It’s that time of year when you see more 5-stars on the On3 social media feed than in downtown LA. The landscape for the ‘25 season has largely shaken out and rosters for this fall are all but established. But myopic nearsightedness is a cardinal sin in collegiate athletics, where teams undergo cyclic upheavals. The focus has swiftly pivoted over to the class of ‘26. Among the chaos of commitments and campus visits, one 5-star prospect’s future landing spot has just become a lot clearer. That would be offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho, the 3rd-highest rated recruit in the country.
Maryland-native Immanuel Iheanacho’s recruitment has been rather volatile. A multitude of schools have equity in his sweepstakes, and this equity has been fluctuating. Iheanacho’s been getting pulled in all directions, from the southeastern faction to the Big 10. LSU, Oregon and Penn State created some separation at the top from the chasing pack over time. But now, one school has just emerged as the clear-cut favorite to land Iheanacho. A school that’s the most secluded, most remote. Yet, continues to mobilize players at an unprecedented clip.
Oregon’s been a supercharged wrecking machine on the recruitment front. Head coach Dan Lanning deserves a lot of credit for magnetizing high-rated players all the way out to the Pacific Coast. But, admittedly, the driving force fanning the flames of Oregon’s ability to churn out top-ranked classes after top-ranked classes has been their NIL arsenal. The foundational pillar of which is Nike, of course. Being located in the backyard of Phil Knight’s empire has made the Ducks uber-competitive, and Immanuel Iheanacho is poised to be the latest heir in a growing lineage of 5-star talent. On3’s Steve Wiltfong, the industry leader on all things recruitment, has just logged a prediction that Iheanacho lands in Eugene. He elaborated on this prediction over the On3 YouTube channel. No prizes for guessing, but a different 5-star OT’s recruitment going against Oregon is a massive factor.
Wiltfong’s prediction comes days after Jackson Cantwell, the nation’s top-rated player, picked Miami over Oregon after things came down to those two programs. “I felt like Oregon’s been the leader for a while. But I just didn’t log that prediction because I wanted to make sure that Jackson Cantwell ended up at Miami,” he said. “Oftentimes, readers would like to say at the end, ‘Wiltfong changes his prediction right at the end to make sure that he’s right.’ But oftentimes, in some of these tight recruiting battles down the stretch, one of the reasons why you have to wait until the last day to make that change is because these recruitments are so close,” he added. Hey, guilty as charged! But you’d rather be correct than be first, eh? Steve Wiltfong also said, “I just don’t see how [Oregon] could land both and be able to afford both” regarding Iheanacho and Cantwell.
FONG BOMB: On3’s @SWiltfong_ has logged an expert prediction for Oregon to land Five-Star Plus+ OT Immanuel Iheanacho
Iheanacho is the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2026 class.
Intel: https://t.co/LBPMxYaKY0 pic.twitter.com/TkvclM4CBb
— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) May 13, 2025
“Oregon has had [Immanuel Iheanacho on] the campus a couple of times. They are the leader. It’s been a fluid recruitment. Georgia’s been a leader for Iheanacho [and] they’re not even a finalist, so that’s how fluid this recruitment has been. Maryland’s been a leader, [too]. But now you have Oregon, LSU and Penn State in the top three, I’m being told. I think he loves Oregon, loves [O-line] coach [A’Lique] Terry, loves where they’re at as a program, obviously. What Oregon brings off the field from an infrastructure standpoint,” proceeded Steve Wiltfong. Not quite time to order the jersey yet. But Dan Lanning and the Oregon faithful can feel very good about how things are trending. The Maryland bit is an interesting wrinkle amidst all this. Instinctively, they stick out like a sore thumb alongside all these blue-chip programs. But the Terps really were close at one stage.
Immanuel Iheanacho pulls a complete 180 on the Maryland Terrapins
The Maryland Terrapins- perennial bridesmaids, never quite the bride. Barring some sporadic moments of prominence, the program has historically been an afterthought relative to their B1G contemporaries. HC Mike Locksley has been there 7 seasons, and managed to finish above .500 thrice. But 6’7, 350lb Immanuel Iheanacho presented as a messiah figure. A tide that’ll raise the boat for the program collectively. Merely 26 miles and 40 minutes of motor separates Iheanacho’s high school, Georgetown Prep, and Maryland’s campus in College Park. “I’d say the idea of being a hometown hero has popped into everybody’s head,” said Iheanacho at a previous juncture.
“Coach Locks has seen me since I was a really bad ninth grader going into sophomore year. They have seen me when I was nothing, and now I think they can take me to that next level,” said Iheanacho. “It had a different look on my mentality and how I approached my recruitment. Why go to another state? Stay home and represent my college…Everybody goes to Penn State, Bama, everybody wants to go everywhere else. Miami. Why not stay here?… I dreamt about it once, being able to bring a Big Ten Championship home. You can say you did it and stayed home.” Sheesh. Despite these comments being baked into the equation, it doesn’t appear as if Immanuel Iheanacho will remain home after all. As aforementioned, it really has been a fluid, volatile recruitment.
Oregon and Dan Lanning continue to have the Midas Touch. This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last, that they’ve managed to onboard the best alternative to the best player. Losing out on Jackson Cantwell and “falling back” on Immanuel Iheanacho epitomizes how strong the program is right now. Let’s see if Coach Lanning and Coach Terry can drive this thing home.
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