“The visit to Washington was awesome and really got me thinking about how special going home would be.” Kodi Greene, the five-star OL, visited the Huskies, praised their program, and in a few days, finally made Seattle his home over Eugene. Was this Dan Lanning’s failure, or just the brutal reality of the wild west world that college football has become? To be honest, after the backing of the billionaire Phil Knight, NIL money isn’t an issue for Oregon. Yet, in the 2026 class, Oregon has lost 4 players to other rivals. Something needed to be done, and it had to be done sooner rather than later.
It’s not that Oregon hasn’t produced top classes recently. In fact, Dan Lanning has made Eugene a power base for recruiting. For instance, in 2024, the head coach produced a 3rd-ranked class nationally and backed it up with a 4th-ranked class in the 2025 cycle. Nevertheless, there were setbacks in the 2026 class as QB Jonas Williams, DL Bott Mulitalo, and Tomuhini Topui decommitted. But now? Let’s just say that Dan Lanning is giving Kirby Smart a run for his money.
Spencer McLaughlin, the host of ‘Locked on Ducks,‘ talked about the two players Oregon is targeting after recent setbacks. “Crystal balls that have been floating around go something like this. Five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons and five-star offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho. A number of reporters have indicated that Oregon’s in a really, really good spot with Iheanacho, who’s the number two overall offensive tackle in the class.”
According to On3’s probability rankings, Dan Lanning has a strong 84% chance of securing Immanuel Iheanacho. In comparison, Kirby Smart’s Georgia currently has only a 1.3% chance of landing him. Additionally, for the only non-committed five-star quarterback, Ryder Lyons, Oregon has a 68% chance of acquiring his commitment, while the Trojans are also in the mix with a 31% chance. Both players are trending toward Oregon and are likely to visit Eugene sooner than expected. Furthermore, there is a third player in the pipeline as well.
The third player Spencer McLaughlin talked about was the four-star, highly talented wide receiver Messiah Hampton. “The other crystal ball that has been logged by the folks over at On3 is… four-star wide receiver Messiah Hampton.” On3’s probability rankings place Oregon at the top spot with almost 90% probability, followed by James Franklin’s Penn State. However, Oregon’s scenario with Hampton is more complicated than it looks.
BREAKING 5-star OT Kodi Greene has flipped his commitment from Oregon to Washington, @GregBiggins reports
Greene ranks No. 10 NATL. (No. 4 OT) in the 2026 On300.
Read: https://t.co/ZH1mPImht3 pic.twitter.com/f6v5ekksia
— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) April 24, 2025
The guy has made a whopping 7 trips to Penn State, followed by 5 at Ohio State and 3 visits to Oregon. Moreover, Hampton, being a native of Rochester, New York, makes the Penn State move more probable, considering the proximity. But don’t write off Dan Lanning yet. Since the player will make his official visit to Oregon on 6th June. Then we may see some ‘power’ moves happening then. As for the 4th-ranked QB in the country, Ryder Lyons? The QB whisperer at USC seems to be closing in as the guy has an official visit on 6th June at USC. And Oregon? The official visit date is 12th June, so yes, Oregon will have more leverage in pulling in Ryder Lyons too.
Oregon gets bested by a major ACC giant?
Oregon might be closing on the three incredible prospects as discussed above, but just recently? Things weren’t great for Oregon as they lost Jackson Cantwell, who committed to Miami after prolonged negotiations, as reported. Reports emerged that Mario Cristobal was willing to offer $2 million for the No. 1 overall prospect of the 2026 class. The negotiations were prolonged, but the move happened, and it wasn’t $2 million.
According to Brooks Austin, the move was a $5 million NIL money deal as Cantwell finally made his commitment public to Miami. “Sources told me last week the price tag for Jackson Cantwell escalated to close to $5m. Miami called and called late into the evening. Eventually, the guaranteed money won out, I’m told. That being said, Mirabal and a few million aren’t a bad decision.”
Dan Lanning was aggressive after the OT but finally lost him against that $5 million tag and Cristobal’s aggressive recruiting. For now, Lanning’s focus seems to be on rectifying these setbacks, including Cantwell’s, and producing another top 5-ranked class consecutively. That being said, the class still has major 5-star prospects like Kendre Harrison and Richard Wesley, so all is not lost yet for Oregon.
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