Ducks Digest

Dan Lanning, Oregon Ducks Best Recruiters In College Football?

Even in the offseason, there's no downtime as the Oregon Ducks and coach Dan Lanning continue to blaze ahead on the recruiting trail. When looking at rankings, Oregon has one of the best coaching staff in recruiting transfer portal and high school players.

Ally Osborne

Dec 30, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning on the Big Ten Network stage during Rose Bowl media day at Sheraton Grand LA. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Dec 30, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning on the Big Ten Network stage during Rose Bowl media day at Sheraton Grand LA. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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The offseason for Oregon Duck Football is well underway, but for any fan of college football, it's a common belief there is no such thing as "off" with recruiting. The Oregon Ducks and coach Dan Lanning are hard at work searching for their newest members with a track record of success, but are the Ducks the best recruiters in the nation?

To determine the Ducks' success on the recruiting trail, it's helpful to examine the statistics from the past, present, and future under the Lanning era. When Lanning arrived at Oregon in 2021, 247Sports had him ranked as the No. 8 recruiter in the nation.

From 2022-2024, Lanning added two five-star commits and 51 four-star recruits to Oregon's ranks, helping the Ducks steadily improve from a No. 13 recruit class to a No. 3 recruit class over three years. Couple that with Oregon's success on the field, and Lanning has a proven record of building a program more and more athletes want to attend.

Jan 1, 2025; Pasadena, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning reacts after the loss against the Ohio State Buckeyes in
Jan 1, 2025; Pasadena, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning reacts after the loss against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2025 Rose Bowl college football quarterfinal game at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"Yeah, I think just the depth of our team is a lot different now than when we first got here. And that's always going to happen with transition. You know, I think our player development staff, I think our recruiting staff, evaluation, our coaches, have all done a really good job of figuring out ways to create competition. We have a lot more competition on this team," Lanning said during the 2024 Big Ten Media Days.

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What about the here and now? With their 2025 recruiting class, Oregon once again improved on their past recruiting years with a No. 4 national ranking and three five-star athletes as well as 15 four-star recruits, according to On3. Oregon had the top class in the Big Ten per On3's rankings as well.

Amongst the top enrollees for this class include wide receiver Dakorien Moore and cornerback Na'eem Offord, who was flipped to the Ducks from the Buckeyes.

"I feel like I felt the most love at Oregon," Offord said when discussing his recruitment to Oregon. "The whole staff had been recruiting me from the beginning. Everything, just everything there. I feel like Oregon just fits me, not just the football, but the culture. A lot of people say there's nothing to do out there, but I like nature and I like to go fishing."

Dec 6, 2024; Birmingham, AL, USA; Parker's Kameron Scarver (56) lifts Parker's Na'eem Offord (1) in celebration after Offord
Dec 6, 2024; Birmingham, AL, USA; Parker's Kameron Scarver (56) lifts Parker's Na'eem Offord (1) in celebration after Offord scored against Saraland at Protective Stadium in the 6A State Championship game. / Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Onto the future, Oregon holds the No. 1 recruiting class in 2026, according to 247Sports' rankings. In February, Oregon currently has one five-star commit and seven four-star commits. Five-star tight end Kendre Harrison is the highest-rated Ducks commit, and he is also the No. 8 athlete on the ESPN Junior 300 for the class. The Ducks also have the No. 37 athlete committed as well in offensive tackle Kodi Greene.

Overall, when you look at the past, present, and future of Oregon recruiting, the growth is evident. As Oregon changes to the current culture of football, more and more pressure is added to continue to keep up, as Lanning spoke to during the 2025 Rose Bowl media day.

"I think you hope that you can feel that pressure. If you're in moments like this, you're certainly going to feel pressure. I think anybody who says they're not, they're lying. But that's what you want to coach towards. You want to be in positions where pressure is applied. And Kirby said it before but I agree with him: Pressure is a privilege. If you put yourself in position to where you're going to have pressure, that's something you have to be able to handle. And our team's handled it really well so far, have to continue to do so down the stretch," Lanning said.

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Ally Osborne
ALLY OSBORNE

A born and raised Oregonian, Ally was raised going up and down the steps of Autzen Stadium. Ally graduated from the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communications in 2021. She currently works at KOIN 6 and Portland's CW in Portland, Oregon where she hosts the lifestyle program "Everyday Northwest" and reports for the KOIN Sports team. She's also a graphic designer in her free time, with several of her works created for Oregon athletes.

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