passive observer in a street fight for a generational talent.