Urgency grows for Oregon to pick up the pace after Ryder Lyons chooses BYU

Live coast-to-coast on the Pat McAfee Show on YouTube, five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons committed to BYU Tuesday morning.

It continued a string of head-to-head losses for the Ducks in the battle for elite 2026 recruits:

4-star wide receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt Ohio State May 4

5-star quarterback Jared Curtis, Georgia May 5

5-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell Miami May 13

5-star athlete Brandon Arrington Texas A&M June 19

5-star edge rusher Richard Wesley Texas June 22

5-star quarterback Ryder Lyons June 24

Other schools were involved in these recruitments, but in each case Oregon was trending, favored or strongly in the running for them but lost out in the final days of intense bidding wars.

In addition the Ducks have lost several top players to flips. Four-star Frankfort, Illinois quarterback committed to Oregon on August 3rd and flipped to USC February 21st. Defensive tackle Tomuhini Topui decommitted from the Ducks in March and became a Trojan a week later.

Offensive tackle Kodi Greene rejected an Oregon commitment to become a Washington Husky. Wesley committed to the Ducks, decommitted and became an Aggie 17 days later.

Recruiting isn't for the faint of heart. Oregon is playing some sort of weird rope-a-dope in this crazed arena, refusing to overpay for untested high school players.

While that's noble, everybody else is. Have the Ducks become the college football equivalent of a small-market team? With five and a half months to go until signing day, it's an open question.

One saving grace is that the quality is excellent. Oregon hasn't gained a lot of commitments, just nine, while the conference leaders have 30, 24, 22.

Lanning hasn't brought in numbers thus far, but the players they've selected have tremendous upside:

Kendre Harrison, a 6-6, 250 tight end from Reidsville, North Carolina, an elite football and basketball player with state championshps in both.

Messiah Hampton, a 6-1, 191 receiver from Rochester, New York with exceptional body control and 50/50 skills

Xavier Lherisse, a hard-hitting nickle back from Melbourne, Florida.

Jett Washington, 6-5 safety from Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, an elite athlete with great range and instincts.

Tristan Phillips, 6-4, 217 linebacker from Ventura, California, a mobile hitter who's proven to be an exception peer recruiter

Viiami Moala, a powerful defensive lineman, currently playing for Willamette High in Eugene

Tony Cumberland, 6-5, 285 defensive tackle, also from Willamette High in Eugene. High school coach Josh Line, a former Oregon fullback, raves about his athleticism.

Tradarian Ball, dynamic running back and receiver from Texarkana, Texas.

This is a fabulous group. Now they need 14-16 teammates in their class.

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