Lyons, strong homegrown contingent highlight BYU's historic 2026 signing class

PROVO — BYU football's early signing class of 2026 may best be deemed with an "incomplete" grade, but don't misrepresent that to be a fail.

It's anything but.

The Cougars inked 19 players to national letters of intent Wednesday to mark its highest-rated class since 247Sports started ranking prospects in 2000 on the first day of the early signing period, including mission-bound four-star Folsom (Calif.) quarterback Ryder Lyons and tight end Brock Harris from Pine View among the early waves.

At first, Lyons, the former five-star signal caller whose rating was dropped for some reason after he committed to BYU on the "Pat McAfee Show" was reported to not be signing by Rivals and 247Sports. The decision lasted through BYU's signing day press conference, meaning coaches couldn't talk about the as-yet unsigned prospect.

A few hours later, Lyons — the Gatorade California Player of the Year who plans to serve a Spanish-speaking mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Orlando, Florida, before enrolling — submitted his national letter of intent.

Despite the delay, Lyons will likely have to re-up his intentions after a year of missionary service — as most Latter-day Saint athletes do when taking a religious deferment from school.

BYU announced his signing shortly after 4 p.m. MST, bringing the Cougars' class to the 19 expected — and potentially growing.

So what else did the Cougars add with the 18 players in the Class of 2026, several of whom like Lone Peak offensive tackle Bott Mulitalo will graduate early and enroll in time for spring football?

For starters, a lot of talent from the state of Utah. Eight of the 19 signees hail from the Beehive State, with four-star linebacker Adam Bywater from Olympus and four-star and four-star Orem defensive lineman Lopeti "Juni" Moala among the notable additions.

"We want to take care of our backyard first," said BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, less than 24 hours removed from finalizing a long-term extension with the program he's led for the past decade. "That's going to be the key; a good number of our roster comes from the state of Utah. But we also want to look at people who can be a good fit here."

Fit will become a priority for Sitake as part of the university's increased commitment to resources for name, image and likeness and revenue sharing made possible through the extension.

But the coach with a 22-3 record the past two seasons said he doesn't want money to be the ultimate decisive factor for any of his recruits.

"Our goal is to be in the market, but also make sure guys are the right fit," Sitake said. "We don't want guys to come just for money."

There are also several underrated prospects, like Ridgeline wide receiver Graham Livingston, who set a state record with 313 career receptions for 4,980 receiving yards — the most by a Utah high school receiver not named Puka Nacua all-time — during the Riverhawks' undefeated run to the 4A state championship.

There's also Devaughn Eka, the 5-foot-11 running back from Lehi who piled up 3,276 yards and 37 touchdowns in four years with the Pioneers.

Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick watched Eka when he ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns against local power Skyridge and came away thoroughly impressed.

"He's got speed, he can make you miss, he's a good receiver," said Roderick, noting running back could be a position of need based on health and NFL Draft prospects for the Cougars. "He's just a good all-around player, and we're super excited for him. He's a true three-skill back."

A native of Lehi, BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill — who played and coached at the University of Utah before taking the head job at Weber State and then moving south to BYU — has also seen the rise in talent within his home state.

But he didn't want to praise it too much, he joked.

"It's phenomenal, but we don't want anybody else coming in here to take them," Hill said with tongue in cheek. "So everybody else can stay away.

"We've always had really good players in the state of Utah," he added, more seriously. "I think they're getting better developed now. I think the high school coaches are doing a phenomenal job at developing guys and getting them ready to play."

As for Lyons, Roderick doesn't foresee any complications with the signal caller. Though he couldn't comment on unsigned recruits, he did say Wednesday's finale won't be the last of their 2026 signing class.

"We are going to have some more guys sign, and there are a few more — several that I know of — that are still coming," Roderick said.

"And I will say," he quickly added, "I think our quarterback play has been good here for a little while now. It's going to continue to be really good, no matter who's here. We're going to keep playing at a high level at QB."

With Lyons committed, the Cougars' current class ranks 20th nationally by 247Sports and second in the Big 12 by the same source.

Obviously, the success of freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier, the seven-time Big 12 freshman of the week who will lead the 11th-ranked Cougars into the Big 12 title game Saturday against No. 5 Texas Tech (10 a.m. MST, ABC), has had an impact on BYU's recruiting efforts.

So, too, has Lyons, who has actively and publicly pursued several recent BYU commitments on social media.

And they haven't stopped looking, either.

"We're looking to add some more," Sitake said, "maybe a couple more or a few more — and maybe in the (traditional signing period) in February."

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