It’s not often the SEC schools come calling to the state of Nevada. It has to be a special player for the likes of Alabama and Tennessee to heavily recruit you. And it’s not often they are spurned by that athlete.
But that’s what happened with Las Vegas native and offensive lineman Douglas Utu. He told the SEC no and instead will be in the Big Ten and the Oregon Ducks. Utu is one of the best linemen in the country and it will be interesting to see not if he will see the field in 2025, but when he will see action inside Autzen Stadium. At 6-foot-4 and 317 pounds, Utu is physically able to contribute very, very soon.
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Douglas Utu Recruiting Rankings
247Sports Rating: 4-Star (92)
National Ranking: No. 169
Position Ranking: No. 9
247Sports Composite Rating: 4-Star (0.9562)
National Ranking: No. 77
Position Ranking: No. 4
Douglas Utu Offensive Line Outlook
It will be one of the stories to look out for when fall camp 2025 arrives. Utu is the top overall recruit in Nevada and he’s one of the few true freshmen who could contribute right away. If it were a school not named Oregon, Utu would most likely play right away. But Dan Lanning was determined to have quality offensive line depth when he got the job and in his fourth season at Oregon, the Ducks won’t have a problem of finding good offensive linemen on the roster.
Look for Utu to become a part of the offensive line rotation in 2026.
Oregon Ducks Offensive Line Depth
As was stated in other offensive line recruit profiles, Oregon’s offensive line is one of the deepest depth charts of any position on the Ducks roster.
There might be some holes to fill from the 2024 offensive line as Marcus Harper and Ajani Cornelius both move on. Oregon is hoping to keep Josh Conerly, but the NFL could be an option for him in 2025. Only time will tell on that front.
Returning however is center Iapani Laloulu will be back as will guard Dave Iuli, who missed much of 2024 due to a leg injury. The Ducks do have the likes of Charlie Pickard and Trent Ferguson as well as Genorris Wilson, JacQwan McCoy, Ty Delgado and Fox Crader. This might be the deepest the offensive line has been in a long time.
Oregon Ducks’ 2025 Class Outlook
Going into the Early Signing Period, the Ducks expected to sign a third-straight top-10 ranked class assuming that all players verbally committed to Oregon would put pen to paper. So far, that has been the case. There are a couple of flip targets out there who Lanning and his staff are still working to get into the fold. If any more additions come to Oregon, there’s a chance that the Ducks could put together another top-5 class under Lanning’s watch.
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