The end of the 2023 recruiting cycle saw the Oregon Ducks make one more big move, landing 4-star CB Rodrick Pleasant out from under the nose of Lincoln Riley and USC.
Pleasant is from the Los Angeles area, another big win for Lanning in the state of California – a place he made it quite clear he plans to heavily recruit in while he’s leading the Ducks.
“We’re always gonna play games in California,” Lanning told assembled media on Wednesday. “I think that’s important for us and we always want to find the best players from the West Coast. You know, ultimately, we want to find the best players everywhere, right? But if you can win in your footprint and our footprint, certainly, you know, California is part of that. We want to have success there. And I think this year, we’ve proved that we were able to do that.”
Pleasant is not the first big-time recruit Lanning has landed from California, with 4-star corner Jahlil Florence (San Diego) joining the Ducks in 2022 and 4-star EDGE Matayo Uiagalelei (Los Angeles) coming in 2023 – both picking Oregon over USC.
Lanning’s footprint in California is a huge bonus for the Oregon Ducks and their ability to land high level talent, and continued success on the football field will only help this program’s recruiting going forward under Lanning and his staff.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f27mq9z7hjgk6vc6 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]
[listicle id=38559]