Evaluating how Big Ten move impacts Oregon's already-strong recruiting profile

Oregon rarely had trouble dominating the recruiting rankings in the Pac-12, but after a move to the Big Ten, On3’s Andy Staples and Steve Wiltfong discussed whether the Ducks can maintain their elite recruiting level.

“Does it change Oregon’s recruiting being in the Big Ten? Does it change their territory? Like, Oregon, it feels like, has been recruiting nationally since Mike Bellotti. Do they have to change anything they do or are they on track?” Staples asked Wiltfong on Thursday’s live show on the On3 YouTube channel.

Given this past year’s success on the trail and the impressive recruiting hauls Lanning has already brought in, Wiltfong doesn’t see much reason for a down tick on the trail.

“Oregon had On3’s No. 4 ranked recruiting class last cycle. Dan Lanning has been in the top 10 all three cycles,” he noted. “They do recruit nationally, they have the Nike brand there. I think moving to the Big Ten maybe helps them another inch or two on the recruiting trail, but they’re obviously a title contender.”

Particularly, Wiltfong loves how the Ducks have attacked the most important position in football by recruiting through the portal.

“They’ve crushed the portal. Nobody has recruited portal quarterbacks better than Oregon holistically. Obviously, USC landed Caleb Williams, but Oregon going Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore, I think that’s phenomenal. It’s a destination place for players.”

Lanning’s recruiting success in a few seasons at Oregon speaks for itself, but Wiltfong notes he also spent years at Georgia going head to head against the best in the southeast for top talent.

“Dan Lanning is obviously an exceptional head coach when it comes to building relationships with players and top prospects. He was one of the best recruiters on Georgia’s staff, helped them recruit guys like can Malaki Starks, which were wars on the trail against programs like Clemson. People are like, ‘oh, it’s so easy to recruit (with) Georgia,’ but there’s other programs that have great logos on their windbreaker too.”

Steve Wiltfong actually sees Oregon and Texas in similar boats moving up in competition levels with new conferences while possessing the talent and recruiting firepower to win right away.

“Here comes Oregon coming into the Big Ten. I think they’re coming into the Big Ten the same way Texas is coming into the SEC, where they’ll both have a chance to be competitive from day one in those leagues.

Obviously, it will be a little more challenging from Saturday to Saturday with the physicality for both those programs with what they’re accustomed to in their old leagues. But from a talent perspective, these teams are loaded because they’ve done a fantastic job at recruiting.”

If there was any doubt about Lanning’s ability to maintain elite recruiting, allow Wiltfong to erase that for you.

“Dan Lanning, again, top five recruiting class last year, so they’re right there in the thick of it with the way they’ve hit the portal and the recruiting trail.”