Oregon Ducks Pushing Alabama, Ohio State For 5-Star Elbert Hill

The Oregon Ducks are in pursuit of five-star cornerback, Elbert Hill. Alabama is considered the front runner for the Ohio native, but there are other schools closing in.

Alabama In Driver's Seat For Elbert Hill

Dec 31, 2024; Tampa, FL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer looks on before running onto the field before a game against the Michigan Wolverines at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Elbert Hill is a 5-10, 175 pound cornerback out of Akron, Ohio. Hill is rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 1 cornerback in the class of 2026 per 247Sports composite rankings.

Chad Simmons of On3 was at the Sevens 7v7 tournament this weekend and reported his update on Hill’s recruitment.

Alabama appears to be in the drivers seat, as Hill will be visiting the Crimson Tide on March 3, the earliest time for a recruit to do so.

“The Crimson Tide has quietly moved itself into the top group of schools on Hill’s list,” Simmons said. “After the game day visit for the Georgia game and an in-person visit with Kalen DeBoer and other coaches in January, Alabama is surging in this race.

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Oregon A “Strong Contender” For Elbert Hill

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning leads his team as the Oregon Ducks practice ahead of the Rose Bowl Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, at the Moshofsky Center in Eugene, Ore. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Simmons didn’t elaborate too much on Oregon, but says that the Ducks are very much in the race for Hill with USC and Ohio State.

“Oregon and USC are strong contenders too. Then you have Ohio State, the school he visited over 10 times,” Simmons said. “Hill was at one time looked at as a strong Ohio State lean, but this race has become more interesting.”

Something that bodes well for Oregon is that they have shown the ability to recruit high end prospects all over in the country, and specifically, defensive backs in Ohio. Oregon signed four-star class of 2025 safety Trey McNutt out of Cleveland, Ohio on national singing day.

Oregon Ducks Secondary

Dec 30, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks defensive back Jabbar Muhammad (7) during Rose Bowl media day at Sheraton Grand LA. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks will be losing some of their top members in their defensive backfield last season to the 2025 NFL Draft. Ducks' cornerbacks Jabbar Muhammad and Dontae Manning along with safety Kobe Savage announced this offseason that they would be entering the 2025 NFL Draft.

Oregon was very aggressive in the transfer portal going after defensive backs. The Ducks added former Purdue Boilermakers safety, four-star Dillon Thieneman. They also picked up three-star cornerbacks Theran Johnson and Jadon Canady. Johnson was at Northwestern last season while Canady was at Ole Miss.

In the 2025 recruiting class, the Ducks landed three cornerbacks and a safety, highlighted by five-star cornerback Na'eem Offord. Oregon also singed four-star cornerback Brandon Finney, four-star cornerback Dorian Brew, and four-star safety Trey McNutt.

Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning will have an abundance of options to help fill the void left by the Ducks secondary members from a season ago. It may take some time to figure out the perfect combination, but Dan Lanning has been able to do it before.