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4* QB in the mix Fast-rising QB prospect puts Oregon among top schools DUCKSWIRE.USATODAY.COM Four-star quarterback prospect Matt Ponatoski has named Oregon among the four finalists for which school he will attend next fall.

Steady progress. Version 7 proof that Oregon is capable of special things under Melyssa Lombardi

Ouch, “I don’t see ‘the other guy’ impressing at all,” Harsh Quote Spotlights Rough NFL Start For Former Oregon Ducks Quarterback Dillon Gabriel OREGONSPORTSNEWS.COM Dillon Gabriel was the kind of NCAA quarterback who stood out. Whether it was deep balls at UCF, gritty leadership at Oklahoma, or an explosive capstone season with the Oregon Ducks, the kid...

Great take here already. Since Carroll, USC has been struggling. They thought Riley was the answer, but then find themselves stuck with him because they couldn't afford to fire him and hire a new coach. So now they throw a lot of $$ at kids. The symbiotic relationship of kid and school is dissolving, the NIL is lot more important to the player, and his family, than the name on the front of the jersey

I like Gabriel's quote, "But this is where I thrive, being in a team environment. That's how you play the game of football." Cleveland Browns' Dillon Gabriel Addresses New NFL Language, Calling Plays In Huddle WWW.SI.COM Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel is adapting quickly to the NFL. The former Oregon Duck star Gabriel is no stranger to change or competition and it's

Unfortunately, Mike, NIL doesn't require proof of value or worth. NIL is set by whatever college supporters are willing to pay for player commitments. What we are witnessing, as I averred two years ago, is the end of college sports as we know it. The strong will get stronger, and the little guys, those in low wealth communities, will be eating mud pies. I agree with you regarding the aggrandizement of legislators, but I fear that there is nothing they can do to limit college NIL payments (essentially salaries). If they were state of federal employees, or deemed essential for the safety of the union, then there could be congressional action to restrict these insane payments. Fortunately, I believe that university club teams will eventually carry the college spirit flag of the soon-to-be past.

I can't believe I'm saying this. 1) continue recruiting kids that WANT to come to Oregon 2) when these 4/5* kids are 2/3rd string somewhere else and aren't playing yet, portal them to Oregon 3) I think you would clean up the stratospheric cost for the unproven High schooler for the hungry Red Shirt Freshman Portal is a reality, and this is the new CFB. NFL only gets ~$1 million per year guaranteed. This is insane!!!

Yes please do. I love reading your takes.

I was writing an article as I was thinking about this exact same thing.... I still might finish it ... but I do think Oregon is ahead of everyone. I also think there is a very real factor that some of the other college football powers are playing massive catch-up. What USC is doing right now is not current NIL practices or even future NIL practices, USC is seriously doing exactly the same thing that Texas A&M was doing in 2022. Throwing money at all the five stars and thinking that is how you build a roster with NIL money. USC is going to land a great class at this rate but is the locker room going adjust to this influx of money in a positive way or is it going to be a TAMU repeat where it implodes? Oregon is built around sustainability and Oregon doesn't have recruiting geography on their side. I'll probably still write that article ... I have more thoughts on this as well.

Great post, makes dollars and cents. I believe the direct payment cap of $21.5 million in the first year of the House settlement will be sustained in court. I also believe the first time a committee of 7 Deloitte accountants determines that an NIL deal is not within 'market value,' will be the last time before their decision is overturned in court. Reviewing all NIL deals $600 and over to determine whether NIL is being used as a recruiting tool sounds good in theory, but it will not withstand a legal challenge. The NFL has a direct salary payment cap, but there is no cap on what an athlete can earn off of his (and her in other sports) Name, Image, and Likeness. Regardless, overspending on untested players straight out of high school is not likely to yield the same ROI as investing in seasoned players. So, a measured approach by Dan and company makes sense. CFB needs restrictions on free agency akin to what we see in the NFL. But I don't believe this can happen before CFB 'management' negotiates with a Players' Union. The House settlement provides for direct payment from schools to their athletes, but this doesn't make them employees, right? The NCAA and big-time college athletics will part company. Not if, but when. Again, a great post. PS - LOL at Finebaum today opining that 'some guy in a Walmart parking lot' is better suited to rule on the House settlement than 75-year-old Judge Claudia Wilkens.

Ever since he arrived, Lanning has appeared to be two steps ahead of being two steps ahead. I have always laughed at the suggestion that he just drops bags of cash on recruits because he seems more about getting the best guys that fit his system rather than the biggest stars out there. Just look at how he absolutely stacked the last two classes as he relied on the portal for high impact players. Now that his team is two to three or four deep at nearly every position, he's set for the next couple years and can just focus on retaining his roster and let the competition spend themselves silly on unproven high school kids. At the end of the day he's made UO a legit destination for legit dudes to come and train for the pros while competing for championships in school.

