Mark your calendars, as a major recruiting chess piece is about to move, and it starts under center. Ryder Lyons, the five-star recruit, is about to announce his commitment tomorrow (24th June). He has over 30+ offers from national heavyweights. But after months of visits and evaluation, Lyons narrowed down his list to five schools. And amongst them, Oregon and BYU are leading the board.
Oregon made a strong impression on Lyons, and his meeting with Dan Lanning seemed like his interests aligned with the program. After the visit, he said, “They’ve been recruiting me the hardest probably, the whole time … 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.”
Oregon brings the financial muscle, and that edge usually helps close the deal. But eventually, the buzz around Lyons’ recruitment turned into suspense. Lyons is leaning in another direction. And maybe Nike money won’t be able to outweigh this pull.
On Locked on Ducks Podcast, Spencer McLaughlin shared his insights on the Lyons situation. “I’ve gotten a handful of messages, and plenty of you don’t feel quite as good about where Oregon sits with Ryder Lyons because his last official visit was with BYU. It is not to me as big if Oregon even misses on Ryder Lions and he goes to BYU, it’s not as big of a miss as Jackson Canwell or Jared Curtis or frankly Brandon Arrington. The LDS connection is incredibly strong. That’s a difficult thing to overcome,” said the host. The pull is very specific and powerful – the LDS connection.
The five-star QB had already stated that he will serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). This means that Ryder will be available for recruitment in 2026, but will play from 2027. A situation BYU is positioned to support. As the program is operated by the LDS church, his faith and athletic dreams align seamlessly in Provo.
Lyons brings a composite grade of 0.9901 out of 1.000, which positions him as the third-highest ranked commit in BYU program history. Fans also speculate that BYU will give him better visibility, unlike in Oregon, where he’ll be one star among many. This can tip the scales. If Ryder Lyons commits to BYU, it’ll sting in Eugene, but at this point, the Ducks are no stranger to high-profile heartbreaks.
Oregon suffered a triple loss in recent recruiting trail
This season, the triple loss showed up when they missed out on Jared Curtis, Jackson Cantwell, as they flipped their commitment at the last moment. Curtis, a top quarterback, in his junior year, led his team to a state championship and was the Offensive Player of the Year. He threw for 2,830 yards and 40 touchdowns with only three interceptions. Losing him to Georgia was quite a setback for Oregon. Meanwhile, Cantwell went to Miami.
If we look at the Ducks’ history,
It has become a pattern now. The Ducks make it into the final two or three, but then fail to close the deal. there are multiple occasions where they have failed to close the deal, or the players have recommitted at the last moment. Just a couple of years ago, Dante Moore, a five-star QB, decommitted from Oregon and went ahead with UCLA. Then there was Michael Van Buren, another touted QB who chose Maryland ahead of the Ducks. Another example would be CJ Carr, who gave ample hope to Oregon before committing to Notre Dame.
But Losing Ryder would be heartbreaking for Oregon, but it wouldn’t cripple the class. Oregon still has some of the best recruits, like Bryson Beaver, Jet Washington, the five-star safety, and Messiah Hampton. As we can see, the Ducks are truly on a roll with a five-star squad. Meanwhile, Jett Washington chose Oregon over Alabama and USC. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound standout from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas is an incredible addition to the program. With several five-star ratings, Oregon is not far from a championship game, are they?
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