Jublilation ensued when Georgetown Prep five-star offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho committed to the Ducks live on the Pat McAfee Show on July 3.
Ranked the No. 8 recruit in the country for 2026 and the No. 1 "interior lineman" (his eventual position will be worked out in practice) he's the Oregon's sixth-highest rated recruit ever, according to the 247Sports Composite and No. 1 all-time as an offensive tackle, ahead of Penei Sewell (who was actually a four-star, ranked 53rd in the nation in 2018, 42nd all-time at Oregon.)
Josh Conerly, 11th, and Kingsley Suamataia, who transferred to BYU, are the other two highest-rated tackles in Oregon history, and Iheanacho places higher than both of them.
So it was a bit of shock Friday when news broke that the 6-6, 340 trench monster plans multiple gameday recruiting visits this fall, to LSU, Maryland and Penn State.
Iheanacho isn't backing down on his Oregon commitment. “I’m overly locked in with the ducks. I just would think I would be doing myself a disservice to not go," he said.
He's returning to Eugene for games against Wisconsin and USC. He told Chad Simmons of On3 Sports, “I can’t wait to see Oregon run through USC‘s face.”
While the appeal of campus visits and experiencing big-time environments is indeed strong, it's a mild concern that Iheanacho has planned the trips. Oregon fought an incredible battle to win his commitment, and granting those other schools another chance to pitch him, while understandable (it's the decision of a lifetime and a great opportunity) is mildly unsettling.
Oregon Five-Star Plus+ OT commit Immanuel Iheanacho plans to take multiple game-day visits this fall, he tells @ChadSimmons_👀
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 8, 2025
“I can’t wait to see Oregon run through USC‘s face.”
Read: https://t.co/1LjUpqKNFa pic.twitter.com/w5gaFYjRo0
Blue-chip recruiting is more hazardous by the day. This week Big 12 also-ran but heavy spender Texas Tech opened up two more oil wells to steal five-star tackle Felix Ojo, the No. 6 recruit in the 2026 class and No. 1 offensive tackle, and a day later, LaDamion Guyton, the No. 2 recruit in the 2027 class and No. 1 edge rusher, both from the state of Georgia.
The Red Raiders weren't in the four four for either one of these premium prospects, and their bold moves make a crazed market even more volatile. There's no salary cap and the price of talent goes up with every high-profile signing.
Guyton's NIL deal is reported to pay him $900,000 as a freshman. That beats a weekend job bagging groceries at Publix by quite a bit.