Oregon
5-Star Quarterback Recruit Ryder Lyons Analyzes Oregon Ducks, USC Trojans, BYU Differences
Five-star quarterback recruit Ryder Lyons ranks as the nation’s No. 10 overall prospect and No. 4 quarterback in the 2026 cycle. Lyons’ commitment will have seismic waves in the recruiting class rankings and likely influence other top uncommitted prospects.
The Oregon Ducks and coach Dan Lanning have been vigorously recruiting Lyons to Eugene.
The quarterback from Folsom, California recently detailed the differences between his top three schools: the Oregon Ducks, USC Trojans and BYU Cougars, in a conversation with On3’s Steve Wiltfong. Lyons’ relationship with Oregon coaches Lanning and Will Stein stood out and he addressed Phil Knight’s name, image, likeness (NIL) money.
“Coach Stein, coach Lanning, how they’re doing as a program, they’re just building and building,” Lyons told On3. “Me and coach Stein have a great relationship, probably the best out of any other coaches. They’ve been recruiting me the hardest probably, the whole time.”
The reigning Big Ten champion Ducks certainly are building. Currently, Oregon’s 2026 recruiting class ranks No. 2 in the nation. Oregon does not have a quarterback committed in the 2026 recruiting class.
“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,” Lyons continued. “Their culture is probably one of the best I’ve seen. How they play as a team, how they interact with each other.”
Lanning and Stein are building great reputations for their culture and they both have track records of excellent stability and quarterback development. Plus bothOregon coaches just signed contract extensions, to further cement their stability as recruits look to commit to Oregon.
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The USC Trojans and coach Lincoln Riley had been slated as the favorite to land Lyons, before the big Oregon push. Ryder’s brother, Walker Lyons, is a freshman at USC and he discussed the pull to the Trojans with On3.
“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 told On3. “Coach Riley knows what he’s doing.”
Since USC hired general manager Chad Bowden, the priority had been keeping the best California recruits in California with USC. The Trojans have arguably had the hottest start for the 2026 cycle. They hold 15 commitments, including 10 blue-chip prospects, four or five-star recruits and boast the top-ranked recruiting class.
“We’re going to do everything through the city,” Bowden said. “We’re going to do everything through the state. That’s going to be our primary focus.”
Securing Lyons’ commitment would be a huge statement for USC. The Trojans recently flipped class of 2026 quarterback Jonas Williams from Oregon.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound quarterback also has his eye on BYU, to round out his top-three schools. Lyons has family ties to the Cougars as well.
“Also very familiar, my family went there, my sisters went there, obviously a big part of my faith,” Lyons told On3. “Coach (Aaron) Roderick, coach (Kalani) Sitake, amazing people to talk to, great relationships with them. Great coaches, BYU had a huge year, 11 wins. A very good success rate with quarterbacks.”
Lyons commitment is expected this summer after spring visits to Oregon, USC, Ole Miss, Ohio State, BYU and Michigan. Lyons intends to take an LDS mission and would enroll in the spring of 2027.
The Oregon Ducks are set for one of the biggest timelines of their recruiting cycle, as many top targets are nearing commitments. This time around, the Ducks have a ton of top targets still remaining on their board compared to past seasons, as the Ducks have eight total commitments at this time.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff still need to land a safety commitment, but three-star safety Elijah Butler out of Maryland recently included the Ducks in his final six schools.
Oregon Target Elijah Butler Makes Exciting Recruiting Announcement
Butler announced his top six schools ahead of a crucial part of his recruitment, according to a graphic by Leyton Roberts. The Ducks made the cut alongside the Maryland Terrapins, Virginia Tech Hokies, Auburn Tigers, Florida Gators, and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The talented prospect would be a great addition for any of these teams, as they could all use a safety prospect at this point in the recruiting timeline.
Butler is from the state of Maryland, which makes the Terrapins one to watch.
