Ryder Lyons is the best quarterback recruit in BYU history. A five-star LDS gunslinger from the Golden State narrowed his search to the Cougars and the USC Trojans—not unlike the recruiting competition for Davis High School graduate Jaxson Dart—before deciding to suit up for Kalani Sitake’s team after returning from missionary service.
Ryder’s elder brother, Walker, transferred from USC to Provo, and we all believed the story had come to an end.
With Brody Rudnicki, a fellow LDS faith quarterback throwing pigskin at Folsom High School in California and keeping BYU football on his recruiting shortlist, it’s time to open up the draught and at least add a footnote to Ryder Lyons’ dedication.
Rudnicki, a three-star quarterback entering his senior season, has reduced his top three schools to Cal-Berkeley, Utah, and BYU.
Rudnicki is 6’1″ and weighs 205 pounds, and he threw for over 1,000 yards and 17 touchdowns in his junior year. Add to that the bonus of. Rudnicki has a good track record heading into his final year of high school, with a remarkable 78% completion rate and a state championship in California.
Brody, the 60th-ranked quarterback in the 2027 class and a three-star athlete, has been accumulating Big 12 scholarship offers like Halloween candy, with schools including Iowa State, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, and others hoping to recruit him before he narrowed his choices down to three.
BYU’s quarterback room is already brimming with more talent than they know what to do with. Bear Bachmeier is well ahead of schedule, guiding the team to a 12-win season as a rookie with elegance and confidence, and he will keep that starting position in his sophomore season. During Bachmeier’s junior season, Lyons will formally join the team, providing the QB room with the depth of a five-star recruit, which isn’t awful, and with players like Rudnicki seriously contemplating the Cougars, BYU may have the deepest quarterback room in the Big 12 in a few years.
BYU is progressively returning to its QBU origins, as quarterbacks Zach Wilson, Jaren Hall, and Kedon Slovis all went on to play in the NFL after a spell in Provo. Rudnicki’s addition as a three-star talent would move the team closer to its mythical ranking.
