Five-Star QB Ryder Lyons Commits To BYU Football
Jun 24, 2025, 10:08 AM | Updated: 12:13 pm
PROVO, Utah – Ryder Lyons is a BYU Cougar.
After a recruitment that spanned a handful of years, the five-star quarterback officially announced his commitment to BYU on Tuesday on the Pat McAfee Show.
Ryder Lyons commits to BYU football
BYU Football lands five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons.
BOOM. pic.twitter.com/MReY8dZSnm
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) June 24, 2025
Lyons picked BYU over Oregon, the only other program besides BYU that he took an official visit to see. BYU also beat out USC, Ole Miss, Ohio State, Michigan, and more than two dozen other programs that offered Lyons throughout his recruitment.
The Folsom, California native is the highest-rated recruit BYU has received a commitment from in the Kalani Sitake era (since 2016). Lyons is the highest-ranked recruit BYU has landed since interior offensive lineman Ofa Mohetau signed with the Cougars in 2003. That was 23 recruiting cycles ago.
Safe to say, BYU hasn’t resided in the blue-chip recruit space in a long time.
Landing a pledge from Lyons gives BYU one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2026 recruiting cycle.
The 6-foot-2.5, 215-pound prospect is currently ranked as the 19th overall prospect in the country by the 247Sports Composite rankings. 247Sports’ own rankings tab Lyons as the No. 1 recruit in California and the fourth quarterback overall for the 2026 class.
Last week, BYU got the last pitch to Lyons before he decided to commit on Tuesday. He took an official visit to Provo that included a luau dinner on the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
College coaches are not allowed to comment on recruits to speak on recruits until they sign. However, BYU football head coach Kalani Sitake spoke in general about the message he shared with recruits who visited Provo over the past month.
“In the past, it was always what we didn’t have and what we couldn’t provide. Those were the things that a lot of recruits hung on in terms of, ‘why not BYU?’ Those aren’t there anymore,” Sitake said to reporters on Monday at the BYU Golf Media Day Classic.
“So it’s us letting [recruits] know, we’re not Independent anymore, we’re in the Big 12, we have resources, we have commitment from our administration to invest and buy into our sports teams. Not just our football and basketball teams, but all of them. So you see the momentum that’s being created and the energy behind it.”
The momentum for BYU athletics is only growing with Ryder Lyons now on board as a committed prospect.
Lyons is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Throughout his recruitment, he has told reporters that he intends to serve a mission for the Church after he graduates from high school this December.
During a day-in-the-life vlog titled “Ryder Lyons: ‘Focus,'” he had a sheet of paper that included his goals. Among them were to pray and read his scriptures.
Lyons has a massive social media following. The TikTok star has over 231,700 followers on the quick video platform and another 132,000 followers on Instagram.
Since taking over as the starting quarterback at Folsom High as a sophomore, Lyons has passed for 6,589 yards and 84 touchdowns. He’s completed 68% and averaged 227.2 yards per game through the air.
The dual-threat prospect is a top-shelf talent on the ground as well. Through two seasons at Folsom, Lyons has rushed for 1,514 yards and 37 touchdowns over the past two years.
BYU has prioritized Lyons as the top prospect in their 2026 class since he received an offer from Kalani Sitake’s staff in 2021. The Cougars were the first school to offer Lyons.
During the recruiting process, Lyons has formed a strong relationship with BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick, who is entering his seventh year as BYU’s playcaller.
Lyons has connections to BYU. His father, Tim Lyons, is a former defensive back from Diablo Valley Junior College, who was part of the 1996 team. Lyons’ sisters Kassidy Lyons Paxton and Kapri Lyons are both graduates of BYU.
On the field, Ryder Lyons is a quarterback with elite arm strength and fits the DNA of what Sitake and Roderick want in their quarterbacks. A signal-caller who can stretch the field through the air, make plays with his feet, is a competitor, and is accurate on his passes.
BYU joins Houston as the only two Big 12 programs with commitments from five-star prospects in the 2026 cycle.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
