5-Star Recruit Hayden Stepp Offers Honest Perspective After Oregon Home Visit

The Oregon Ducks are one of four finalists to land class of 2027 recruit, cornerback Hayden Stepp along with the Alabama Crimson Tide, California Golden Bears, and the Georgia Bulldogs. All of these schools recently just paid a home visit to Stepp.

Hayden Stepp Meets With Oregon

Oregon Ducks Dan Lanning Hayden Stepp 5-Star Recruit Commitment Recruiting Cornerback Visit Finalist Eugene Class of 2027 — Jan 9, 2026; Atlanta, GA, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning on the field prior to the 2025 Peach Bowl and semifinal game of the College Football Playoff against the Indiana Hoosiers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Hayden Stepp is a 6-3, 185 pound cornerback out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He is rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 5 cornerback in the class of 2027 per 247Sports Composite rankings. As a junior for Bishop Gorman high school in 2025-26, Stepp had 24 total tackles and four passes defended.

Stepp spoke to Greg Biggins of Rivals about where he stands in his recruitment after his in-home visits.

“This week, I had Marshall Malchow (Oregon Chief of Staff) and Coach (Rashad) Wadood from Oregon, coach Von Brown from Cal and Coach (Maurice) Linguist, the DB coach at Bama all in,” Stepp said. “It’s really hard because all the visits have been great.”

Stepp talked more about the Ducks, including shouting out Oregon cornerbacks coach Rashad Wadood.

“Oregon and coach Wadood have been on me as long as anyone and I have great relationships with the staff and players on the team,” Stepp said.

He is planning to make his commitment decision later this summer after his visits to these four schools. That decision does not appear to be an easy one, as Stepp eluded too.

Oregon’s 2027 Recruiting Class

Oregon 2027 recruiting class currently has 11 commits. Rivals ranks them as having the 7th best class in the country. Here is the updated top 10.

1. Texas A&M Aggies
2. Texas Tech Red Raiders
3. Oklahoma Sooners
4. USC Trojans
5. Ohio State Buckeyes
6. Georgia Bulldogs
7. Oregon Ducks
8. Florida Gators
9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
10. Miami Hurricanes

The only Big Ten teams ranked above Oregon on this list is USC and Ohio State. Oregon will play both on the road during the 2026 season.

This 2026 Oregon class is headlined by five-star quarterback Will Mencl. To go along with him are eight four-star recruits and two three-star recruits.

Behind Mencl, here are the next three highest graded Oregon recruits according to Rivals.

Rashad Streets, Edge Rusher
Ai’King Hall, Cornerback
Semaj Stanford, Safety

Recruiting has been a major strength for Oregon, especially over the past few years under coach Dan Lanning. Oregon's 2025 and 2026 class ranked in the top four in the entire country. They will aim to keep that streak going heading into the national signing day for the 2027 class.

On the field, Oregon is still searching for the first ever national championship in program history. The Ducks made the College Football Playoff in each of the past two seasons before getting eliminated by the eventual national champion. Ohio State beat them in the quarterfinal in 2025 and Indiana beat them in the semifinal in 2026.

Will Oregon be able to get over the hump in 2026? Their season opener is Saturday, Sept. 5 at Autzen Stadium against the Boise State Broncos.

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