Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks are known for stealing the show and making history during the early signing period. In year one of the Lanning era, we saw the head coach light up a cigar for all of social media to see after flipping several of the top prospects in the nation to Eugene.
Last year, the Ducks signed the top-rated class in school history, bringing in a handful of 5-star recruits and a long list of blue chips. This year that again improved, signing the first class in school history to cross the coveted 300-point threshold.
We saw 5-star flips at the last second, and no outgoing flips from Oregon’s highly-coveted commits, which is everything you could ask for as a fan on signing day. In all, the Ducks signed 20 players on Wednesday and could end up adding a couple more before the Early Signing Period is over.
Let’s dive into the class and see if we can identify the biggest winners and losers from around Eugene.
Winner: Dan Lanning
It feels like you can pretty much guarantee that Dan Lanning is going to be listed as a winner after just about every National Signing Day going forward. He has been in charge of three full recruiting classes at Oregon, all three of which have been ranked inside the top 10 nationally. The last two classes have been ranked inside the top five, and the most recent one has the most 5-star players in school history.
When he came to Oregon, everyone knew that Lanning was regarded as an elite recruiter, but I’m not sure this was expected. Yet again, he’s proven to be as good, if not better than everyone else in the nation when it comes to talent acquisition.
Loser: Ohio State Buckeyes
Things don’t appear to be going very well in Columbus right now. A few days after suffering one of the most embarrassing losses in program history, falling to an unranked Michigan Wolverines team, the Buckeyes saw their 5-star cornerback commit Na’eem Offord flip his commitment.
He didn’t flip to the Auburn Tigers, as many expected, but rather to the new blood in the Big Ten, the Oregon Ducks.
In this class alone, Oregon landed Offord, Dorian Brew, and Trey McNutt, all players who had heavy Ohio State ties and were expected to end up in Columbus. I’m sure that’s not sitting well with the Buckeyes’ faithful.
Winner: Junior Adams
Junior Adams didn’t need the results on Wednesday to establish himself as an elite recruiter, but he bolstered his resume nonetheless. The Ducks will walk away from the 2025 class with 5-star WR Dakorien Moore (No. 1 in nation), 5-star WR Dallas Wison (No. 3 in nation), and 4-star WR Cooper Perry (No. 18 in nation).
This goes along with recruiting wins like Jurrion Dickey, Jeremiah McClellan, Evan Stewart, Tez Johnson, Ryan Pellum, and Dylan Gresham, among many others, over the past few years.
It’s safe to say that Adams knows what he’s doing.
Loser: Justin Wilcox
A bully doesn’t often care all that much about who his victim is, and in the recruiting world, Dan Lanning has become the nation’s proverbial bully over the past couple of years. On Wednesday, he picked on former Pac-12 rival and notorious Oregon alum Justin Wilcox, head coach of the California Golden Bears.
The Ducks stole 5-star QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele from Berkley, flipping him to Oregon at the last minute. Sagapolutele said afterward — and Lanning confirmed on Wednesday night — that the Ducks didn’t even know JKS was flipping his commitment, but rather got the news as a pleasant surprise.
“It’s not very often that you get to this point and you don’t know which way it’s leaning, or where it’s at,” Lanning said. “What I did know is where Jaron’s heart was this whole time.”
I found my heart feeling for Wilcox after the flip. The Ducks could survive — and thrive — in a world where they didn’t land the 5-star QB on Wednesday. For Wilcox, it may have been the biggest recruiting loss of his career.
Winner: Chris Hampton
When the dust settled on Wednesday, Oregon ended up walking away with signings from the No. 2 CB, the No. 5 CB, the No. 6 CB, and the No. 2 S in the nation. That’s an impressive haul, no matter who you are, or how much NIL money you have to spend.
It’s also a great proof of concept for Oregon’s co-defensive coordinator and DB coach Chris Hampton, who has his fingerprints all over this Ducks’ program. The Oregon defense has been elite on the field this year, and they proved on Wednesday that they can be just as good, if not better off the field as well.
Loser: Fringe QBs
While the flip of 5-star QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele may have been great for Dan Lanning and the Ducks, I’m afraid it may act as a direct threat to the handful of fringe QBs on Oregon’s roster. My immediate thoughts went to Austin Novosad, Luke Moga, and fellow incoming 4-star QB Akili Smith Jr., who signed with the Ducks on Wednesday.
Dillon Gabriel has the keys to the car right now, and the expectation is that he will hand them to Dante Moore next year. After that, what happens? Will Novosad beat out JKS? Can Moga step up into the starting spot? Will Smith be able to push for the QB1 role? If the answer to those questions is no, then I’m curious how quickly a trip to the transfer portal will take.
The Ducks have taken multiple quarterbacks from either the high school ranks or the transfer portal in the last two years, and the result of that is a stacked QB room that is loaded with talent.
Only one QB can play at a time, though, so I’m curious to see who ends up playing, and who ends up sticking around.
Winner: Kansas State Wildcats
It wasn’t all sunshine and roses for the Ducks on Wednesday. In fact, things got off to a bit of a rocky start before the eventual fireworks came.
5-star tight end Linkon Cure, the No. 1 TE in the nation who was heavily projected to flip to the Ducks after his visit over the weekend, ended up sticking with the Kansas State Wildcats.
Cure admitted that he had a recruiting graphic made and ready for his flip to Oregon, but ended up changing his mind late in the process.
While that’s tough for the Ducks, it makes the Wildcats a big win, as they now pair an elite tight end with promising young quarterback Avery Johnson on what could be a Big 12 winning team over the next few years.
Loser: Rest of the Big Ten
I think adding Oregon to the Big Ten might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but the rest of the conference may not be having quite as much fun anymore.
In their first year as members of the conference, the Ducks steamrolled through the regular season with a 12-0 record, and are now headed to the conference championship game as a favorite over the well-established Big Ten power Penn State Nittany Lions. Not only have the Ducks been getting the job done on the field, but they also now have the No. 1 recruiting class in the conference as well, taking the top spot from Ohio State after flipping 5-star CB Na’eem Offord.
The Ducks are getting it done, no matter who stands in their way. If you’re one of the teams who voted yes to letting this bully into your conference, you may be rethinking that right about now.
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