4-star DL Xadavien Sims commits to Oregon: 'I'm ready to be a Duck'

Last month, Durant (Okla.) four-star defensive lineman Xadavien Sims thought he would “100%” commit to Oklahoma. His April 22 visit to Oregon changed everything.

By the time Sims arrived for his photo shoot in Ducks gear, he knew he wanted to spend his college football career in Eugene. The 6-foot-4, 280-pound defender pledged to Oregon that day, and made the news official Saturday.

“We got to the head coach’s room and we started talking,” Sims told On3. “I was like, ‘I’m ready to be a Duck.’ He was really excited. They were all really excited.”

Sims, who returned to campus eight days later, shared that head coach Dan Lanning played a crucial role in his decision. After speaking with him on his first trip to Oregon, he realized that the Ducks could develop him the best.

Oregon won out for Sims over Oklahoma, Michigan State, TCU and Vanderbilt. The No. 2 player in Oklahoma plans to cancel his already scheduled official visits, since he is likely “shutting things down.” Right now, he is “pretty locked in” with Oregon.

“He’s definitely building something special,” Sims said about Lanning. “They won 10 games last season, so he’s definitely going to create nothing but improvements. He didn’t even really recruit the class that he had last year. The ’23 class is the first class he recruited. Just to do something like that with people he didn’t even really recruit, he’s going to do something crazy by the end. There’s national championship talk.”

Sims believes Oregon’s staff can develop him

Lanning’s debut season with the Ducks is not the first time he has seen success in college football. Before coming to the Pacific Northwest, he won a national championship with Georgia.

Sims is confident that Lanning can build Oregon into one of the best, if not the best program in the country.

“He has the second largest buyout of any head coach, so I think he’s the head coach that is most bought into the program,” said Sims, the No. 200 overall prospect and No. 22 defensive lineman in the 2024 On3 Industry Ranking. “He just came from Georgia. They had the best defense in college football. He’s been sending people to the league left and right. I think I could be the next great that he develops.”

Sims is not only close with Lanning. Throughout his recruitment, he built a strong bond with defensive line coach Tony Tuioti.

“He came down here three times, I think,” Sims said. “He came two of those times between one or two weeks, he was down here a lot. I have a great relationship with him. I talk to him all the time. We chop it up on FaceTime a lot.”