Oregon Ducks Slipping Behind Notre Dame in Key Recruiting Battle

The Oregon Ducks have battled the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for this talent and now, it appears a true leader has emerged.

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The Oregon Ducks are nearing the finish line with winning over one more prized four-star recruit.

Coach Dan Lanning and his coaching staff have already stacked multiple July recruiting wins. Four-star cornerback Hayden Stepp launched the surge on July 1. Then five-star wide receiver Xavier Sabb followed him two days later to Eugene.

Now Oregon has stayed in the race to land four-star defensive tackle Brayden Parks. With one national recruiting insider dropping brand new intel on that front during the afternoon of July 16.

Oregon, Notre Dame Battling for Brayden Parks

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning and Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti hold a joint press conference at the College Football Hall of Fame before the CFP semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026 in Atlanta | Jason Parkhurst via Abell Images

Oregon is deadlocked in a two-team race with Notre Dame. Recruiting insider for 247Sports Tom Loy reported that the Ducks have made things interesting in recruiting Parks. Loy, though, revealed which place has the most optimism at the moment: South Bend.

"In talking with sources on both sides, Notre Dame is much more confident regarding their chances with Parks," Loy said.

Looks like the Ducks are losing their grip on landing Parks and creating one more Midwest victory on the recruiting trail. Which now means Lanning and his coaching staff will need to pivot elsewhere to add one more recruit before the month ends. And it appears they still have momentum for one talent they've been chasing.

Who Oregon Could Land if Brayden Parks Doesn't Choose the Ducks

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore (5), wide receiver Malik Benson (4), defensive back Brandon Finney (4) and defensive lineman Bear Alexander (1) celebrate following the 2025 Orange Bowl and quarterfinal game of the College Football Playoff against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Hard Rock Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Oregon remains the trending favorite to pull in Ohio four-star linebacker out of Washington High in Massilion Brayton Feister.

The On3/Rivals prediction machine still hands the Ducks a 94.1 percent chance to pull off that recruiting win. Georgia is the second closest to Oregon, but calculated with a 1.2 percent chance to win over the 6-2 linebacker.

The Ducks have three linebackers pledged to the 2027 class. The leader is four-star from Hawaii Toa Satele, who verbally committed on June 3. Feister can join Satele to form an intimidating and hard-hitting pairing for the future.

But Feister has this Notre Dame curveball per Wiltfong: His family seems to like the Fighting Irish and they're close to home. Yet Oregon remains the heavy favorite to win over the talent. There's no official timetable for when Feister makes his decision, as he previously pushed back his commitment date due to a personal situation.

Will Oregon Target Anymore Defensive Linemen?

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Including edge rushers, Oregon featured five different defensive lineman commits for this cycle. Five-star edge rusher Rashad Streets leads the way as the highest-rated recruit.

But clearly the Ducks need more girth and power in the middle, especially once defensive tackle Bear Alexander leaves for the NFL. All the more reason why they're still hoping to reel in the 6-3, 305-pound Parks.

Unfortunately the list of remaining blue chip interior defensive linemen is starting to dwindle. Four-star Karlos May of Ramsay High in Birmingham, Alabama is one of the top ones left, but he has Georgia, Ohio State and Auburn in his final three per 247Sports.

Lanning, defensive line coach Tony Tuioti and general manager Tyler Dean may need to turn to making a flip attempt if Parks indeed heads to Notre Dame. Or simply roll with the defensive linemen crew representing the 2027 class.

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