The New Recruiting Calendar - There is No Offseason

One of the things that continues to change along with the sport of college football is recruiting. I have done this for a long time and I continue to be amazed at how rapidly things change and timelines continue to move up.

The pressure to get a jump start on recruiting is at an all-time high. Which makes it tough for a couple of big reasons. You are making some really early evaluations on players which can be dangerous. Some guys mature earlier and later in high school.

Additionally you have to make some pretty early assessments of your roster needs and try to make a 2-3 year projection in some cases. Which is a lifetime in college football now with the transfer portal operating at full speed. Thankfully when the transfer portal takes away you can fill in gaps along the way.

Roster management has become one of the most difficult aspects of college football. Building quality depth at positions is getting harder and harder to do with players leaving early if they don’t see the field. It’s a delicate balance, not only at Oregon but everywhere.

As recently as 4-5 years ago, you would even be recruiting the current class in January. Dan Lanning arrived at Oregon and had to do some last minute work to salvage his first recruiting class which also led to the Ducks landing Josh Conerly in that very window.

Oregon pretty much is done in terms of its 2025 recruiting class which means all eyes are on 2026 and why this weekend is a big one for Oregon.

I remember a time also in that 4-5 year window where Oregon would be lucky to have 1 or 2 commits in the next years class in December. The Ducks entered January already with 10 commits in the 2026 class. Many of the top names expected in town this weekend have already been to Oregon at least once.

This is what I called a ‘Foundation Weekend’ on the podcast this week. The expectation is not for Oregon to come away with 10 commits on Sunday or Monday. That isn’t what a weekend like this one is about. You’re really laying the ground work with a lot of these elite guys. Elite guys tend to make decisions later in the process. And now with official visits available in the Spring/Summer (June) it changes the dynamic there.

Again, not long ago, the season would end and you could kind of put things on cruise control until August. There would be Spring ball, like there is now and some visits. But bringing recruits in for games in the Fall was the bread and butter.

But not anymore. This weekend is going to be pivotal to Oregon’s success this Spring. Most of the class will be finalized by July. It won’t end there, but the recruiting board will go from 100 names to like 10. (Just making a generalization)

This weekend will give Oregon a chance to host some of the recruits that express sincere interest in March and April during Spring ball. Giving them a chance to see the team, practices and the coaches in action.

After Spring ball concludes in late April, coaches will again hit the road in May doing various camps and evaluating prospects. Which then sets up perhaps the biggest recruiting month of the year in today’s recruiting, June. Every weekend in June will likely have multiple official, yes OFFICIAL, visitors on campus. With the last two weekends likely being the biggest groups.

By the time July is up, there will be very few recruits in the top 300 left uncommitted. All of the programs in the top 10 of recruiting rankings will be hovering around 20 commits if not more. And I expect Oregon will be among them.

Even crazier, Oregon will begin hosting a number of key 2027 and 2028 prospects this Spring. This becomes a key part of building early relationships with younger recruits you think have a chance to be elite. This Fall during the football season, you will likely see more 2027 and 2028 recruits on campus than the current 2026 class. That’s just how recruiting has transitioned.

So I know a lot of fans prefer to take some time off in the Spring and Summer. And I won’t sell you on a lot of activity in February or July. But a decade ago most of us could work hard in the Fall/Winter and then coast in the Spring. Well that is not the case any longer with football and recruiting basically becoming a 10 month marathon.

I don’t fault you for maybe being slightly less interested when there is no actual football. But if you follow recruiting at all or want to know who the stars of tomorrow are for Oregon, I would encourage you to ‘lock in’ for a ride from March through June.