KSL.com’s PROVO A few months after adding the Bachmeier brothers from Stanford Tiger and Bear through the transfer portal, BYU football has added a lion to the mix.
Specifically, a Lyons, perhaps.
Ryder Lyons, a five-star quarterback, declared his commitment to the Cougars on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show Tuesday morning. According to 247Sports, Lyons chose BYU over offers from Oregon, USC, Ole Miss, and about 40 other schools.
The Folsom, California-born dual-threat signal caller is the third-highest ranked recruit to pledge to BYU, and the highest since 2003, according to 247Sports.
He is the 14th overall pick in the Cougars 2026 class, which also includes four-star Pine View tight end Brock Harris, four-star Lone Peak offensive lineman Bott Mulitalo, and former Washington commit Terrance Saryon.
Lyons won’t be on the BYU campus until at least the 2027 season, of course. Like many incoming freshmen in Provo, Harris, the No. 5 quarterback and 19th overall recruit in the country according to 247Sports’ composite ranking, intends to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Lyons (and Harris) would also be enrolled at the same time as McKay Madsen, the four-star 2025 running back signee and track and field star from Clovis, California, who is departing this summer for his own church mission, due to the notable return to the 2027 class.
However, Lyons, Harris, Mulitalo, and the other members of the Cougars’ 2026 class—which currently has 14 commitments and is ranked in the top 50 by 247Sports—mark an important turning point in BYU football history.
Lyons has the highest BYU pledge rating since offensive tackle Ofa Mohetau in 2003, with a 247Sports composite rating of 0.9901. Former UCLA quarterback Ben Olson committed the year before, and Lyons continues to be the program’s highest-rated commitment with a composite rating of 0.9980.
Success on the field isn’t always a direct result of recruiting hype. But taking a chance on talent is always a part of recruitment.
Lyons has a BYU history and a plenty of potential that is worth a try.
Last fall, the Folsom High standout was named the California Gatorade Player of the Year. He led Folsom to a 12-1 record and a trip to the CIF Division I-AA North Regional championship game by completing 68% of his passes for 3,011 yards and 46 touchdowns with just six interceptions and running for 585 yards and 14 scores.
Lyons, who moonlights as a punter, has run for 1,538 yards and 38 touchdowns and thrown for 6,589 yards and 84 touchdowns with 14 interceptions in his two seasons as a starter.
In addition, he played basketball. As a junior in 2024–25, he averaged 2.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game, helping Folsom reach the Nor-Cal Open division playoffs.
Tim, Lyon’s father, played strong safety for BYU in 1996 and 1997 while participating in four sports in high school. This did not make BYU an automatic choice for his recruiting; prior to finishing his freshman season last fall following a church mission to Norway, his older brother, Walker, was a four-star prospect and ranked as the nation’s second-best tight end by MaxPreps.
However, BYU remained close to the Lyons family; in 2021, the Cougars were one of the first to offer a scholarship to a young Ryder, who had an older sister who had just graduated from college and was now living in Utah County, and his father, Tim.
In a Gatorade statement, Casey Taylor, the head coach of Oak Ridge, California, whose team lost 35-7 to Lyons Folsom last autumn, said Ryder is a tremendous talent. His accomplishments and stats are self-evident. We are particularly struck by his escapability. Once you think you have him down, he passes the ball for big plays and scrambles and runs for big yards. When they need a huge play, they turn to him, and he typically delivers.
