Dan Lanning Perfects Transfer Portal Class

As the season concluded for Oregon it was expected Dan Lanning would once again use the transfer portal to make his team better.

In the 2024 class, Lanning signed 12 transfers to his team. Nearly all of them started or at least contributed to the team with freshman transfer safety Peyton Woodyard being one of the only players that played very little. He’ll be a big part of this team this season.

In the 2023 class Lanning signed 14 transfers to his team. With another high hit rate as most of them started or contributed for at least a year and some for two years.

But in that time Lanning has also recruited prep talent along with those transfers. Meaning he had one eye on winning now and one eye on the future.

Now Oregon has a base of talent. And although they might not all be ready just yet, the need for to RELY on the transfer portal window gets less and less. But keep in mind, it will NEVER be zero. There is simply too much talent that goes into the transfer portal to ignore it. So the schools that whine about not developing players or gets mad when Dan signs the best players in the portal, let them whine. Kirby uses the transfer portal. Ryan Day uses the transfer portal. Steve Sarkisian. Hell even Dabo uses the transfer portal now.

This time around Lanning didn’t need numbers. Just talent. And we know the offensive line needed the most work. Lanning delivered with three of the best offensive linemen in the portal with the latest being USC’s Emmanuel Pregnon. Oregon also plucked defensive tackle Bear Alexander earlier in the cycle.

The next biggest need was in the secondary and Lanning once again went for the best. Signing Purdue safety Dillon Thieneman whom was one of the very best players in the portal. Still ranked as the No. 9 overall player with On3. He doubled down adding cornerback Theran Johnson.

Rounding it out was a trio of skill players on offense. A major need at tight end with Jamari Johnson coming from Louisville. He also comes to Oregon with multiple years remaining.

The Ducks lost Jordan James to the NFL and replaced him with the best running back in the portal. Tulane star Makhi Hughes will be a key piece in Oregon’s backfield this season.

Possibly one of the only slightly head-scratching additions is wide receiver Malik Benson from Florida State. He was not productive last season but quarterback was an issue for the Noles last season. If nothing else he adds a veteran deep-threat presence in the room.

Only hosted 9 transfer portal visitors. And all 9 have committed to Oregon. The Ducks transfer portal class only ranks at No. 8 nationally. But they are the only team, along with Duke, with single digit transfer portal commitments in the top 20. (Duke ranks No. 19)

At the moment, Oregon is not pursuing any current players in the transfer portal. The window is currently open for Texas and Penn State players. It will open again for Ohio State and Notre Dame players after the Jan. 20 national championship.

As of right now, Oregon does have room to add more players if they find the right fit.