Oregon Football Recruiting: Talent level rises, relationships matter again

Jett Washington draws Hall of Fame comparison

Oregon commit Jett Washington won "Alpha Dog" honors at the OT7 Finals in Fort Lauderdale, Florida over the weekend.

Watching him patrol the field from his safety position, Brandon Huffman of 247Sports compared him to Seattle Mariners Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr.

Huffman said, "The way he breaks on the ball, the way he takes away his entire side of the field, we were talking over the on the sideline, it's kind of like watching Ken Griffey (Jr.) in his prime, patrolling the center field."

"That's what Jett Washington looks like in that back-half. ... Jett looks like a million bucks out there, but he plays like it too."

Zachary Neel covered the story for Ducks Wire, the Oregon USA Today affiliate.

The Oregon 2026 class isn't big-- yet. But it has the kind of exceptional, twitchy athleticism that will keep the Ducks in the top rung of college football. A lot of half-baked prognostications are coming down the pipe saying how Oregon's "ceiling" in 2025 is 10-2, but that thinking improperly discounts how well Dan Lanning has stocked the roster with elite body types, both through recruiting and the portal.

It's hard to say where they get this stuff. It's a deliberate kind of ignorance. When a coaching staff puts together the No. 5 high school recruiting class and the No. 5 portal class, coupling that with returning talent like Matayo Uiagalelei and Kenyon Sadiq, it's utterly naive to think they won't be able to compete with anyone on their schedule.

Josh Pate celebrates the return of recruiting in building fan interest

Host of "The Josh Pate College Football Show" Josh Pate believes that the House Settlement, revenue-sharing and NIL rules are doing something great for college football, bringing back recruiting.

Instead of merely going to the highest bidder, Pate believes, the NIL Go clearinghouse and the revenue-sharing cap will reestablish relationships and development as priorities in recruiting decisions.

In this cycle teams are front-loading deals and spending excessively, but that's likely to level out. There's a cap of $20.5 million for all sports with 75 percent going to football, about $15 million. If a team promises a high school tight end or quarterback $3 million, it starts to constrict how well they can take care of their current players.

NIL third-party deals of more than $600 have to be approved by the clearinghouse for "fair-market value." Theoretically, there's no more pay-for-play, which should make actual coaching and preparing a prospect for the NFL more important.

Dan Lanning is a player's coach. He's sent 18 to the League in the last two drafts.

It's not as early as you think

People like to say, "It's June. It's early," with regard to 2026 recruiting, but the timetable has dramatically changed compared to what it was even five years ago. Players and their representation want to claim their share of the money before teams run out.

Twenty of On3 Sports 32 five-star recruits have already committed. Just 12 remain, and of those, several have announcements scheduled in the next two weeks.

Four-star Devin Jackson decides July 3rd. Four-star Jalen Lott commits on July 8th. Deuce Geralds, Immanuel Iheanacho and Davon Benjamin all have high interest in the Ducks and may commit before the summer is over.

Lott starred this weekend at the Texas State 7-on-7 Championships.

Read More: