The Mario Cristobal era at Oregon is in the past, and as each player he recruited has left for the NFL or the Transfer Portal, the current program is now entirely built by Dan Lanning and his coaching staff. Under Mario Cristobal, the Ducks went 35-13 with a 23-9 record in Pac-12 play, coming the closest to the College Football Playoff in the 2019 season.
The pandemic shortened 2020 season seemingly set the Ducks back, and getting blown out twice by Utah in 2021 kept the Ducks from ever getting over the hump with Cristobal. When you look back at Mario’s time at the helm, a few of his 5-star recruits performing to that level of talent could’ve made the biggest difference.
The 3 5-star recruits who mightily flopped for Oregon under Mario Cristobal
3. Kingsley Suamataia - Offensive Tackle - 2021 recruiting class
In the 2021 recruiting class, the Oregon Ducks dipped into the state of Utah to secure the Nation's 20th ranked player and 5th ranked offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia. Between injuries and being a freshman, Suamataia only appeared in one game for the Ducks leading to his decision to enter the Transfer Portal in October of 2021.
The talent was clearly there for Suamataia as he went on to have a successful college football career at BYU before being picked in the 2nd round of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. If Suamataia and Oregon could've found a way to keep him better engaged in the team, it only would've helped the Ducks in the long run, but both parties ended up being fine in the end.
2. Ty Thompson - Quarterback - 2021 recruiting class
Whenever a program signs a 5-star recruit, the expectations are always sky high, but they're only elevated when it's a quarterback. Mario Cristobal and the coaching staff signed Arizona native Ty Thompson as the 31st ranked player in the country as he looked to be the future of the Ducks at quarterback.
Instead, Ty Thompson only had one season with Cristobal where he lost the battle for the starting job to Anthony Brown, attempting just 15 passes as the backup. The following year, Dan Lanning took over at the helm, and brought Bo Nix with him as he beat out Thompson in another competition for the job.
Ty Thompson never starting a game at Oregon is a disappointment, but the way the rest of his career panned out is just as disappointing as he started just 1 game at quarterback for Tulane before converting to tight end.
1. Justin Flowe - Linebacker - 2020 recruiting class
Coming out of High School, few recruits have gotten as much hype as former Oregon linebacker Justin Flowe. Watching Flowe’s High School film made it look as if he was a man playing against children and that he could be ready for the NFL before even playing at the college level. The hype around Justin Flowe brought a ton of hype to Eugene when the 5-star linebacker picked the Ducks over Clemson, Miami, and USC.
It turned out that Flowe’s commitment would be the highlight of his Oregon tenure as he failed to ever find a significant role with the Ducks as a leg injury slowed his development costing him most of the 2021 season. In the 2022 season, Flowe started just two games leading to his decision to transfer.
Ever since leaving Oregon, Justin Flowe has had flashes, but ultimately never delivered on the promise of his High School success. Stints at Arizona and UNLV have continued Flowe’s college football career, but any hope of him becoming a superstar at the position has faded.
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