Oregon flips pair of receivers, signs 26 to 2024 recruiting class that could be in program history

Oregon secured its second straight top 10 recruiting class and is one addition away from the best class in program history. Dan Lanning and his staff signed 26 players on Wednesday, 25 high school prospects and one junior college transfer, flipping a pair of top 100 receivers in Jeremiah McClellan and Ryan Pellum from Ohio State and USC, respectively, for one of the bigger hauls on national signing day. The Ducks’ 2024 recruiting class, which entered the day No.

8 in the 247Sports Composite, moved up to as high as No. 4 and back to No. 6 as of 6 p.

m. Wednesday. Should four-star defensive lineman Jericho Johnson sign on Thursday, it will move Oregon back to No.

5 with its highest ever score (288. 04) in the modern recruiting rankings, narrowly topping the mark set by its 2021 class (287. 67).

“I think it shows the staff and the program’s work that they’ve put forward and then the vision for the program and where we’re headed,” Lanning said. “Obviously, the best way to enhance your team is to enhance your talent and then it goes into developing that talent. We have that; we have a great chance to be successful here.

” Whereas last year’s signing day was — Peyton Bowen flipped from Notre Dame to Oregon, then signed with Oklahoma — this year was about retaining all 24 commits UO had entering the day and adding McClellan and Pellum at the expense of future Big Ten foes. Their additions give Oregon three top 50 players, six of the top 100 and 20 blue-chip prospects in a group headlined by premier edge rusher Elijah Rushing and defensive lineman Aydin Breland. The class includes seven of the top 22 players in California, plus junior college transfer Sione Laulea, and could add an eighth.

Oregon landed the top player from Arizona (Rushing), two of the top 5 from Washington (Brayden Platt and Fox Crader) and three of the top 5 in-state prospects (Devin Brooks, A. J. Pugliano, Trent Ferguson).

Procuring that level of talent was made easier by Oregon’s move to the Big Ten, Lanning said. “I think ultimately everyone is seeing what Oregon is and what it can be here,” Lanning said. “I think the move to the Big Ten gave everyone a clear vision about where we’re headed as well.

It’s a premier conference in college football, us getting to be a part of that and build and enhance that conference was something that was really important I think to the guys that we brought in this class and our coaching staff as well. ” Rushing and Breland, each five-star prospects by 247Sports, are potential instant impact players to a defense that made great strides in pass rush this season, but will be replacing at least five senior defensive linemen. Oregon previously flipped Rushing, who is from Tucson, from Arizona and beat out Georgia and Miami for Breland, who was originally offered by UO’s prior staff in the summer of 2019, when he was 13 years old.

“They both have great size,” Lanning said. “They both come from dominant programs. They’ve been coached hard.

You see guys that have a skill set that reminds me of guys that I’ve gotten to coach in the past and an eagerness and a hunger to get better. ” The defensive signees also include three of the top 20 linebackers (Platt, Dylan Williams, Kamar Mothudi) and two of the top 12 high school cornerbacks (Dakoda Fields, Ify Obidegwu) plus Laulea, the No. 2 JUCO prospect.

Safeties Aaron Flowers and Kingston Lopa, edge rusher Jaxson Jones and defensive lineman Tionne Gray are all four-star prospects and defensive lineman Xa’davien Sims rounds out the defensive side of the class. It’s the second time in five years Oregon has signed three top 20 linebackers in the same class, a feat also recently accomplished by Georgia, Notre Dame and Alabama. “That position is a really important position in our defense,” Lanning said.

“It takes guys with great intelligence. I think they’ve seen the success that we’ve had with guys at their position in the past and what this defense is able to do with guys in those positions. We need really good players to be able to play for us in those spots and it’s not just linebacker; it’s the value they add in special teams and everywhere else.

” Lanning said the production of Troy Franklin and Tez Johnson, each 1,000-yard receivers this season, paid off in attracting top receivers in this class, with McClellan and Pellum leading the haul on offense along with Dillon Gresham, who stuck with UO after recent official visits to USC and Arizona, and Jack Ressler at wide out and Roger Saleapaga and Pugliano at tight end. Flipping McClellan was not a surprise, as he visited Oregon multiple times, and stayed in contact even immediately after his commitment to Ohio State. “We felt confident that we were willing to be consistent,” Lanning said.

“I remember the day that he committed somewhere else and just being able to talk to him and saying, ‘Hey coach, yeah I’d love to keep the communication going. ’ And it never really stopped on our end; all the way into late last night and early this morning. I always felt like there was an opportunity if he felt like this was a fit that there would be an opportunity for him to be here and our staff did a phenomenal job of continuing to work all the relationships necessary for him to see the same picture and vision that we saw.

” Offensive tackle JacQawn McRoy, who considered Colorado but ultimately threw a CU hat aside during his signing day ceremony, and three local prospects (Brooks, Crader, Ferguson) add to the offensive line and quarterback Luke Moga and running back Da’Jaun Riggs complete the offensive signees. Tyler Kinsman, the top-ranked punter according to Chris Sailer Kicking, completes the high school portion of the class. Transfers will also be critical to next year’s roster, especially quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore, and safety Kobe Savage officially announced his commitment as well on Wednesday.

The Ducks remain in the running for former Texas A&M defensive lineman Walter Nolen, who is also considering Ole Miss, and there will surely be others as attention shifts towards the few unsigned prospects and new additions to the transfer portal following bowl games. Lanning credited his staff for all the work that went into landing what could be a historic group for the program “It requires hard work to be able to get results,” he said. “I can’t praise our staff enough for doing a great job.

I can’t commend the players that made the decision to come to Oregon (enough). Every one of them certainly won’t regret it. We’re going to give them our best everyday.

”.