This offseason was rough for the Oregon Ducks as the coaching staff went through a ton of major changes. Dan Lanning lost both of his coordinators, with offensive coordinator Will Stein taking the Kentucky head coaching gig while defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi took the same leap getting the Cal job.
After leaving Oregon, both first time head coaches have underwent a true recruiting tear building hype in their fanbases. Among the two, the bigger concern for the Ducks is Tosh Lupoi as he's often after the same recruits as the Ducks out on the West Coast. On Saturday, Dan Lanning and the staff got to hand Tosh Lupoi a rare recruiting loss early in his career.
Oregon outduels Cal for exciting safety Malakai Taufoou
On Saturday Afternoon, exciting safety recruit Malakai Taufoo announced his commitment, and when the commitment was made Oregon beat out a loaded group with Cal, Washington, and Penn State all losing out.
BREAKING: Class of 2027 Safety Malakai Taufoou has Committed to Oregon, he tells me for @Rivals⁰
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 23, 2026
The 6’2 195 S chose the Ducks over Cal, Washington, and Penn State
“Thank you Jesus! Time to be great #ScoDucks 🦆”⁰https://t.co/SLLHyB8DYQ pic.twitter.com/pBPTYrkqGB
In many ways, the commitment comes as a surprise for Oregon as this wasn't a recruitment most saw Oregon winning out in. On Friday, Rivals' Greg Smith actually predicted that Cal would land the commitment over the Ducks, but Oregon really made this recruitment interesting.
According to Rivals' Industry Recruiting Rankings, Malakai Taufoou is a 3-star recruit ranked as the 436th ranked player in country, the 38th ranked safety in the class, and the 36th ranked player out of California. Beating out Cal with Malakai Taufoou being a California native makes the win even more impressive.
As of late, Oregon's defensive back recruiting efforts took a major hit which makes landing a commitment on Saturday a step back in the right direction. Donte Wright flipping from Georgia to Miami along with Oregon commit Ai'King Hall flipping to the Canes made finding defensive backs a top priority.
Malakai Taufoou now joins 4-star recruit Semaj Stanford in this recruiting class giving the Ducks a duo at the safety position.
While Malakai Taufoou is a 3-star recruit, there's plenty about his game to be excited about, and could lead to him flying up the rankings. Taufoou already has a frame built for the college game at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds. Taufoou will have a chance to stay at safety or move down to linebacker making him a nice piece for the Ducks. As a player, Taufoou plays with a ton of physicality while he has the range to develop into a playmaker in the backend.
Add us as a preferred source on Google