Folsom’s Ryder Lyons is second-best prep quarterback in country. How’s his basketball game?
Ryder Lyons dazzles with a football in his hands, a sight to behold.
He can create plays with his feet and legs, and he has a cannon of an arm to match his penchant for the dramatic and his sheer will to achieve. He is a 5-star quarterback for the Folsom Bulldogs, a two-time Sacramento Bee Player of the Year honoree who delights in the most glamorous position in sports. He is ranked the No. 6 prep player for his class nationally and the second-best quarterback prospect by recruiting site 247 Sports.
This data we all know. So what about basketball? Can the guy hoop?
Well, yes. But the big man on campus is a face in the crowd in a tank top and high tops, another cog in the machine. Lyons isn’t put off by any of this. He is inspired by the change of pace, a prideful guy who has no ego in hoops. He isn’t the most skilled player for the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section’s No. 3-seeded team, but he is invaluable for all of the things he can do, all of it a stark contrast to his flashy football play.
Lyons is a banger in this sport, a bruiser, a grunt. If this was an adult league, he’d be the ringer with the sheepish grin. He uses his rock-solid, 6-foot-3, 225-pound frame to muscle up bigger players in the paint. He offers textbook chest passes, can handle the ball, can pass the ball, and can score on put-backs or a swooping layup across the lane.
But scoring isn’t his thing. Hustle is. He dives on the floor for a loose ball, sneaks behind opponents to make steals, makes free throws and engages with the last players on the bench because he values all of his teammates.
“I love competing, love basketball, love my teammates, my school, this community, and that’s why I play,” Lyons said. “It’s a different sport for sure. It’s good for me, too. It humbles me. In football, I have the ball and I play all the time and make plays. In basketball, I’m a role player.”
Lyons added with genuine sincerity, “I’m nothing special. I’m just a high school kid.”
Well, sure, a high school kid with special qualities and a powerhouse message that it’s a good thing to multi-sport in an era of one-sport specialization. Do all you can while you can, Lyons’ actions say.
Lyons doesn’t have to play basketball, certainly. Like scores of other 5-star prospects, he could spend his winter months engaging in football recruiting trips, sifting through a mound of full scholarship offers by every name program in the country, hitting the weight room or just catching his breath.
He bangs and boards in basketball because it’s good for him, he said. It’s certainly good for the Bulldogs and coach Mike Wall, who knows that championship teams are rooted in skill players and the grit and muscle that is Lyons.
“I think it’s very healthy for him, and it’s refreshing to see,” Wall said. “Imagine being Ryder Lyons these days. Every major college wants him. Everyone pulling at him. Kids know him at every school. People want pictures with him. When all of the college football recruiters were on campus (in December) to see him, not one of them said it was a bad thing that he played basketball. I thought that was great.”
Lyons is a rarity also in that his scoring average matches his 4.3 GPA. This is a fellow who has never had anything less than an A grade in his life. This is also the same guy who scoops up a rack of basketballs that bounced away before a game to do his part to keep things tidy and orderly. He big-times no one.
Go to a Folsom basketball game, and you’ll notice the versatility of senior guard star Chase Rawlins, junior wing Joven Dulay and the upside of freshman Parks Weaver. You’ll also know that Lyons was in the mix.
Lyons left his mark in a deciding 12-0 run on Senior Night, Valentine’s Day, against Oak Ridge and fellow 5-star football prospect Kaleb Edwards, a 6-7 tight end who is headed to Alabama to catch passes. Folsom prevailed 74-56 and clinched the Sierra Foothill League championship, then rolled Enochs of Modesto 84-39 in a D-I opener on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs host Vanden of Fairfield on Friday in a quarterfinal. You can bet Lyons will play a role.
“In that 12-0 run, Ryder had three rebounds, was on the floor, doing all the dirty work that we need, and he works his butt off,” Wall said. “I love it.”
So does the 5-star role player.
Crossover sports stars
A peek other players in the CIF basketball playoffs who starred in football:
Josiah Andrews, Rocklin: The junior guard averages 10.4 points for the second-seeded Division II Thunder after making plays at receiver. His quarterback, Reeve Slone, and another football teammate in Connor Bow, are also key cogs for Rocklin basketball.
Zo Edwards, Grant: A dynamic Bee All-Metro receiver for the CIF Sconnor flahertytate championship football team, Edwards is an athletic marvel as a 6-6 sophomore forward for the D-III Pacers.
Connor Flaherty, Twelve Bridges: The cool-as-ice quarterback leader for a Raging Rhinos football team that defied all the odds to reach a CIF State final, Flaherty has helped lead the charge in hoops. Never gets rattled.
Cameron Nero, Christian Brothers: A 6-foot-5 tight end in the fall and a reliable post for the top-seeded D-III Falcon, Nero is the Falcons’ Agent Zero.
Jeremiah Rethi, Placer: A 6-7, 220-pound tight end/defensive end for the storied Hillmen in football, Rethi mans the post for the best Placer basketball team in decades, averaging 5.4 rebounds.
Dennis Syders, Marysville: After accumulating more than 1,200 yards of total offense and 17 touchdowns, Syders is averaging eight points, three rebounds and three assists for the D-IV Indians.
Oreste Yong, Roseville: A dynamic, do-all talent for a playoff football team, the 6-5 Yong leads the upstart Tigers basketball team in scoring at 16.5 points and rebounds at 10.1. Spectacular athlete.