PREDICTION: Oregon Ducks to Land Five-Star Edge Rusher
Oregon's 2024 class is the talk of the town with the early signing period quickly approaching next month.
But Dan Lanning and the Ducks have been hard at work in the 2025 cycle as well, with a class that ranks No. 8 nationally according to 247Sports, headlined by Tampa Bay Tech (Fla.) wide receiver Dallas Wilson and San Diego (Calif) Lincoln quarterback and Duck legacy Akili Smith Jr.
Oregon hosted multiple five-star recruits on campus for their game against USC this weekend.
Today I'm predicting 2025 five-star Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei edge Nasir Wyatt to commit to the Oregon Ducks.
Confidence meter: 6/10
Explaining the pick
Wyatt has taken a pair of trips to Eugene dating back to the spring and raved about his spring game visit.
"They already got the blueprint," he told Ducks Digest. "Already got the first-round draft picks, edge rushers. It was real great to hear what they think I can do for their defense."
Like a lot of teams, Oregon identified and prioritized Wyatt early and I think it's going to pay off.
The Ducks have everything going in their favor, starting with how well they're recruiting the edge.
Since Dan Lanning and Tosh Lupoi arrived in Eugene Oregon has been acquiring elite talent at the position the staff is already seeing early results from Matayo Uiagalelei, Teitum Tuioti and Blake Purchase. They also hold commitments from Elijah Rushing and Jaxson Jones in 2024, two players they're excited about.
The coaches have shown they know what they're doing with defensive line/outside linebacker talent, whether it's Lanning's body of work at Georgia or Lupoi's development of players like Cameron Jordan and Myles Garrett.
I know Oregon feels good about their chances here, and they also have strong recruiting momentum in Southern California, specifically at Mater Dei, landing commitments from 2023 offensive lineman Lipe Moala and more recently five-star defensive lineman Aydin Breland.
The Ducks' defense continues to trend up and with recent Oregon products like Kayvon Thibodeaux are starring in the NFL, which carries weight.
Wyatt announced a top 8 that included Oregon back in September, so there could still be a little way to go here. But even so, I think he sees what Lanning is building in Eugene and wants to hop in.
