The USC Trojans have been on a heater as of late. They closed on two underrated recruits for their 2025 class, AJ Tuitele and Jadyn Ramos, and have knocked all of the staff hires out of the park.
One of Lincoln Riley’s future coveted recruits is 5-star QB Ryder Lyons out of Folsom, CA. His brother, Walker Lyons, is a tight end at USC, so the Trojans have a little bit of an upper hand there. They also have Riley, the QB whisperer, and are the in-state school.
However, Lyons is one of the top-rated QBs in the entire country, so every big program will be throwing everything they have to gain his commitment.
In an interview with On3, Lyons gave an update that might give Trojans fans slight concern.
Ryder Lyons Gives Recruiting Update, Where USC Trojans Stand
Over the next few months, Lyons will be locking in official visits, and he plans to potentially announce his commitment in July.
He told On3 that he plans to visit Michigan, Oregon, Ohio State, BYU, Arizona, and USC.
While USC is currently the front-runner, On3 has put in a prediction that he will commit to the Trojans with a 97.8% confidence meter, recruiting rival Oregon is lurking. Lyons admitted that he has visited Oregon the most of any other school and that the Ducks have been pushing for him longer than any other program.
“They have been the longest, they were like my third scholarship,” Lyons told On3 of Oregon. “Coach (Will) Stein has been recruiting me the longest, I think, so we have a great relationship.”
Like most recruits, relationships are one of the most important things to Lyons in making his final decision.
“It’s my relationship with the coaches is the biggest thing to me. Then kind of the whole culture of their program. I want to go somewhere where I feel love but also I’m going to be pushed. I want a good environment – somewhere I want to work, somewhere I want to put all my effort in.”
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While Oregon may have the longest-standing relationship, the Trojans have put a premium in their staff in building relationships. Lincoln Riley has been great at this, especially with quarterbacks, and now they have Chad Savage on their staff who won the Mountain West recruiter of the year three years in a row.
Not to mention, new GM Chad Bowden puts a premium on relationship building, among other things. Among those other things will be NIL.
Lyons said of NIL in his recruitment: “You’ve got to take advantage of the opportunities that are there, obviously. Anyone who says they’re not is lying. But, that’s an important thing – you’ve got to make sure they’re invested in you. I think that’s the way to look at it for NIL. When you’re talking about however much they’re willing to pay you, I guess, is how much they really believe in you; how much they are invested in you.”
During Chad Bowden’s opening press conference, he spoke about how they would do anything possible to land the best recruits. With him running the NIL efforts, there is no doubt that if USC wants Ryder Lyons, they will make him feel valued.
All the big programs are at play, but for now, it feels like it is a two-horse race with USC and Oregon.