Ducks Digest

Ohio State 2026 5-Star WR Commit: Oregon Ducks "Trying To Get Me To Flip"

The game of flipping recruits never stops. That's why Oregon Ducks football has been working on 2026 five-star wide receiver Chris Henry Jr., even though the California product has been committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes for more than a year.

Kaleb Henry

Ohio State commit five-star wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. at a recent workout.
Ohio State commit five-star wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. at a recent workout. / @chriishenryjr on Instagram
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Recruiting is never over until a name is on the dotted line. Even then, anymore, it doesn't end.

But the Oregon Ducks are hard at work in flipping a 2026 wide receiver. This work goes back more than a year, even though the Ducks had their own 2025 wide receiver commit flip to the Nebraska Cornhuskers this weekend.

The target for coach Dan Lanning and company is that of five-star wideout Chris Henry Jr. The 6-5, 200 pound Mater Dei player has been committed to Ohio State since July of 2023. Has that stopped Lanning from trying to get the elite receiver to Eugene? Absolutely not.

"Every day they’re trying to get me to flip," Henry told On3 at Oregon's Saturday Night Live event.

Perhaps helping out at Saturday Night Live was another five-star receiver, Oregon commit Dakorien Moore. The two were around each other plenty as they went through drills in Autzen Stadium.

As Henry said, Oregon is working every day to try and get the Buckeye commit to flip to being a Duck commit. That included on his birthday last month with a Happy Birthday video from Oregon posted to Henry's X account. Not doing the same? Ohio State.

Details and relationship matter, even if those covering other teams don't notice it. It is clear that the Ducks have cultivated a relationship with Henry, and that those seeds could produce a recruit that flips.

Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson works out during the Ducks’ fall camp Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex
Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson works out during the Ducks’ fall camp Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Henry also told On3 that although his commitment to the Buckeyes remains "strong", visiting other places, particularly Eugene, has him thinking differently than he did a year ago.

"But seeing other schools, I’m starting to see other schools differently," Henry said.

Oregon is building a history of landing five-star wide receivers. The Ducks have Moore and Dallas Wilson in the 2025 class and still have 2023's Jurrion Dickey on the roster.

Henry is the lone commit for Ohio State in the 2026 class. The Ducks have a trio of commits already: four-star running back Tradarian Ball, four-star quarterback Jonas Williams, and four-star defensive lineman Tony Cumberland.

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Kaleb Henry

KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans.He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team.

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