What's next for Oregon after missing on Jared Curtis

Dan Lanning hasn't forgotten how to recruit.

It's been a rough couple of months for Duck fans who follow recruiting. The Ducks have missed on big targets, including No. 31 prospect wide receiver Kayden Wyatt-Dixon on Sunday and Jared Curtis this afternoon.

It's a lot of negative momentum. For now, the Ducks are trending down, though Jared Curtis' NIL package was north of $2 million. That will buy a couple of offensive tackles.

No. 1 tackle Jackson Cantwell is likely to follow Curtis to Georgia, where recruiting is trending up for the Bulldogs right now.

What now then for the Ducks?

1. Count the blessings

None of the recruiting losses impact the 2025 team, which has a solid and deep roster and a real chance to compete for the playoffs.

The Ducks are set at quarterback in the immediate future with redshirt sophomores Dante Moore and Austin Novosad, redshirt freshman Luke Moga and true freshman Akili Smith.

All four showed the ability to get the ball down the field in the spring game, and Moga impressed with how much he's improved after a year in the program, coming from a small school and being relatively unheralded.

Smith is 6-6, 204, a four-star prospect out of Lincoln High School in San Diego, the No. 222 prospect in the country for 2025. He started three years in high school and completed 65% of his passes. while throwing for 78 touchdowns with 20 career interceptions, just four as a senior.

2. Get to work

Oregon has worked hard to recruit Folsom, Calif. dual threat Ryder Lyons, a 6-2, 205 five-star whose playing style brings to mind Bo Nix. He's fast, athletic and creative out of the pocket.

He makes his official visit to Eugene on June 13. It's a three-way battle between the Ducks, USC and BYU for Lyons, the No. 3 prospect in the 2026 class and the No. 2 quarterback.

One caveat in his recruitment is that Lyons plans to take a one-year religious mission and would not enroll at his chosen school until 2027.

Pivot to other options

Ideally a program likes to take a quarterback in every class. Just three of the top 20 remain uncommitted after Curtis' decision, four-star Bowe Bentley of Celina, Texas, four-star Oscar Rios of Downey, Calif., and four-star Nelson Peterson of Forney, Texas.

Another thing to keep in mind is that six of the last eight quarterbacks to win the Heisman were transfers, and the last two Oregon quarterbacks to get drafted and make it into the NFL came out of the portal, looking to rehab their careers. Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel worked out pretty well.

In spite of all the talk about "Oregon's unlimited NIL money," everybody has a budget, though Texas has reportedly ballooned theirs to $35-40 million. The money not spent on quarterbacks can be shifted over to defense. Maybe it allows Oregon to close on edge rush Richard Wesley and cornerback Brandon Arrington.

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