It’s off season, but so what? There is no dull moment in college football. Thanks to the recruits who are stirring the pot, keeping the fans on their toes with their official visits. Right now, all eyes are on the top uncommitted quarterback of the 2026 class, Ryder Lyons. Remember what quarterback coach Danny Hernandez said about the young chap? “You look at him, and he could easily be a future Heisman winner.” Lyons has been Sherrone Moore’s hot target, who wanted to hunt him down as the backup of his No.1 quarterback recruit, Bryce Underwood. However, no matter how Moore tried, he had missed the Lyons train, which once carried 40 offers. Right now, the 5-star has come down to three teams….

We all knew about Moore’s Underwood chase. So, it’s obvious that the head coach wanted to be extra-cautious about protecting his quarterback. That’s when Josh Newberg dropped a bomb. “We have another uncommitted one, Ryder Lyons from Folsom, California. 6’2″ 205 now he’s uncommitted but I think probably USC’s early favorite.” But it turned out that it isn’t just USC; Lyons hopped on a whirlwind tour. Lyons made stops at multiple locations, including USC, Ole Miss, BYU, Ohio State, Michigan, and Oregon, before returning to USC in April. While the college football fans might be losing their sleep to find our Lyons’ next home, here comes a big update. The 5-star cooked up some more suspense.

On May 20, he dropped a major intel: “I think I could decide before the visits, to be honest. But I do know, it will be before the season. So, I’m saying July, but it could happen tomorrow too. I’m not going to say for sure.” The focus is on some important dates. Lyons will be on an official visit spree. USC Trojans on June 6, Oregon Ducks on June 13, and BYU Cougars on June 20. No brownie points for guessing which coach has that extra advantage. That’s none other than the head coach with the ‘quarterback whisperer’ tag, the Trojans’ Lincoln Riley. Plus, under Riley’s tutelage, the college football stars have hit massive milestones in their career.   

“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,” Lyons said in an interview with Steve Wiltfong. Going by the history of college football, the Trojans’ head coach became the first college football head coach to produce three No. 1 overall picks in the common draft era after his former quarterbacks Caleb Williams (2024), Baker Mayfield (2018), and Kyler Murray (2019) were all drafted first overall. So, while Lyons is yet to get a break in college, his eyes are already in the pro league. And what about Oregon?

Well, Dan Lanning’s chase was going on turbo mode, but it recently had hit the brakes. Why so? That’s because the BYU Cougars are coming off as the dark horse in the Lyons’ race. 

Why should Dan Lanning be scared of Kalani Sitake in the Ryder Lyons race?

Already, things are a bit sensitive in Lanning’s squad. After all, the Ducks are yet to get over the trauma of losing Jared Curtis to Georgia. Initially, they thought landing Lyons would make it easier for them to bear the loss. Lyons visited Oregon in April, sharing on social media that he was in Eugene. And it did leave a mark on his heart. He said in an interview, “Coach Stein, coach Lanning, how they’re doing as a program, they’re just building and building. 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.” However, Lanning’s Ducks are going to be unlucky in the Lyons race, who is already catching the Johnny Manziel vibes.

Analyst Hudson Standish dropped a reality check, the Ducks fans might not have wanted. “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.” Now, what might lead Lyons to strike off Oregon and USC from his dream team list and count on Kalani Sitake’s squad?

First things first, Sitake’s leadership. After all, taking the reins from Bronco Mendenhall, Sitake gifted a major glow-up to BYU, who finished the season with an 11-2 record. Ryder Lyons has a strong pedigree, and if he comes to BYU, he could continue to develop on the field and become a great quarterback. Now, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear BYU? Names like Robbie Bosco, Jim McMahon, and Steve Young. The team is every quarterback’s dream. Mix BYU’s aggressive pass attack with Lyons’ legs, and the opponents won’t know what is coming next. Which sideline will Lyons call home next?