Great players make great plays and rise to great moments. Dan Lanning and his staff have established a track record of finding guys who love football and love to complete, a group that plays with an athletic edge all over the field.
In the 2026 class, for example, the Ducks have the highest blue-chip ratio in the country and it isn't even close, a class led by four five-star players, 6-7, 380 offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho, 6-5, 200 safety Jett Washington, 6-6, 250 Kendre Harrison, and 6-3, 245 edge rusher Anthony Jones.
The Ducks 2026 class boasts a blue-chip ratio (percentage of four- and five-star recruits) of 88 percent, the highest in the country. Only LSU approaches it, at 81 percent.
It's a group of difference-making players with NFL potential, a high level of players like this year's freshman class who will make a first-year impact. It's not an accident that the Ducks have so many freshmen playing above the line this season, players like Dierre Hill, Dakorien Moore, Jordan Davison, Brandon Finney, Na'eem Offord, Nasir Wyatt and Cooper Perry.
Teams with the highest percentage of blue-chip commits in the 2026 cycle⭐️https://t.co/BByFB7XWoA pic.twitter.com/7TpwBIByws
— Rivals (@Rivals) September 25, 2025
Elite talent shows up early and raises the intensity level in practice, the standard of competition. Four years in, it shows in the way Oregon has attacked these early games. They've gone deep in the roster and stacked dynamic impact plays.
Currently the Ducks are No. 2 in the country with 31 plays over 20 yards, nine plays of over 40 yards. Of the 20-yard plays, 20 passes, 11 runs. The explosiveness starts in recruiting.
What's most impressive about this next wave of Ducks, this year's freshmen and next, is the competitive excellence in the group. Lanning identifies players who love to compete and want to get better.
The formula gets its ultimate test this week when Oregon's young team takes on one of college football's most veteran teams in Penn State, loaded with upper classmen. Lanning and his team have embraced it, the White Out, Beaver Stadium, the long road trip, all of it.
"That's why you come to Oregon, to play in games like this," the fourth-year head coach said this week, something he's said often.
Taking a young group into Happy Valley and coming away with a win is a monumental task. Either way, this group is going to learn and continue to raise their standard. Because at Oregon they weren't recruited. They were selected. The staff focused in on guys who would fit the mold, and the vision is growing ever sharper.
At Alabama and Georgia, Lanning learned what excellence is. This team has done everything that he's asked of it so far while dominating weaker competition.
Are they ready for their toughest challenge? Outside the building, there's no way to know. But they do have the nation's best pure passer and most dynamic freshman wide receiver. The design is sound. One game on the road in Happy Valley isn't the end: it's just the latest test.
This is why they come to Oregon, to be tested and molded into the best version of themselves.
Win or lose, the trip to Penn State is just another step in the process. Win or lose, the Ducks keep getting better. This is just a measure of where they are so far.