Oregon has just finished signing the third-ranked recruiting class in the 2026 cycle, according to Rivals. However, based on player average score, Oregon has the best average. The Ducks broke a record number of five-star recruits with five, and have just as many five-star recruits as they do three-stars. Even Mr. FishDuck paused from his investigation into quick money support ...

Five Factors That Built Oregon Into a Recruiting Juggernaut

It sure looks like DL is going to have THE top class this year. One needs to include the Transfer Portal as well, right?

Oregon just might have the top class going forward, with this recipe, for a long time.

I would also add the hiring of Chief of Staff/GM Marshall Malchow, who served in a similar capacity at Texas A+M, Georgia and Alabama.

Lanning understands that building a championship-caliber team today goes far beyond the football field. “This isn’t the same college football it was ten years ago,” Lanning recently told reporters. “You’ve got to build an organization, not just a team. And that means having the right people in the building.”

https://www.lexsportnews.com/2025/07/14/dan-lanning-talks-gm-model-nil-and-building-a-powerhouse-at-oregon/

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by OregonDucks

Is it just me or does it seem like interest in Oregon from top blue chip recruits, from coast to coast, reached a new level once Coach Lanning turned down the Alabama job? 

Perhaps it piqued their interest and made them want to check out Oregon for themselves, a little bit more …

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by OregonDucks

55 minutes ago, OregonDucks said:

I would also add the hiring of Chief of Staff/GM Marshall Malchow, who served in a similar capacity at Texas A+M, Georgia and Alabama.

Lanning understands that building a championship-caliber team today goes far beyond the football field. “This isn’t the same college football it was ten years ago,” Lanning recently told reporters. “You’ve got to build an organization, not just a team. And that means having the right people in the building.”

https://www.lexsportnews.com/2025/07/14/dan-lanning-talks-gm-model-nil-and-building-a-powerhouse-at-oregon/

Oregon was one of the first teams to really embrace the new GM model for sure and that's been a huge benefit to recruiting.

But a normal article is typically a max of 1000 words this one is closer to 1.6k and Charles is good enough to let me write longer stuff from tike to time but I ran out of room.

But you are absolutely correct the addition of Malchow has been huge for the program. We don't see his work but is work is on display every single day.

I probably should have added a section about players reaching the NFL as well. Right now Oregon has three starting QBs in the NFL in Herbert, Nix and Mariota. Gabriel har some starts this season and I know he was injured but I have honestly lost track of his status at the moment but I know he didn't start last last weekend.

And that's just the quarterbacks there are loads of other Ruck ambassadors in the league as models for the aspirations of future Ducks.

1 hour ago, OregonDucks said:

Is it just me or does it seem like interest in Oregon from top blue chip recruits, from coast to coast, reached a new level once Coach Lanning turned down the Alabama job? 

Perhaps it piqued their interest and made them want to check out Oregon for themselves, a little bit more …

I don't think it was as much that he turned down the job as much as it is that it proved that he's going to stay here for a time. Recruits have known what Oregon is about for a while, but Lanning being very direct that he isn't going anywhere for the near future means that recruits probably feel more comfortable committing. This is especially true after having multiple coaches leave.

2 hours ago, 1Funduck said:

It sure looks like DL is going to have THE top class this year. One needs to include the Transfer Portal as well, right?

Oregon just might have the top class going forward, with this recipe, for a long time.

There are composite rankings, 247 Sports, for example, that combine both.

Today's roster rankings often include both, but the Blue Chip Roster calculation, 50% or more of a roster made up by 4* and 5* recruits, does not include transfers.

1 hour ago, David Marsh said:

Oregon was one of the first teams to really embrace the new GM model for sure and that's been a huge benefit to recruiting.

But a normal article is typically a max of 1000 words this one is closer to 1.6k and Charles is good enough to let me write longer stuff from tike to time but I ran out of room.

But you are absolutely correct the addition of Malchow has been huge for the program. We don't see his work but is work is on display every single day.

I probably should have added a section about players reaching the NFL as well. Right now Oregon has three starting QBs in the NFL in Herbert, Nix and Mariota. Gabriel har some starts this season and I know he was injured but I have honestly lost track of his status at the moment but I know he didn't start last last weekend.

And that's just the quarterbacks there are loads of other Ruck ambassadors in the league as models for the aspirations of future Ducks.

Thank you, David. Thank you, Charles. Write On!

2 hours ago, OregonDucks said:

I would also add the hiring of Chief of Staff/GM Marshall Malchow, who served in a similar capacity at Texas A+M, Georgia and Alabama.

Lanning understands that building a championship-caliber team today goes far beyond the football field. “This isn’t the same college football it was ten years ago,” Lanning recently told reporters. “You’ve got to build an organization, not just a team. And that means having the right people in the building.”

https://www.lexsportnews.com/2025/07/14/dan-lanning-talks-gm-model-nil-and-building-a-powerhouse-at-oregon/

The expanded off field staff and Malchow have made HUGE impacts. Yes!

One of the significant things we see with Lanning is he doesn't seem to periodically flirt with other programs in the manner that even Coach Belloti did.

So far, each time the question of leaving OBD arises, Lanning doesn't deflect the question or make bad jokes, like Chip Kelly did.

He looks EVERYONE straight in the eye, and talks about promises, family, and how DAMN GREEN the grass is in Eugene, Oregon.

