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.
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.”
The Oregon Ducks have been progressing through the class of 2027 with hopes of landing some of their top target’s commitment on both the offense and the defense.
With many names left on the board, the Ducks have started to receive some great news, including some news from someone they have been targeting since they offered back in January of 2025.
Darius Johnson Releases His Top Four Schools
One of the Ducks top targets’ in the 2027 class at the cornerback position is Darius Johnson. Johnson recently released his top schools with Hayes Fawcett, as he is entering a crucial part of his recruitment. The four schools he has listed at the top include the California Golden Bears, Michigan Wolverines, UCLA Bruins, and the Oregon Ducks.
Johnson is one of the better cornerbacks in the country. He currently ranks as the nation’s No. 178 prospect in the country, No. 20 player at the position, and the No. 14 player in the state of California, according to Rivals. Landing his commitment would be major for any of the schools, as he is someone who could see the field early due to his size, and his growing ability to lockdown a side of the field all by himself.
More About Darius Johnson
Johnson currently measures in at 6-1 and 155 pounds, and will be someone who continues to add weight through his high school program, and will eventually have the chance to really improve his frame when he gets to college. As of now, each of the four schools has a solid chance to win its recruiting battle, but there seems to be a clear leader at this moment.
The leader for the Ducks target seems to be the Michigan Wolverines, who have the only scheduled official visit at this moment. It seems likely that the talented prospect will schedule his other official visits sooner rather than later now that he has officially cut down his list. If the Ducks want to land his commitment, they will need to get him on an official visit because they are likely trailing at this point.
What If He Committed to Oregon Today?
If he were to commit to the Ducks today, he would be the ninth commitment for the Ducks in the class of 2027. He would also be the third cornerback commit for the Ducks in the class of 2027, which is a position they have been recruiting heavily. The cornerbacks the Ducks have at this moment are four-star Ai’King Hall from the state of Alabama and four-star Josiah Molden from the state of Oregon.
Some of their other commits at this moment include four-star EDGE Rashad Streets, four-star defensive linemen Zane Rowe, and four-star EDGE Cameron Pritchett. This class is shaping up to be another top-five class if the pieces continue to fall into place for Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff.
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