How Ryder Lyons’ commitment to BYU began with changes after 2022 season

BYU’s ability to pitch five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons began five years ago, when it offered him a scholarship while he was in the eighth grade, but it took a serious turn three years ago.

If BYU had taken the same approach it did with his brother, four-star tight end Walker Lyons, who signed with Stanford and is now at USC, the Folsom High quarterback and national star of the class of 2026 would be heading to Oregon.

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Three years ago, BYU was trudging along recruiting with a less-than-glamorous pitch while up against Stanford and USC for Walker Lyons, ESPN’s No. 3 tight end in the class of 2022.

Those two Pac-12 programs were so skilled at building relationships and selling what they had that it was hard for an independent like BYU to gain traction, even though his parents, Tim and Kamee, are BYU alums.

Stanford coach David Shaw skillfully introduced Walker to aspects of his program that were tailored exactly to his body type and skills, and clearly painted a picture of what Stanford would make him in the years to come. It was impressive, elite.

Once upon a time, NFL Hall of Famer Steve Young lived in the barn of Academy Award-winning filmmaker Kieth Merrill in the Bay Area when he led the 49ers to a Super Bowl victory. Merrill is the father of Kamee, Ryder’s mother.

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In 2022, I’m told Young asked Kamee where Walker was going. She told him either Stanford or USC. Young asked why not BYU?

“Have you got a pen and paper?” Kamee reportedly answered.

Nov. 26, 2022, in Stanford Stadium, BYU defeated Stanford 35-26. On the sidelines, TV cameras captured Young talking to BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe. Friends say part of the discussion was how Stanford’s and USC’s recruiting methods and their support programs compared to BYU’s.

BYU’s shortcomings when recruiting Walker were discussed by Holmoe and BYU head coach Kalani Sitake in the weeks and months that followed. Both decided to make it a priority to close the gap between those Pac-12 schools and BYU as it entered the Big 12.

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It was time to pull themselves up by the bootstraps and take a giant step forward. All aspects of the football program were examined, upgraded and resources were put into play.

The result is what is transpiring today with BYU’s recruiting, which is ranked No. 31 nationally by 247Sports after Tuesday’s commitment of Ryder Lyons, who national recruiting editor Brandon Huffman said was the No. 1 quarterback in the class of 2026.

At BYU’s football media golf tournament at Cedar Ridge last week, Sitake told KSL sports reporter Sean Walker the following: “In the past, it was always about what we didn’t have and what we couldn’t provide,” Sitake said. “Those were things a lot of recruits hung on to not come to BYU. Those aren’t there anymore.

“We’re letting them know, we’re not independent anymore; we’re in the Big 12. We have resources, we have commitment from our administration to invest and to buy into our sports teams — all of them, not just football and basketball — and you see the momentum being created and energy behind it.”

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BYU’s effort in recruiting Ryder, I’m told, was night and day to what Walker experienced in 2022.

On Tuesday morning, after Ryder made his announcement on ESPN’s “Pat McAfee Show,” Young and Kamee were on the phone with each other. “We did it. We did it,” was the reported exchange.

The family had seen chatter online and on social media that Ryder had decided to go to Oregon or BYU.

“The truth is that until 3 a.m. Tuesday morning he had never once said he was going to Oregon, BYU or USC,” said a person with knowledge of the recruiting process.

For a long time, most of a year, USC appeared the front-runner. There was a slight lean toward the Trojans until March. Going to BYU became a possibility in the spring, when Cougars staff members visited, called and responded to family inquiries and questions about the program. BYU was never the front-runner until Ryder finished praying at 3 a.m. Tuesday morning, according to a friend.

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That night, he had traded texts with Oregon coaches until 2 a.m. His relationship with Ducks head coach Dan Lanning and offensive coordinator Will Stein was long, genuine and meaningful.

“They really cared about Ryder and before his visit to BYU last weekend, he was leaning to sealing the deal with Oregon,” said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.

“Anyone who is saying he was trending BYU’s way the week before the announcement is fabricating a narrative,” the source said. “BYU’s improvement in things like strength and conditioning, nutrition, mental health as well as getting in the ballpark with NIL put them in the range to have a chance with Ryder.”

Then came last weekend’s trip to Provo with a cadre of other recruits rated four- and three-star, some of whom had already committed, like Ryder’s friend, Pine View High tight end Brock Harris.

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BYU came through with a vision of what Ryder could do in Aaron Roderick’s offense in the final months leading up to the visit. It was similar in depth to Oregon’s explanation of their own offensive designs. While BYU’s coaches didn’t have exactly the same relationship built up with Ryder, they’d resonated with him with their approach and contact.

Things that stood out to Ryder were BYU’s culture, the camaraderie and love between the coaches and players and within the team. He felt firsthand what the BYU campus culture was like, the experience his parents and other cousins had experienced.

According to a source close to the family, Ryder saw organizational support at the highest level, beginning with BYU president Shane Reese and athletic director Brian Santiago.

“The amount of time Santiago spent meeting with the Lyons blew them away,” said the source. “The comment was, ‘What other AD does that? (meeting multiple times). That doesn’t happen.’”

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Ryder got a personal tour of campus by Reese last fall when he attended a BYU home game. Roderick’s sincerity and genuine personality made the Lyons family comfortable with him. The student section, the ROC, screamed out his name in unison from the stands. All of that was a strand tucked away in his mind.

When Ryder returned to his home in El Dorado, California, he was undecided but impacted by what he’d experienced at BYU. But he still hadn’t decided. In fact, when texting with Oregon coaches that evening, the intensity of what he was going through — the pull from his friendship with Oregon and the pull of the BYU experience — brought him to tears.

He told McAfee it was the toughest decision he’d ever made in his life.

Oregon’s recruiting had been elite. Their contact had been regular and intense. In so many ways, Oregon still did a superior job recruiting him, and their NIL offer was better than BYU’s, sources say.

But by 3 a.m., Ryder had received the answer he’d sought so fervently the previous 24 hours; he would be a Cougar.