Oregon Quarterback Recruit Will Mencl Turns Heads With Preseason Honor

The Oregon Ducks have a plethora of talented players committed to them when it comes to the high school football scene. One could argue that the most important and intriguing commit in the class of 2026 is four-star quarterback recruit Will Mencl.

Mencl has been a star when it comes to the high school level, which recently landed him a major preseason honor.

Will Mencl: Arizona's Preseason Player of the Year

Oregon Ducks dan lanning eugene autzen stadium oregon recruiting commit quarterback Will Mencl arizona chandler high school — Chandler quarterback Will Mencl (7) throws a pass during spring football showcase at Chandler High School in Chandler on May 12, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Mencl has been honored with the 247Sports Preseason Player of the Year award in the state of Arizona, a state that is filled with talented players, and continues to show off some of the best underclassmen in the entire country.

This is only fitting, as the talented signal-caller is ranked as the state of Arizona's top prospect in the class of 2027. Some elite players follow behind him, including Arizona State Sun Devils offensive tackle commit Jake Hildebrand, USC Trojans wide receiver commit Roye Oliver III, and Washington Huskies quarterback commit Blake Roskopf.

Mencl was also given the nod over underclassmen Keaton Fields (cornerback), Landen Wade (EDGE), and Jalanie George (EDGE), who each make a great case for the honor come next season already.

Will Mencl Deserves This Honor

There hasn't been much pushback, and it is safe to say that Mencl is deserving of this award. According to MaxPreps, he finished last season with 33 passing touchdowns, while also being consistent and keeping it clean for the most part. He only finished the season with five interceptions in 13 contests, which means he threw an interception in less than 50 percent of the contests when averaged out.

He also finished the season with a 70.3 completion percentage, which means he was only throwing around three incomplete passes in every 10 attempts. The best part of his game that has yet to be mentioned is his ability to rush with the football in his hands.

He finished last season with 17 rushing touchdowns, which brings his total touchdown count to 50 among passing and rushing combined. He also finished with 741 rushing yards, which pairs nicely with 3,815 passing yards.

This means that he finished his season with a total of 4,556 yards, averaging around 350 all-purpose yards per game.

Of course, stats are likely to be inflated due to the level of talent that he is playing, when it comes to prepping for college; however, there are still some key takeaways that show the Ducks could be getting a future star in their program.

If he finds a way to have an even better season this year and is competitive with the Ducks during his first season with the program, he could find himself becoming a starter for the Ducks following what is expected to be a one-year starter role for transfer quarterback Dylan Raiola in the 2027 season.

First, though, Oregon will start the 2026 season against Boise State on Sept. 5.

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