Oregon insider explains how Ducks beat Georgia, Miami for elite 4-star DL Aydin Breland

Oregon landed its highest-ranked commitment in the 2024 cycle on Saturday, as Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei four-star defensive lineman Aydin Breland pledged to the Ducks over Georgia and Miami.

It was the Bulldogs that were trending heavily for the 6-foot-4.5, 300-pounder heading into October, but Dan Lanning and the Oregon staff managed to swing the momentum late. Oregon recruiting insider Justin Hopkins joined On3’s Josh Newberg to detail how the Ducks got it done with the top-40 prospect.

“Distance becomes a factor in those late hours with any recruitment, Oregon is obviously closer to Aydin Breland than Georgia is. That doesn’t happen often for the Ducks, but it did here,” Hopkins said.

While Eugene is much closer to Breland than Athens, Georgia managed to get the blue-chipper on campus just as frequently. While Kirby Smart and Co. pushed hard, the Ducks always had the advantage of being close to home.

“Oregon just felt like home. It is close to home, it is a beautiful place and my feelings about them grew over time,” Breland told On3 upon his commitment. “I Iove the green in Eugene, it always gives me home vibes and it is not too far from home. Oregon is a place I felt good at each time I visited and that put them over the top.”

Dan Lanning putting Oregon on recruiting pedestal

Lanning is well aware of what it takes to put together an elite recruiting class. He helped do it as Georgia’s defensive coordinator and is doing it now as the Ducks’ skipper. Oregon now has the No. 7 class in the nation, per the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking.

The Ducks’ staff put in the proper time and effort in their recruitment of Breland. He rewarded Lanning, DL coach Tony Tuioti and defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi with a pledge on Saturday.

“Georgia is Georgia and there’s no doubt it’s a great program if you want to get developed, they will do that for you. I think Oregon offers a lot of the same, much newer of course and Dan Lanning’s showing that he can do that,” Hopkins said. “They prioritized Breland really early on and made him feel like a top priority. I think those relationships that they built … I think that’s what really won out in the end.

…The fact that possibly he felt more comfortable with that staff, that it’s closer to home, you’re still getting that opportunity to be developed and play at a top-notch defense. I think when you take all those things and you add it up with the distance, I think that’s what ended up making it the right call for Aydin Breland at the end of the day.”

Breland, the No. 38 overall prospect and No. 7 DL in the 2024 cycle — per the On3 Industry Ranking — is now the seventh top-200 pledge in Oregon’s class. Hopkins sees the lineman making an immediate impact when he arrives in Eugene next season.

“A guy like Aydin Breland, that’s a guy that comes in and you fully expect to maybe not start per se, but he’s gonna see reps and he’s gonna play, he’s gonna be pushing for playing time,” Hopkins said.