Oregon trending for 4-star DL Jericho Johnson after latest visit

Shoring up the trenches has been a major priority for Oregon football coach Dan Lanning since he took over in Eugene. His predecessor, Mario Cristobal, recruited offensive linemen at a high level. But as the Ducks head into the Big Ten beginning next season, having the requisite beef up front to compete is paramount.

The Ducks already have commitments from five blue-chip interior linemen (spanning both sides of the ball), but they’re looking to make a few late additions to the 2024 class there. Over the weekend, Lanning and Co. hosted four-star Fairfield (Calif.) Armijo defensive lineman Jericho Johnson.

And coming out of that visit, the Ducks are now trending in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM). Following an expert pick from Oregon recruiting insider Justin Hopkins, UO holds an 89.1 percent chance of securing Johnson’s commitment.

“I know I said as much in the Monday update, but I think the Ducks are the team to beat here,” Hopkins wrote on Tuesday. “And they probably might have been even before the visit. The visit more than likely sealed the deal however. Johnson has been an early top priority for this staff. He’s one of the top defensive linemen in the country, particularly out West. I get the feeling Dan Lanning won’t let this one slip away. I don’t think a decision is incoming immediately but I think the Ducks have a firm grasp on his recruitment at this point.”

Ducks looking to add to impressive defensive line class

While Cristobal recruited one side of the trenches extremely well, the other side was left somewhat bare when he departed.

Lanning’s first priority was fixing that, and in the 2023 cycle, he signed 11 prospects who projected to play along the defensive line or at the EDGE spot. He has followed that up in 2024 with three more commitments, including four-stars Xadavien Sims and Jaxson Jones, along with high three-star Tionne Gray.

If the Ducks can pull of landing Johnson, he would be the highest-rated defensive lineman of this year’s class and the second-highest in the past two seasons.

In total, Oregon holds 22 commitments this cycle and currently sits at No. 13 nationally in the On3 Industry Football Team Recruiting Rankings. Among those 22 are 15-blue chip commitments, giving the Ducks the seventh-highest blue chip ratio (blue-chip commits/total commits) of any program in the country.

Johnson is the No. 121 overall prospect in the 2024 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He ranks as the nation’s No. 15 defensive lineman and the No. 14 recruit in California.