SALT LAKE CITY\u00a0\u2013 All eyes on the recruiting trail are on five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons.<\/p>\n
BYU football is preparing to host the talented signal-caller from Folsom, California, this weekend. The visit comes one week after Lyons\u2019 official visit to the University of Oregon<\/a> and his comment to Rivals that \u201cIt\u2019s decision time\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Brandon Huffman shares his thoughts on Ryder Lyons<\/p>\n The five-star prospect that the 247Sports Composite rates as the fifth quarterback in the country and the No. 19 overall prospect. However, 247Sports National Recruiting Editor Brandon Huffman believes Lyons is the best in the 2026 cycle.<\/p>\n Huffman hopped on with \u201cDJ & PK\u201d on the KSL Sports Zone<\/a> on Tuesday to discuss the recruitment of Lyons.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve said for two years that I think he\u2019s the best quarterback in the country. I know he\u2019s a top-five quarterback nationally. He\u2019s the number one player in California. For my money, I will take him as the best quarterback in the country,\u201d Huffman said to the KSL Sports Zone.<\/p>\n Last season at Folsom High School, Ryder Lyons put up huge numbers, earning him the Gatorade Player of the Year in California.<\/p>\n The 6-foot-2.5, 215-pound prospect passed for 3,011 yards, 46 touchdowns, and only six interceptions. Lyons completed 68% of his 310 pass attempts.<\/p>\n The dual-threat quarterback also rushed for another 14 touchdowns and totaled 585 yards on 118 carries last season.<\/p>\n @ryderlyons<\/a> @Klein Design #ryderlyons<\/a> \u266c original sound \u2013 Ryder Lyons<\/a><\/p>\n Will he end up in Provo?<\/p>\n \u201cIt was down to BYU, USC, and Oregon,\u201d Huffman said. \u201cHis brother (Walker Lyons) is at USC, and then he was supposed to take a visit there two weeks ago and canceled it. There\u2019s talk that it may happen in the fall, because he\u2019s not enrolling until 2027, there\u2019s a little bit of flexibility. But I have maintained for a while that this was a BYU\/Oregon battle.<\/p>\n \u201cI have said more than anybody in the media, do not sleep and do not discount BYU\u2019s efforts with him. And now they get their shot. They get the last visit, and they\u2019ve got all the big guns visiting this weekend as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Along with Lyons, BYU is expected to host uncommitted prospects such as interior offensive lineman Jax Tanner<\/a>, edge rusher Prince Williams<\/a>, Olympus linebacker Adam Bywater, Orem\u2019s Lopeti Moala, and many BYU commits,\u00a0including\u00a0four-star tight end Brock Harris<\/a>, whom Lyons was with during his spring visit to BYU<\/a> in March.<\/p>\n Lyons, a star both on and off the field with his large social media following and aura, will have a tough decision to make.<\/p>\n BYU was the first program to offer Lyons in December 2021. Ever since, the Cougars have made him a top priority in their recruiting efforts for the 2026 cycle.<\/p>\n What would be the reasons for Ryder Lyons to pick BYU?<\/p>\n If Lyons does pick BYU, Huffman shared his thoughts on why the Cougars could be the landing spot for the blue-chip prospect.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there are a couple of reasons in play. He really likes Aaron Roderick. He really likes the direction that BYU is going,\u201d said Huffman, who has covered recruiting since 2003. \u201cI think he has seen that after the 2024 season, where they got their feet under themselves and the way that they competed, not just in the Big 12, but as a nationally-ranked team throughout the year.<\/p>\n \u201cKalani (Sitake) is a defensive guy, and that\u2019s always a concern when you\u2019re a quarterback. If I go play for a defensive guy, is his focus going to be on winning the game with defense, or is he going to open up the offense? And I think that this last year with Jake Retzlaff at quarterback, they showed a penchant to be exciting on offense. I think that really answered a lot of questions.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, having a guy like Zach Wilson go number two in the NFL draft a few years ago, having a number of quarterbacks in recent years get drafted and get the opportunity in the NFL, that helps. But it\u2019s also the direction of the program that it\u2019s trending up on a national scale.\u201d<\/p>\n BYU football is looking to make a national splash on the recruiting trail<\/p>\n Safe to say, it\u2019s a massive weekend for BYU football, hosting the five-star Ryder Lyons.<\/p>\n \u201cThis could end up being the single-most significant recruit Kalani Sitake has ever gotten in his 10 years at BYU,\u201d said Huffman. \u201cSo all eyes are on Provo, not just with BYU fans, but I would say college football fans in general are tracking this one.\u201d<\/p>\n Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE<\/a>) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12\u20133 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch\u2019s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X<\/a>: @Mitch_Harper.<\/p>\n Want more coverage of BYU sports? Take us with you wherever you go.<\/p>\n