The Big Weekend is here for BYU head coach Kalani Sitake and his staff.
They’ve perched salesman hats on their heads and honed their campaign pitches.
This is a key summer weekend for recruiting visits, recruits they’ve invested for months, if not years. It will go a long way in determining the success the Cougar program yields from the high school class of 2026.
The headliner is Folsom High (California) quarterback Ryder Lyons, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound dual-threat signal caller who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and bound for missionary service next January as an early high school graduate.
Lyons is exactly the type of athlete BYU’s program needs to succeed. He’s not an outsider or stranger to the school’s strict honor code of conduct or demands of an athlete tied to the school’s expectations.
Plenty of his family attended BYU. He’s got more ties to Provo than NuSkin.
Lyons will announce his commitment decision next Tuesday morning at his home in El Dorado Hills, California, with family and friends.
Pine View tight end Brock Harris, a four-star commit to the Cougars and a key get for the program, has spent the past few months contacting prospects, including Lyons, asking them to join him to play in Provo.
With offers from all major college programs, Lyons has narrowed his choices to USC, BYU and Oregon and recently cancelled a visit to USC where his brother Walker, a tight end, is on the Trojan team.
BYU is fighting the Oregon Nike empire in trying to lock down Lyons, and according to my sources has done an admirable job within the realm of what it can do to seal the deal.
If Lyons chooses Oregon over BYU, it won’t be due to a lack of effort by Sitake, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick and athletic director Brian Santiago.
If he chooses BYU, it will be absolutely something that can be credited to the above folks trying to do their jobs.
Without talking specific NIL money up in the air for Lyons, a consideration between BYU and Oregon is “guaranteeing” money, which means the financials will be there even if the star QB is injured and never plays a game for the Ducks.
Injury liability is a factor in the upcoming decision. It will be interesting to see how BYU approaches this issue.
My sources say Lyons is not chasing whichever program offers the most money. That works for BYU because, according to Church commissioner of education Clark Gilbert, BYU is not going to get in bidding wars for athletes.
According to folks familiar with the Lyons, Santiago has been deeply involved “in the process” and has made a big difference in selling the culture Sitake has created in the program.
Social media folks declaring Lyons has already made a decision are wrong, according to a source. Those who say Oregon offering Boise State quarterback Bryson Beaver last week means Lyons is off the table for Oregon are incorrect.
Oregon always wanted another QB from the class of 2026 and decided to raid the Broncos for a three-star athlete.
Lyons wants to get his commitment decision done before he leaves June 26 for a trip to the Philippines with a performing group headed by his mother Kamee.
He will not return to U.S. soil until July 12, plus the family is mindful that NIL deals paid out before July 1 are not subject to the new NIL clearinghouse.
BYU already has commitments from a pair of four-star Class of 2026 recruits in Harris and Lone Peak High offensive lineman Bott Mulitalo.
Harris led a contingent of eight prospects in that class expected to make a BYU campus visit that began Friday. That group included the following:
- Edge rusher Prince Williams from Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas
- Stillwater, Oklahoma defensive lineman Nehemiah Kolone
- Edge rusher and BYU commit PJ Takitaki (Lehi)
- Olympus High linebacker Adam Bywater
- State sprint champion receiver Graham Livingston from Millville
- St. Louis (Honolulu) edge rusher Adruen Meredith
- Syracuse commit Jaxson Gates, a corner from LaVerne, California
The day before (Thursday), Lyons headlined a group of 2026 prospects on BYU’s campus. The group included the following:
- Meridian, Idaho, offensive lineman Jax Tanner
- Honolulu tight end Taimane Purcell
- Lake Oswego, Oregon, running back LaMarcus Bell (who committed to Utah June 10)
- Orem edge rusher Lopeti Moala
- Offensive tackle Esaiah Wong from Kailua, Hawaii
- Already committed receiver Legend Glasker (Lehi)
All the above 14 recruits had scheduled weekend visits in Provo, according to 247 Sports.
Heading into the weekend, BYU had 12 commitments in the class of 2026:
- Brock Harris
- Bott Mulitalo
- Ty Goettsche
- Parker Ord
- Legend Glasker
- Sefanaia Alatini
- Antonio Johnson
- Justice Braithwaite
- Kaneal Sweetwyne
- Matthew Mason
- Terrance Saryon
- PJ Takitaki
BYU currently has the 48th-best recruiting class in the country, according to 247 Sports.
If BYU could secure a commitment from Lyons, it would be significant.
In 247 Sports’ composite rankings, the Folsom High Star has a composite score of 0.9901 and is rated the No. 5 quarterback in the 2026 class, the 19th-best recruit nationally and the No. 5-ranked recruit in the state of California.
Brandon Huffman, the national recruiting editor for 247 Sports, told KSL Sports Zone this past week he had Lyons ranked as the top quarterback in the country.
“I’ve said for two years that I think he’s the best quarterback in the country,” Huffman said. “I know he’s a top five quarterback nationally. He’s the No. 1 player in California. For my money, I will take him as the best quarterback in the country.”