Autzen Zoo
Fansided

Oregon football projected to land nation's No. 1 overall recruit in 2026

By Connor Muldowney

Oct 18, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning holds his hand up and smiles while talking to a referee during the first quarter at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images
Oct 18, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning holds his hand up and smiles while talking to a referee during the first quarter at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images
facebooktwitterreddit

Dan Lanning and Oregon football are the current No. 1 team in the country which, honestly, not many people saw coming after the first two weeks of the season.

The Ducks struggled to beat Idaho and Boise State and went from No. 3 in the preseason poll down to No. 9 despite being 2-0 and then they kept winning by wide margins en route to a 7-0 start, including a huge home win over Ohio State in Week 7.

With all of this on-field success and No. 1 overall ranking comes recruiting success. Lanning is already one of the best recruiters in the nation but he's making waves with the No. 1 prospect in 2026.

According to a recent On3 prediction by Steve Wiltfong, Oregon is the team to beat for the No. 1 prospect in the entire 2026 class, five-star edge rusher Zion Elee.

On3 has Elee listed as the No. 1 overall recruit in the country, 247Sports has him as the No. 2 prospect, and ESPN and Rivals are bringing his composite down, ranking him No. 16 and No. 71 nationally, respectively. This kid is going to be a superstar.

Elee reigns from Joppa, Md., and has interest in some of the local programs like Maryland, Penn State. and Syracuse, but it looks like the Ducks are the favorite right now.

If Oregon continues playing like it has been and winning games in dominant fashion en route to a playoff berth and potential national title, you'll see the recruiting take another step (if that's even possible).

Lanning is killing it right now.

Home/Oregon Ducks Football Recruiting