Oregon Ducks 'Quality' Recruiting Class Looks Poised For Immediate Impact

The No. 5 Oregon Ducks wrapped up their national signing day with the No. 3 recruiting class in the country, behind only the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the holders of the No. 1 class, the USC Trojans.

Nov 29, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning during the second half against the Washington Huskies at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

The No. 5 Oregon Ducks just wrapped up another successful recruiting period under Ducks coach Dan Lanning. The Ducks had the No. 3 overall 2026 recruiting class according to On3, the same ranking Oregon held a year ago after national signing day. The Ducks went with what Lanning called “quality over quantity” in this year's class, with the Ducks bringing in 21 signed players. 

Oregon Ducks, Dan Lanning Go With Quality Over Quantity approach

Chris Henry Jr., Mater Dei wide receiver, soaks up the atmosphere of the game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Texas Longhorns at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025. | Lori Schmidt / Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Quality over quantity is certainly what the Ducks got in their 2026 class. The Ducks' 21 total signed players rank tied for the lowest among teams with top ten recruiting classes. Oregon and Lanning made up for the shortfall by ensuring that nearly a quarter of the 21 signed players were five-star athletes. The Ducks' five five-stars are the most of any program in the country.

The motive behind the Ducks going for quality over quantity could be chalked up to a few different ideas, but a main one is most likely that this current variation of the Oregon Ducks is a relatively young team. Oregon is using two freshman running backs, a young defense, and a freshman wide receiver, meaning that the Ducks did not need to sign a significantly larger class to give them more depth. 

Nov 22, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning greets fans before the game against the Southern California Trojans at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Perhaps more impressive than the number of five-star commits signed to Oregon is the fact that Lanning saw no commits flip away from the Ducks on deadline day. Considering that Lanning lost both his offensive coordinator, Will Stein, to Kentucky, and defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi to Cal, the fact that Lanning was still able to lock down each recruit on national signing day was extremely impressive.

Five-Star Commits

Oregon's five five-star commits are offensive lineman Immanuel Iheanacho, tight end Kendre Harrison, safety Jett Washington, wide receiver Jalen Lott, and edge Anthony Jones.

Lanning's comments on Washington stand out.

“I think the options are limitless when you see a player of Jett’s ability. He's got great ball instincts, he can attack. He's a physical hitter. You look at a lot of things that we were able to do with Dillon this year, Dillon Thieneman on his stack position, I think Jett translates to a lot of that stuff really well as well,” Lanning said.

“But ultimately, just a really great program there at Bishop Gorman. It's turned out a lot of a lot of phenomenal players, a lot of success. The guy knows what it means to be a winner. And you want guys in your program that knows what it means to be a winner. He comes from a family of athletes, so just excited to see what he's able to do here," Lanning continued.

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 Lanning has stressed in press conferences that being honest with recruits from day one is the key to building a relationship with them, and the 2026 signing class has proved Lanning right. 

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning arrives at the field as the Oregon Ducks take on the Washington Huskies on Nov. 29, 2025, at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Currently, the USC Trojans hold the top spot with 35 total signed players. Of those 35 players, just one is a five-star while 21 of them are four-stars. 22 of the Trojans' 35 signed players are blue-chip recruits, while 16 out of the 21 signed players for the Ducks are considered blue-chip commitments. 

Rounding out the top-5 classes, Notre Dame has the No. 2 ranked class, Alabama is at No. 4 and Georgia at No. 5.

Oregon's 2026 recruiting class looks promising with some players who are ready to make an immediate impact, just like freshman wide receiver Dakorien Moore has done in his first season as a Duck. Actually, there are five Oregon freshman who have started in every Ducks game this season: running back Jordon Davison, defensive back Brandon Finney Jr., defensive back Na’eem Offord, running back Dierre Hill Jr. and linebacker Nasir Wyatt.