One thing Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning stressed when he took over in Eugene was his team needed to do everything it could to recruit its backyard before anywhere else.
Lanning and his staff appear to be doing a good job of keeping the best talent in Oregon in Oregon. A pair of new predictions have come in for Oregon to land a commitment from four-star tight end A.J. Pugliano, the No. 1 player in the state’s 2024 class. Pugliano plays at North Medford High School and has frequented Oregon games for much of his life.
“I grew up a Duck fan my whole life prior to my recruitment and all of that. I would go to a couple of Duck games a year because both of my parents graduated from Oregon,” Pugliano told me in February after his visit to Eugene. “From a fan perspective, they’ve been my number one for as long as I can remember.”
Pugliano is rated as the No. 5 tight end in the 2024 class and the No. 91 overall player in the nation. He doesn’t have a long offer list just yet, but that is likely going to change as his recruitment goes on. However, it’s clear that the Ducks have an early lead to land him. Both 247Sports’ Brandon Huffman and Steve Wiltfong place crystal ball predictions for Pugliano to commit to the Ducks.