CDL appears to be cut from a much finer grade of raw material than most college football followers have witnessed.

I believe players, coaches, and others respect that.

1 hour ago, woundedknees said:

One of the significant things we see with Lanning is he doesn't seem to periodically flirt with other programs in the manner that even Coach Belloti did.

So far, each time the question of leaving OBD arises, Lanning doesn't deflect the question or make bad jokes, like Chip Kelly did.

He looks EVERYONE straight in the eye, and talks about promises, family, and how DAMN GREEN the grass is in Eugene, Oregon.

CDL appears to be cut from a much finer grade of raw material than most college football followers have witnessed.

I believe players, coaches, and others respect that.

Absolutely, the fact that Lanning isn't leaving gives recruits the peace of mind knowing that he is highly likely to be there for their entire career. Just think of all the other coaches since Bellotti at Oregon, only one other coach gave players that feeling they were going to be there for their entire college career, Mark Helfrich. Now, in the end it wasn't up to him as he was fired but if it was a decision up to him he wasn't leaving.

Lanning isn't leaving. If he wasn't leaving for Bama he isn't leaving for any other program. Recruits know that and the way he recruits is also worth noting, again ran out of space, but he has a full staff recruiting method. Sure, the "primary" recruiter is often the position coach but the reality is that he uses the whole staff to recruit each recruit. There is a reason why Oregon lost BOTH coordinators in Will Stein and Tosh Lupoi and lost ZERO recruits. Are recruits disappointed, probably, but they are invested in the entire program and the staff and not on just one recruiter.

Contrast that with the Ohio State and the Chris Henry Jr. saga where Oregon almost managed to flip a recruit who has been committed to Ohio State for years all because the recruitment opened up in the loss of their wide receiver's coach and offensive coordinator. If Oregon was willing to spend a considerable amount of additional NIL funds they probably could have pulled off the flip.

1 hour ago, woundedknees said:

He looks EVERYONE straight in the eye, and talks about promises, family, and how DAMN GREEN the grass is in Eugene, Oregon.

Recruits pay attention to the coaching carousel that takes place each year. When DL emphatically takes his name off the list for “prestigious” HC opportunities, it resonates with the recruits, and their parents.

His promise of a family type team environment, an opportunity to play at the highest college level, and the opportunity to move on to the NFL have a proven track record.

Oregon is not a stepping stone for DL. As a fan, I respect how he handles his business.

Great article David, and I forgot about the expanded number of officials visits, and how that helps us enormously. How many coaches double, and triple-down on "I'm not leaving" as Lanning has.

I agree that in a very unstable business--hearing that is certainly another recruiting advantage.

23 minutes ago, David Marsh said:

Lanning isn't leaving. If he wasn't leaving for Bama he isn't leaving for any other program. Recruits know that and the way he recruits is also worth noting, again ran out of space, but he has a full staff recruiting method. Sure, the "primary" recruiter is often the position coach but the reality is that he uses the whole staff to recruit each recruit. There is a reason why Oregon lost BOTH coordinators in Will Stein and Tosh Lupoi and lost ZERO recruits. Are recruits disappointed, probably, but they are invested in the entire program and the staff and not on just one recruiter.

Lanning was asked how he managed to sign every single commit after BOTH coordinators announced they were leaving and he tells recruits that if Oregon is successful then his coordinators will have opportunities for other jobs and that his goal is to make sure that his coaches and players are able to achieve all of their goals.

[Or something along those lines.]

Think of the coordinators that have left and where they have gone:

• Kenny Dillingham - ASU (alma mater)

• Tosh Lupoi - Cal (alma mater)

• Will Stein - Kentucky (parents are season ticket holders)

It’s not like they are leaving for some random jobs. I’m sure that Coach Lanning is providing advice on the types of programs they should be targeting to be happy and successful.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by OregonDucks

Excellent article David, thank you!

One thing I didn’t see mentioned was Oregon’s videography group. While they may not have been factors in building the juggernaut I believe they have a lot to do with maintaining and even improving the recruiting prowess of OBD.

The DUCKS VS THEM series. The Under Construction series on the Ducks YouTube Chanel this year and the That Team Out West series from last year are off the charts as far a a recruiting tool. Today’s recruits absolutely eat that stuff up!

Again, thank you for the thought producing article about OBD recruiting!

6 minutes ago, PittDuck said:

Excellent article David, thank you!

One thing I didn’t see mentioned was Oregon’s videography group. While they may not have been factors in building the juggernaut I believe they have a lot to do with maintaining and even improving the recruiting prowess of OBD.

The DUCKS VS THEM series. The Under Construction series on the Ducks YouTube Chanel this year and the That Team Out West series from last year are off the charts as far a a recruiting tool. Today’s recruits absolutely eat that stuff up!

Again, thank you for the thought producing article about OBD recruiting!

I've thought about those series and I love them. I think they are one part recruiting tool and two parts fan service. I'm sure it's nice for a player to get a behind the scenes peak in the early recruitment process but I'm sure outside of that they get a way better look at what's going on for with the program and how it functions.

But for fans those videos are an amazing peak into the program. I think those videos are also part of the reason why as fans we accept Lanning's general refusal to answer a lot of questions at media events. We know we'll get something special, though edited, later.

Though I also wouldn't underestimate the power of those videos to get recruiting going for the Ducks.