Who said the off-season is boring? Stepping into the month of June, one can literally feel the heat. While Sherrone Moore and the Michigan Wolverines are going to host 14 hot recruits this weekend (June 13-15), the Oregon Ducks are not that far behind. After all, Dan Lanning’s program needs to buckle up as far as the 2026 recruiting class is concerned. While programs like the USC Trojans and Georgia Bulldogs have already set the foundation, Lanning is still gathering the bricks.

As per On3’s 2026 Industry Ranking football Team Recruiting Rankings, Oregon stands at No. 8 with only 8 recruits. One 5-star, five 4-stars, and two 3-stars. Now, this was not expected from a program coached by Lanning, aka The Recruitment King. When Lanning arrived at Oregon in 2021, 247Sports had him ranked as the No. 8 recruiter in the nation. From 2022-2024, he steadily improved the Ducks’ squad from a No. 13 recruit class to a No. 3 recruit class. The day has arrived for them to win back their charm on the recruiting trail. The main attraction for the weekend? Has to be the 5-star quarterback, Ryder Lyons. 

On June 14, the IG page of Oregon Updates posted, “Oregon is set to host another ELITE official visit weekend 🦆.” This was followed up with a long visitors’ list. 5-Star QB Ryder Lyons, 5-Star EDGE Anthony Jones. Then comes a bunch of 4-stars, 4-Star DB Davon Benjamin, 4-Star OT Kelvin Obot, 4-Star safety Devin Jackson, 4-Star DL Deuce Geralds, 4-Star OL Tommy Tofi (Cal Commit). Followed by 3-Star OL Dominic Harris (UW Commit), 3-Star LB Beau Jandreau. Benjamin has been to Oregon several times already on unofficial visits over the years. However, he will be going on this trip with several of his family members, including his own high school defensive backs coach, this weekend. On the other hand, despite being just 6’2″ and 265 pounds, Geralds has been a dominant presence for Collins Hill. 

Carrying a resume of 114 total tackles, 30 tackles for loss, and 13 sacks, the Ducks would be lucky to add him to their roster. Amidst all these recruits, Lanning is expected to go full throttle in his recruiting drive to land the 5 star quarterback Lyons. Why though? Do you remember what quarterback coach Danny Hernandez said about the young chap?

“You look at him, and he could easily be a future Heisman winner.” He once had 40 offers, and most of them landed on the scrap list, including Michigan, which wanted to land Lyons as Bryce Underwood’s backup. While Moore was out of the race, Lanning could let out a sigh of relief. After all, we have seen his efforts to snag Underwood. That’s when the USC Trojans entered the chat. Lyons sang highly of Lincoln Riley, aka “the quarterback whisperer.” The quarterback prospect shared, “Coach Riley, three first picks in the NFL Draft, three Heisman (Trophy winners), it’s very familiar, my brother goes there, they’ve been recruiting me for a while, so I don’t think there’s any quarterback coach in the country, to be honest.” However, Lanning did not give up hope and came up with a contingency plan.  

Oregon’s deep dive for Ryder Lyons

Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein, along with a few other assistant coaches, landed in Lyons’ home in North Carolina. Lyons later shared, “They were there for a while, almost three, four hours. We watched a bunch of tape. We watched basically every single game I’ve played. Went through it all with the offensive line coach (A’lique Terry), coach Stein, and coach (Drew) Mehringer. It was great also. Just enjoy being around them.” Now, head coaches visiting recruits’ homes is a common sight. Yes, the family being involved is one factor that might have melted Lyons’ heart. But there is one more.

As 5-star Lyons added, “Also, Oregon is a school that consistently puts QBs into the NFL. So it shows how the coaches are able to develop their QBs at a very high level.” Time to take the Ducks’ history book out. Since 2023, Oregon has led the FBS in scoring (39.5 PPG) and ranked second in yards per play (7.1). Stein transformed Bo Nix into a gem who went off as the first-round pick, followed by the Day 2 selection, Lanning’s former Oregon quarterback, Dillon Gabriel. Now that they are yet to seal the deal, they might not take one of their competitors lightly, who comes off as the underdog.

That’s none other than Kalani Sitake’s BYU Cougars. As Hudson Standish had already raised an alarm. “I think Ole Miss and Ohio State are two others badly trying to get in this one. But I really do believe—and I know Brandon Huffman was all over this from day one—keep an eye on the BYU Cougars.” Ryder Lyons has a strong pedigree, and if he goes to BYU, he could continue to develop on the field and become a great quarterback. Already, Sitake gifted the Broncos with a huge glow-up. Under his leadership, BYU finished 11-2 last season. Mix BYU’s aggressive pass attack with Lyons’ legs, and the opponents won’t know what is coming next.

So, the finish line is in sight, but not a given—Lanning needs to close strong on Lyons.