Oregon Ducks News: Nick Abrams last hope at LB, Dakorien more, flamethrowing RHP

Four-star linebacker Nick Abrams of Owings Mills, Maryland cut his list to four Thursday and announced a decision date of Wednesday July 16. He's down to Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and Oregon.

Recruiting analyst Chad Simmons of On3 Sports said, "I think Bama is out here. "

"The two I hear about the most are Georgia and Oregon but I can't rule out Michigan just yet."

It's a crucial decision for the Ducks because they have just one linebacker committed in the 2026 class and took only one last cycle. Those two are very good ones in Tristan Phillips (2026) and Gavin Nix (2025) but linebacker is a position where competition and depth is critical.

Linebackers are not only the backbone of a defense, they form the core of the special teams. Abrams is On3's No. 245 prospect and No. 16 linebacker, 6-2, 210 from McDonough High, the school that brought the Ducks 2025 cornerback Brandon Finney.

He's a masher with great range. He visited the Ducks on June 20. Already trailing badly for Loganville, Georgia five-star Tyler Atkinson, if Dan Lanning and Tosh Lupoi miss on Abrams, they're back to mining the portal for a shorter term solution, though Brayden Platt, Kamar Mothudi and Dylan Williams enter their redshirt freshmen seasons this August.

A coaching staff seeks to balance its classes and position groups, though sometimes it becomes a scramble. The Platt/Mothudi/Williams haul was part of a stellar year for linebackers on the West Coast, two from Southern California and one from Washington.

Oregon's challenge always starts with the fact that they have to recruit nationally. Home-grown linebackers have been rare since the days of Jeremy Asher (Tigard), Rich Ruhl (Roseburg) and Chris Vandiver (Lebanon).

Dakorien Moore highest-rated freshman in EA Sports College Football 26

I am loath to reference this, because overall the Ducks are poorly represented by electronic sports' most popular video game. The team strength rating places them 19th in the country and the coach and player images in the game are laughably bad. Matayo Uiagalalei looks more like Justin Phinisee than himself.

But one thing EA did get right is Dakorien Moore, even though the Duncanville, Texas playmaker might be faster and more elusive than this impressive rating allows.

Moore won't play like a freshman. Darrenn Carrington's freshman receiving record may be in jeopardy. In 2014 Carrington tallied 37 receptions for 704 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 19.0 yards a catch.

With the productivity gap in the Oregon offense after losing their top four leading receivers, Duck fans have to hope for at least that from Moore. Ross Douglas has 50 more days to fashion a strong committee in the receiver room. The quota of 3500 yards and 30 touchdowns has to come from somewhere.

Baseball renews repeat title hopes with ace from San Diego

San Diego Toros pitcher Cal Scolari has transferred to Oregon, joining new pitching coach Matt Florer.

Scolari earned WCC Pitcher of the Year last season for the Toros, fanning 77 batters in 70.1 innings. He's a 6-4 righthander with a 95 mph fastball, a slider he throws in the low 80s.

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