Two Oregon Ducks Freshmen That Could Breakout This Season

The Oregon Ducks freshman class for this upcoming season is loaded with talent.

ESPN’s Billy Tucker picked 51 freshmen in college football this season poised to make the biggest impact right away. Tucker has 10 players in the Big Ten on this list. Multiple Oregon freshmen made it on this Big Ten list: tight end Kendre Harrison at No. 8 and offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho at No. 10.

oregon ducks dan lanning recruiting freshman immanuel iheanacho kendre harrison offensive line tight end nfl draft 2026 class — July 27, 2024; Eugene, OR, USA; Kendre Harrison part of the top-ranked recruits flocked to Eugene for the 2024 Oregon Ducks Saturday Night Live ; Mandatory credit: Zachary Neel-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Kendre Harrison is a 6-7, 243 pound tight end out of Reidsville, North Carolina. He was rated by 247Sports as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 4 tight end in the 2026 high school recruiting class.

“Harrison’s massive catch radius and leaping ability as a two-way basketball standout will be appealing right away in red-zone packages,” Tucker said.

Tight end has been one of Oregon’s strengths over the past couple seasons. In 2024, they had Terrance Ferguson leading the way for the group. Ferguson ended up being selected in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams.

The following year in 2025, Oregon’s tight end room was headlined by Kenyon Sadiq. Sadiq had a huge season and was selected in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft by the New York Jets.

Sadiq wasn’t the only one starring in the Oregon tight end room in 2025. Jamari Johnson had a breakout year, hauling in 32 receptions for 510 yards and three touchdowns. He could have declared for the 2026 NFL Draft as well as Sadiq, but decided to come back to Eugene for 2026. The freshman Harrison will have the opportunity to learn from Johnson this season.

The other Oregon impact freshman listed was Immanuel Iheanacho. Iheanacho is a 6-6, 345 pound offensive lineman out of North Bethesda, Maryland. 247Sports rated him as a five-star recruit and the No. 2 interior offensive lineman in the class of 2026.

It will be interesting to see how Iheanacho fits in this Oregon offensive line unit. Tucker noted how Iheanacho didn’t enroll early at Oregon so his path to getting immediate playing time over players with more experience on the line might make things more difficult. However, if he picked up on things quickly, there is no shortage of talent and no reason to not play him.

The Ducks 2026 recruiting class is more than just these two high-level recruits. Oregon’s 2026 class consisted of 23 commits, with 16 if them being rated as four or five stars. Rivals ranked this class No. 5 in the country and No. 3 in the Big Ten. Here is Rivals’ top five 2026 recruiting classes:

1. USC Trojans
2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
3. Georgia Bulldogs
4. Ohio State Buckeyes
5. Oregon Ducks

Oregon coach Dan Lanning has consistently had his team in the top five of recruiting rankings since taking over as head coach in 2022. That trend does not look to be changing anytime soon.

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