Dan Lanning has earned the trust and patience of Oregon fans after a 35-6 record to start his head coaching career, a Big Ten Championship and recruiting classes ranked No. 5, 6 and 9 over the last three years.
The Ducks have some ground to make up this cycle, currently ranked No. 16 in the country after missing out on Jared Curtis and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, plus having 5-star defensive tackle Kodi Greene decommit for Washington.
There's still good news on the horizon. The Ducks have a loaded visitor list in June. They also remain in the hunt for another 5-star QB, Ryder Lyons of Folsom, California. Today On3 recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong entered a crystal ball for Lyons to pick the Ducks.
Wiltfong's not infallible, but he did correctly forecast Curtis to the Bulldogs.
Lyons has added appeal for Oregon because of his timetable. He's planning to serve a one-year religious mission after graduating, which creates a natural progression and a little more spacing between redshirt sophomore Dante Moore, redshirt sophomore Austin Novosad, redshirt freshman Luke Moga, and true freshman Akili Smith Jr.
The quarter tradition at Oregon (four currently working in the NFL) looks promising and stable for a long while.
In addition, there's a lot to like in Lyons' game. He has swagger and leadership, a state championship winner who runs well, creates out of the pocket and throws accurately to all levels. He's creative, resourceful and mobile, with a game that will remind fans of Bo Nix.
When asked which schools are recruiting him the hardest, Lyons told Andrew Nemec of Sports Illustrated,
"Oregon... pretty much all the time," he said. "Coach Lanning, coach (Will) Stein... pretty great relationship with those two, my whole family, which is pretty incredible."
"...The big thing with Oregon is how long is Coach Stein going to be there?"