Oregon Ducks primed for monster recruiting weekend

The eyes of the college football recruiting world will be on Eugene, Oregon, this weekend. That’s because the Oregon Ducks are set to host a top collection of top 2022 and 2023 targets. It’s quickly shaping up as one of the first major recruiting tests for new Ducks’ coach Dan Lanning.

For most programs, this weekend is all about the 2023 class. But the Ducks are still working on wrapping up the 2022 class. They have two of the top uncommitted senior recruits slated to visit.

First on the list is Five-Star Plus+ defensive lineman Lebbeus Overton of Alpharetta (Ga.) Milton.

Coming into the official visit the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine lists Texas A&M as clearly the team to beat at 93.4%. Oregon currently has a less than 1% chance of landing Overton. But insiders say that could change after an impressive visit.

Interestingly, Overton’s brother Micaiah Overton, a grad transfer from Liberty, will be joining his younger brother on the visit as a recruit. The elder Overton brother has received offers from Oklahoma and Oregon since he entered the transfer portal. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

Helping Oregon is that Lanning has been a solid figure in Overton’s recruitment. This goes back to his time at UGA and beyond.

“Lanning and (Overton) go way back,” his mother, Eunice Thomas, said. “A lot of the Georgia staff was there at Alabama when he grew up. Looking at the other schools, we’re not just saying ‘Let’s go see Oregon’. There is a relationship there. It means a lot.”

Josh Conerly Jr. also set for Oregon visit

The other senior official visitor scheduled to make an official visit this weekend to Oregon is four-star offensive Josh Conerly Jr. of Seattle Rainer Beach.

Conerly has been down to six schools — USC, Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington — for quite some time. He’s visited Michigan, Oklahoma and Miami. He is scheduled to be in Oregon this weekend.

Conerly will then take his final official visit to USC on March 25, and it’s the Trojans that are currently in the lead, according to the On3 RPM. However, there is plenty of room for movement. There are zero predictions in Conerly’s recruitment.

That’s because most insiders know the Oregon visit could play a major role in his decision. That’s especially true after Oregon hired offensive line coach Adrian Klem, one of the top recruiters in the country that has deep West Coast connections.

5-star Matayo Uiagelelei heads back to Oregon

While a lot of the attention is on the senior prospects taking official visits, the Ducks are also set for a big-time group of juniors set coming on unofficial visits.

The biggest name in the bunch is five-star defensive lineman Matayo Uiagalelei of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco. Uiagelelei is listed by On3’s ScoopDuck as “one of the absolute top targets” in Oregon’s 2023 recruiting efforts. He was previously on campus to visit out the visit period in January.

Getting him back on campus is a significant development with Uiagelelei.

“Coach Lanning winning a national championship definitely helps a lot adding to his resume,” Uiagelelei told ScoopDuck last week. “(It) shows that he can turn Oregon into a high-level program. I like coach (Tosh) Lupoi. He is very good at his job. Something that he explained to me that stood out to me was his time at Bama and the NFL experience he has.”

The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine lists USC as the favorite in Uiagelelei’s recruitment at 44.7%. However, the Ducks are right there at 37.7%. This visit could go a long way toward shaping his eventual decision.

No. 2 QB Dylan Raiola ready for Oregon

Chandler (Ariz.) High sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola is one of the most coveted quarterbacks in the country — regardless of class. Raiola already has more than two dozen offers. While he isn’t narrowing anything down, he is starting to sort through his top teams and take unofficial visits.

Early on, he lists Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, USC, Oregon, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas and Nebraska as his top teams. And it’s the Oregon Ducks that will host him and his family this upcoming weekend on an unofficial visit.

It’s a trip, Dylan Raiola is quite excited about as you can see in the video interview below.

“I want to bring my family up there,” Dylan Raiola told On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons. “I want to see how my family likes it because I’m a big family guy. Really, I just want to make sure where I go, my family also is on board and they’re going to support me whatever I do.

“Their facilities are good and are definitely going to be a big thing to see. But just being with the coaches and seeing their offense and what culture they have will also be big for me.”

Other star juniors set to visit

Furthermore, Uiagelelei isn’t the only headliner junior set for an unofficial visit. According to ScoopDuck, four-star junior defensive lineman Jayden Wayne of Tacoma (Wash.) Lincoln will also be on campus Saturday. Oregon is listed as the early leader in his recruitment, per the On3 RPM.

Also expected to visit are four-star linebacker Jaiden Ausberry of Baton Rouge (La.) University Lab, four-star cornerback Daylen Austin of Long Beach (Calif.) Poly and three-star linebacker My’Keil Gardner of Peoria (Ariz.) Liberty.

“I really like the program and the direction it’s headed in,” Ausberry told ScoopDuck. “The staff has done a great job at other places in the past. They are recruiting me hard. Coach (Matt) Powledge is the one that offered me. He’s a real energetic and passionate guy. We get along really well. I can’t wait to see him again.”

On the offensive side of the ball, coveted in-state four-star tight end Riley Williams of Portland Central Catholic and four-star receiver Kyler Kasper of Gilbert (Ariz.) Williams Field are scheduled to visit. The Ducks are expected to be real threats for both four-star targets.

ScoopDuck has a more complete rundown of the weekend visitors that can be viewed at this link.