Weekend Thoughts: Recruiting On Fire, Uniforms, EA CFB & More

It’s been as busy a week for Oregon Football as one could hope for at this point of the summer.

College Football 25 Stadium Rankings:

The week started with some good conversation fodder as EA Sports released its rankings of the toughest places to play for the upcoming College Football 25 video game.

Autzen Stadium checked in at No. 11 to the chagrin of many Oregon fans. Some will poke holes in Oklahoma’s Gaylord Oklahoma Memorial Stadium being ranked above Autzen Stadium in addition to Doak S. Campbell Stadium and Georgia’s Sanford Stadium.

While this is a difficult metric to assess, the rankings were likely not in line with what the majority of college football fans expected to see.

College Football 25 Team Rankings:

As the week rolled on, EA Sports released its ratings of the best teams in college football which gave way to plenty of debate as to the accuracy and validity of these rankings. The Ducks checked in as the No. 3 team in the nation which should please the majority of Oregon fans.

The only teams ranked above Oregon are Ohio State (2) and Georgia (1) which should not come as a surprise to most. It’s hard to discount Georgia when it went 13-1 in 2023 and returns the majority of its production.

Ohio State could be subject to a bit more debate as it was not particularly relevant in the national title picture down the stretch of the 2023 season.

Despite this, the Buckeyes return a host of production and added several elite transfers in this year’s portal cycle, including quarterback Will Howard from Kansas State and safety Caleb Downs from Alabama.

Generation O:

After a YouTube documentary detailed the history of Oregon’s connection with Nike, fans likely knew something big was in store for the first Generation O uniform release of the summer.

While it’s hard to objectively rate uniforms, the reception to the first in a series of new uniforms for Oregon Football was roundly positive as the Ducks unveiled a black set reminiscent of the 2018 Jordan collaboration that many have been hoping for a reboot of ever since.

What’s particularly exciting is that I can’t imagine Oregon released its best uniforms first so fans should keep a close eye on upcoming releases as surprises are sure to come.

Recruiting on fire:

The week ended on a high note for Oregon fans as the Ducks pulled in two elite commitments for the 2025 high school class in running back Jordon Davison and defensive lineman Josiah Sharma.

These commitments bring Oregon up to the No. 6 high school recruiting class in the country per On3’s 2025 Industry Ranking, sandwiched between Clemson (7) and Notre Dame (5).

Davison was perhaps the most emotionally pickup for Oregon as he was heavily pursued by Ohio State and former Ducks’ running backs coach Carlos Locklyn until the very end.

This commitment is a testament to Ra’Shaad Samples’ quick integration into Oregon’s staff as Ohio State’s recent pickups of Locklyn and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly could’ve been all the difference in landing one of this year’s premier running back talents.

Davison packs a punch, standing 5-10 and weighing 230 lbs per his last official weigh-in. He’s the highest-rated high school running back commitment of Dan Lanning’s tenure as Oregon’s head coach and figures to rapidly become a difference-maker upon arriving in Eugene.

As for Sharma, Oregon was in need of an interior defensive line commitment from the high school ranks and this year’s No. 18 defensive lineman will check exactly that box for the Ducks.

Sharma is already an NFL body at 6-3.5 and 320 lbs and with a year or two in Oregon’s strength and conditioning program he should be ready to step in as a high-level starter for the Ducks, if not better.

Between the release of the first Generation O uniform, rankings from EA Sports College Football 25, and a pair of top-end high school commitments, Oregon fans should feel great about where they stand heading into the last weekend of June.

Never one to settle, look for Dan Lanning and his staff to keep their foot on the gas on the recruiting trail and beyond.