It is also worth noting that he has been labeled as one of the best players in the state of Maryland, as he currently ranks as the state’s No. 9 prospect, according to Rivals. This is important as the Terrapins have always made solid attempts to land their in-state stars, including last season when they landed one of the better players in the state’s history, Zion Elee.
As of now, the prospect hasn’t been predicted to land with any of these schools, which means it is likely still a tight race entering the official visit schedule. He has yet to schedule an official visit with all of the schools he has listed in his top six, as he is still missing three key official visits. Butler has scheduled official visits with Alabama, Auburn, and Florida, according to 247Sports. This means he still needs to set one with Oregon, Virginia Tech, and Maryland if he wants to take one to each school.
If the Ducks are able to get Butler on a visit, then they would likely be in a more favorable position to land his commitment, as it currently. seems they are one of the trailing teams from this list. It seems highly unlikely that the Ducks will gain his commitment unless they get him on an official visit, which is still possible at this point, as plenty of top prospects across the nation are still scheduling their official visits.
As of now, the Ducks have 27 prospects set to take an official visit, according to 247Sports. Among all of the prospects who have scheduled a visit thus far, only one of the players is listed as a safety. That player is a three-star target, Junior Tu’upo. This leads one to believe that the Ducks could try to get Butler on a visit, or at a minimum, pitch their program to the prospect from St Frances Academy.
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BLUE RIVER, Ore. (KATU) — The founder of a former disaster relief nonprofit is being sued for allegedly diverting nearly $837,000 in donations and grants for personal gain.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed the lawsuit Thursday against the founder and executive director of Cascade Relief Team (CRT), Marcus Brooks. In the complaint, Rayfield calls CRT “a sham.”
Brooks is accused of stealing donations and government grants meant for disaster relief following wildfires and flooding in 2020, and using it for personal expenses including casino visits, travel, vehicles, and more.
CRT was founded in 2020 and was hired for cleanup and relief services following the Labor Day Wildfires that burned over 1 million acres across Oregon.
In Blue River, an unincorporated community in the McKenzie River Valley, the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire destroyed nearly 800 homes and burned more than 173,000 acres.
I am angry that my community was taken advantage of
Just months after the fire, long-time Blue River resident Melanie Stanley said CRT stepped in and promised help to the community.
“For us, it was…like a savior at that point,” Stanley said.
Stanley was the manager for the Blue River Resource Center and worked for Brooks to help facilitate recovery efforts. She said CRT operations slowly became questionable.
“None of us knew the level at which all of this stuff that finally came out was at,” Stanley said. “We knew that there was some stuff that had started to look hinky or feel hinky, or there was just some lack of communication that was happening. There were some other things that were happening, and so we just all were kind of guarded.”
In fall of 2023 the nonprofit was reported to have run out of money, and Brooks allegedly fired staff without disclosing the organization’s financial conditions and did not notify donors or beneficiaries. Stanley was one of those people fired.
The state now claims the funds that were meant to go towards communities like Blue River, never made it out of Brooks’ hands, including donations given by Blue River neighbors.
“I am angry that my community was taken advantage of, and I am angry that they now have to worry about trusting when something else happens, because we know something else is going to happen,” Stanley said. “We hope to God it’s never anything as big or as bad as what has happened, but you know, we also have learned that groups like Locals Helping Locals…they are our foundation, and they are because they’re us.”
The state is seeking to recover the money, permanently bar Brooks from serving in a leadership role at a charitable organization and dissolve the nonprofit.
Stanley said Brooks’ actions have tainted reputations.
“We as a community and as the people from the community who helped kind of put all of these things together, we did what was asked of us,” Stanley said. “We did help clean things, and we did help get things to provide, you know, more progress and get things moving forward, and we did good work, and so I just really hope that this is not overshadowed.”
According to Stanley, Blue River’s recovery now stands at 50%.
“We will be very picky from here on out about who and what groups gets let in to help with anything,” Stanley said. “And sadly, it may be to our detriment, but he did more damage now, as far as reputations go, and for that I’m angry. I’m very angry.”
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