Oregon Expected to Hire Missouri State's Donte Ellington as Analyst
Dan Lanning appears to be closing in on another addition to his coaching staff this offseason.
The Ducks are expected to hire Missouri State wide receivers and co-special teams coach Donte Ellington as an analyst, according to a report from Matt Zenitz of 247Sports.
During the 2023 season, Missouri State boasted the No. 5 passing offense in the FCS ranks, churning out 3,303 passing yards and 29 passing touchdowns, which averages out to just over 300 passing yards per game.
The Bears finished the year with just a 4-7 record, but had a number of talented pass catchers on their roster that Ellington worked with. Junior Raylen Sharpe hauled in 73 passes for 991 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in 2023, while the offense also got solid contributions from fellow wideouts Terique Owens (52.8 yards per game) and Jmariyae Robinson (45.45 yards per game).
Oregon has seen some movement on their offensive coaching staff this offseason, with Colin Lockett, who worked with both wide receivers and running backs being hired to coach wide receivers at UC Davis.
Prior to his time at Missouri State, Ellington got his start in the coaching ranks at San Jose High Academy, where served as both the team's offensive and defensive coordinators. He also had coaching stops at highly-regarded junior colleges like Garden City Community College and Independence Community College (as seen on Netflix's Last Chance U).
He also spent time more recently as a coach at Tennessee Tech, Eastern Kentucky and Abilene Christian in his run up to his latest opportunity. Ellington has also coached five wide receivers who have gone on to the NFL ranks.
A native of San Jose, California, he's also likely to help bolster Oregon's recruiting efforts on the West Coast and in the Bay Area, after the Ducks signed top local prospects like Jurrion Dickey (Mentlo Atherson '23) and Jericho Johnson (Armijo '24) in recent recruiting classes and currently hold a commitment from Matthew Johnson from De La Salle.
Oregon is also recruiting a number of talented prospects in Dan Lanning's home state of Missouri, namely Lee's Summit North wide receiver Isaiah Mozee, the state's top-ranked recruit in 2025.
