Class of 2026 four-star quarterback Jonas Williams has Oregon in his Top 4

Class of ’26 four-star quarterback Jonas Williams out of Illinois has Oregon in his Top 4 schools.

The days of the short-term solution at quarterback for the Oregon Ducks football program might be over.

Dan Lanning already has Austin Novosad, Luke Moga and although he’s a transfer, sophomore Dante Moore has just played a half of a season for UCLA and is expected to possibly redshirt in 2024 if he’s not needed.

Oregon also has a commitment from Akili Smith, Jr. from the Class of 2025, but the search for the next great Duck quarterback continues.

According to Hayes Fawcett of On.3.com, the Ducks made the Top 4 from four-star Jonas Williams out of the Class of 2026.  He’s 6-foot-3, 2025 pounds and from Frankfort Heights, Illinois.

All of the usuals want the services of Williams and he’s selected Oregon, Alabama, LSU and Ohio State to be in his Top 4. An announcement date hasn’t been picked, but many think it will come sometime soon.

College football news: five-star quarterback has several scholarship offers

Biggest letdown since the 2019 Michigan game?

When I was 17 years old and a senior in high school I remember just a day or two after my beloved Chicago Cubs choked against the Florida Marlins in the National League Championship Series that Dan Patrick was hosting SportsCenter one evening when they landed an interview with Steve Bartman.

Or so they thought.

After a couple minutes of discussion about the infamous foul ball that played a part in the Cubs collapse, a Patrick question about Bartman being able to stay in the Chicago area was met with a reference to the Howard Stern Show that I’ll let you listen to yourself.

Anyway, Patrick responds by simply saying, “We’ve been had.  That wasn’t Steve Bartman.”

Ladies and gentlemen, tonight I’d like to inform you that we at Fighting Irish Wire as well as countless college football fans nationally have been had.

Five-star quarterback [autotag]Dante Moore[/autotag] was supposed to make an announcement Tuesday night along with the Hayes Fawcett account.  Much was made from many, ourselves included, about what that announcement might be.

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Well, we’re here to tell you what Moore shared with the world tonight and that is that he is a young man with several football scholarship offers.

Friends, we just witnessed the 2022 college football version of Geraldo opening Al Capone’s vault.

Well played, young Dante.  Well played.

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Top Notre Dame target Dante Moore to make announcement

What do you think he’s announcing tonight?

Depending on how much you pay attention to college football recruiting you may or may not be familiar with the name Hayes Fawcett.  Hayesfawcett3 on Twitter, is the person behind the graphics you see almost exclusively when it comes to football recruits announcing college choices or naming their finalists and top-five, eight or ten lists.

If you follow the recruiting game at all then you’re certainly aware of the name [autotag]Dante Moore[/autotag].  If you’re not, a quick refresher for you is that he’s a five-star quarterback in the 2023 recruiting cycle out of Martin Luther King High School in Detroit.  Moore is the top target of Notre Dame and head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] this cycle, as well as a marquee target for others.

Fawcett put on his Instagram account that Moore will be making an announcement Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ET but gave no word what that announcement will be.

What we know is that Moore is fresh off a visit to Oregon and that his father was certainly impressed with the visit.  We also know that Moore recently deleted every recruiting photo from his Instagram account besides a picture each of him in an LSU uniform and in a Notre Dame uniform.

What does it all mean?

I’ll go ahead and guess that he has a list of finalists or an incredibly narrowed down list and that both Notre Dame and LSU are on it, as well as perhaps Oregon.

We’ll know more in just a few hours…

Related:  Meet Notre Dame’s star-studded 2023 recruiting class

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Mario Williams is reportedly in Los Angeles for a visit with USC

Talented freshman wideout Mario Williams is in LA for a visit with the USC Trojans per a report.

While the Sooners continue to bring players in via the transfer portal and  this recruiting cycle, the players that have transferred out of Oklahoma are knee-deep in their own decisions as they look around to decide what’s best for them.

Freshman wide receiver Mario Williams declared he would be entering the transfer portal in the aftermath of his fellow 2021 classmate Caleb Williams’ decision. There was speculation he may head for the southeast but a Mario Williams has indicated that he’d like to continue playing with Caleb.

 

That in itself sounds like the two may have had  preliminary discussions about where they could reunite.

Mario Williams indicated through his Instagram account that he’s in Los Angeles and Chris Hummer of 247Sports confirmed a report by USC insiders that Williams was taking a visit to meet with the Trojans. On3’s WeAreUSC confirmed that Mario Williams will be meeting with USC (subscription required) brass this weekend as he explores his transfer options

Caleb Williams, easily the biggest name in the portal, is still looking around and trying to decide where he will land next. With each passing moment, it’s looking increasingly like the ship has sailed for Oklahoma, but a familiar name and place has entered the mix.

Caleb Williams is likely to visit UCLA and USC as well in the coming days. Williams on a visit to USC with Mario Williams lines up with what the receiver from Plant City, Florida said about playing with Caleb.

Who knows if that’s the last school the two visit, but it’s certainly the most notable one considering the head coach and wide receivers coach at USC have quite a history with the two players in question.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

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Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Mario Williams to enter the transfer portal

Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Mario Williams decided to follow his quarterback into the transfer portal.

The dominoes keep falling for the Oklahoma Sooners as yet another player has decided to enter the transfer portal. This time it’s freshmen wide receiver, Mario Williams. Williams took to his social media account to announce that he’ll follow fellow freshman Caleb Williams into the transfer portal.

Williams came into Oklahoma with a lot of fanfare and showed flashes of great ability despite Oklahoma’s inconsistencies on offense throughout the season. His best game came against Texas Tech when he hauled in five catches for 100 yards and a touchdown.

Recruited by Lincoln Riley and Dennis Simmons, Williams was the number four rated receiver on 247Sports composite rankings and the 43rd overall recruit in the 2021 recruiting cycle. Hailing from Plant City, Florida Williams also committed to play baseball at the University of Oklahoma.

Hayes Fawcett, of On3 recruiting, added that Caleb Williams decision to leave Oklahoma is what spurred Mario Williams’ decision to test the transfer portal waters.

As mentioned in a previous piece on Sooners Wire, it isn’t surprising to see Mario Williams follow Caleb Williams into the transfer portal. The two players grew close during their recruitments and envisioned playing together. It looks as if wherever Caleb goes, Mario could follow.

With Williams (the receiver) declaring for the transfer portal it only furthers the notion that Oklahoma will have to start looking around in the portal to add depth to the wide receiver room.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

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