We are in a scary period. I hope you are right. If so, we will probably be okay. Very concerned that Oregon has not had a 2026 commit stick since February.

I just went on a trip to Europe with my fellow Gen-X friends. We played the board game Risk, and I cleaned up just like old times. Take care of the trenches- the lines. Invest there.

Great article Darren as usual, I say we can't even rely on signing LOI anymore. Look what happened with Dallas Wilson this year. I am begging to believe it may be better to sign four or five highly ranked recruits that have the kind of character to grow into their respective rating, and really scout the diamonds in the rough and develop them. Offensive Line especially comes to mind. It is possible to develop a high 3 star OL into a high 4 star performer. Look at Dillon Gabriel. That dude is money. Was that apparent before he got to Central Florida? Furthermore, when Gabriel was at Central Florida before going to Oklahoma? And others like Derrick Harmon, and Cam Ward before he got to WSU. The Portal has become more important than high school recruiting now. You can find real talent after a year of play. I don't like that OBD lost as many 2026 recruits as we have, but damn, there are at least 20-30 that will be as good or better that play college football this year. Those are the guys to scout, and recruit this season. Not to mention the kids on the roster now (like Darren emphasized) that will contribute in the coming year. OBD has a very loaded roster, and its going to perform way better than most of the top recruits will now, or their entire career. They wanted NFL money, its time for NFL cutting the potential and paying the performers. The smart kids, including kids that aren't really looking for "the bag" should know by now OBD are developing kids that will get drafted. Thus, I hope Lanning is actually scouting Sophomores that play this year, and any Freshman that played last year that are looking for a title and want to get drafted. ESPN has their top 300. I say only 100 from that list are worth signing. It's find those in that group, and maybe find diamonds in the rough, and find the proven players that will be around for at least 2 years in the portal. These "$2M" kids can take a hike. If a high school kid isn't bringing me $5M, I'm not justifying signing an NIL deal worth $1M. He is a liability, not an asset. He isn't going to start year 1, and that is a waste of money instead of signing a portal guy that will play the year you sign him.

I wrote a post the other day about what the principals at one of the pay sites have been hearing as the Ducks' new recruiting strategy--and their use of NIL. They are NOT going to get into bidding wars for unproven freshmen, and will spend the majority of their NIL dollars trying to retain the current team, (since the majority are still young) and to use a major portion of the rest on Portal Transfers to fill holes. This made sense, and a couple of us suggested that maybe it is a short-term strategy based upon the relative youth of the team, with more going to HS recruiting later as the classes balance out. This is a strategy that is a step ahead of other schools, as they get into massive bidding wars, and this explains all the lost high-profile recruits, and the decommits from Oregon. But what if...the Oregon staff is thinking out even further ahead? That when the NIL caps are actually set...that so many of these schools will have to go back and change those 2 million contracts to $80,000 per year? How will THAT go over with players and parents? But the schools will have no choice! So now, a player is soured on that school that is changing the deal on his former big contract, and now, for the same new money being offered....the Ducks are looking good between the same NIL offer, access to Nike, the uniforms, the staff, etc. Oregon could then pick up a TON of portal transfers. And they will HAVE the money set aside for those elite portal transfers! Are the Ducks thinking two steps ahead, or am I so bored with Baseball ending so soon that I am hallucinating tactics that don't exist?

Mudslide, Did you even know who this kid was before this year? Again, pointing to our "Legal Analyst"-Mr. Jon Joseph: under the House Settlement, does the contract specify justification for an NIL deal? Could Mark Bowman secure a Caitlin Clark type Nike Deal for $28M? In other words, can a high school phenom actually draw a fan following to the degree fans wait hours to get his autograph, want to buy his jersey, want some other collection item like a signed sock? If so, then $10M a year makes sense. If not, how does any high school prospect justify anything close to $1M because he somehow has a brand? I surely would like to know if the commission that is supposed to regulate these contracts is salivating at the thought of getting sued. For I do not see a single high school player that has anywhere near the draw of Caitlin Clark, much less the demand from the marketplace that would start marketing a kid at that financial level. I don't believe the conferences need to cap the NIL Market, they just need to force the kids to prove their Name, Likeness, and Image would justify multi million dollar marketing contracts. It sure would be nice if Congress actually earned their money and legislated laws that actually do something for this country(instead of pocketing tons of money for legislation earmarked for benefitting the highest bidders). If there ever was a time to put some common sense to college sports and the interests of the players (instead of allowing these snakes to claim high school kids are worth millions of dollars-what a joke), now would be the time.

Who knew, back in the 5th grade, before the first class. me and my buddies were prepping for a Gold Medal. Currently it's part of what the NFL came up with to replace the Pro Bowl. It will be part of the 2026 Olympics. This makes more sense.

Oregon Ducks' Iapani Laloulu Named Big Ten's Top Returning Interior Offensive Lineman The Oregon Ducks' lone returning starter from the previous offensive line, Iapani Laloulu, is expected to be the best interior offensive lineman in the Big Ten next season. In consideration is Iowa Hawkeyes' Logan Jones and Penn State Nittany Lions' Olaivavega Idane. The Oregon Ducks lone returning starter Iapani Laloulu is expected to be the best int WWW.SI.COM A paramount strength that the 2025 Oregon Ducks will have is at quarterback with incoming junior Dante Moore, thanks to his offensive line protecting him and gi

Didn't Texas A&M just go through this a few years ago? Didn't turn out well from my recollection.

Oregon Lands Commitment From Blue-Chip EDGE Prince Tavizon Oregon’s 2027 recruiting class got started with a bang on Sunday, as San Diego (Calif.) Lincoln 4-Star EDGE Prince Tavizon announced his commitment to Dan Lanning and the Ducks. Tavizon was on campus for his third trip to Eugene this year, as Oregon continued to emerge as the team to beat for one of the best defensive prospects on the West Coast. I listed Tavizon in my Five most important weekend visitors heading into the weekend. It looks like the blue-chipper saw all he needed to feel comfortable committing to play his college football in Eugene.. On the latest episode of the Ducks Dish Podcast, ScoopDuck’s Max Torres and Justin Hopkins break down Tavizon’s commitment and what it means for Oregon Football moving forward as June gets underway. Tavizon has seen his stock take off on the recruiting trail this spring, with offers from Notre Dame, Texas, USC and Miami all coming in. The rising junior captured a state title with the Hornets in 2024 alongside true freshman Oregon quarterback Akili Smith Jr., as Lincoln knocked off Northern California powerhouse Pittsburg 28-26 for its second state crown in three years. As a sophomore the 6-foot-4, 245-pound Tavizon recorded 13 sacks. He hopes to increase that mark in 2025 as he aims for 20 sacks. The newest Duck continues Oregon’s pipeline to one of San Diego and indeed California’s most prestigious high school football programs. Tavizon joins a long list of former Hornets to play for Oregon including names like legendary quarterback Akili Smith, Tyree Robinson, Isaiah World and Jahlil Florence. PODCAST: 4-Star EDGE Prince Tavizon Commits to Oregon Ducks WWW.ON3.COM ScoopDuck's Max Torres and Justin Hopkins break down the newest commitment in Oregon's 2027 class: Lincoln EDGE Prince Tavizon.

Early Enrollee Spring Rewind: Jordon Davison Here is a breakdown of what Oregon true freshman Jordon Davison showed during his first spring football camp. https://247sports.com/college/oregon/article/oregon-football-jordon-davison-ducks-football-spring-football-250546278/

Quackkkk, Lets Hope these recruits stays with Oregon! Oregon lands second verbal commitment in 24 hour period via Cameron Pritchett Oregon Football lands another commitment from elite 4-star EDGE in 2027 class Oregon Football lands another commitment from elite 4-star EDGE in 2027 class DUCKSWIRE.USATODAY.COM The Oregon Ducks landed another commitment in the 2027 class, picking up 4-star EDGE Cameron Pritchett.

Not sure which is crazier, the Troylets paying Bowman 10 mil to play in the top revenue generating sport, or Texas Tech’s 1 year deal for 1 mil+ (her senior year has yet to be negotiated) to NiJaree Canady to play in a non-revenue generating sport.

Oregon Ducks' Ra'Shaad Samples Leading Charge For Four-Star Recruit Noah Roberts The Oregon Ducks are in hot pursuit over one of the top running backs in the 2027 recruiting cycle. Four-star running back Noah Roberts has the Ducks among his leader thanks to a budding relationship with Oregon running backs coach Ra'Shaad Samples. Oregon Ducks' Ra'Shaad Samples Leading Charge For Four-Star Recruit Noah Roberts WWW.SI.COM Currently sitting with the No. 27 ranked recruiting class in the 2026 cycle according to 247Sports' rankings, the Oregon Ducks are at a pivotal point on the rec

Counselor Mudslide, your pleading is affirmed.