Oregon Just Got Major Validation On Its Future At Quarterback

Oregon secures a major coup with top-ranked quarterback recruit Will Mencl, solidifying their future under center.

Will Mencl’s rise keeps rolling.

The Oregon quarterback commit was already one of the most sought-after names in the class of 2027, and Rivals’ latest rankings only pushed him further into the spotlight. In the new Rivals 300 released Monday, Mencl landed as the No. 1 committed quarterback in the class.

That status lines up with the broader picture across recruiting services. Rivals lists Mencl as the No. 4 quarterback, the No. 1 player in Arizona and the No. 44 overall prospect in the class of 2027 on its industry rankings. 247Sports has him at No. 7 among quarterbacks, No. 1 in Arizona and No. 80 overall.

Mencl’s junior season at Chandler High School backed up the hype. He threw for 3,815 yards, 33 touchdowns and only five interceptions while leading his team to the Arizona Open Division championship game. After that 2025 campaign, he also took part in the 2026 Navy All-American Bowl and the Elite 11.

Rivals’ Charles Power described Mencl in May as "is a high-level processor who plays with advanced timing" and pointed to his dual-threat ability in the same scouting report. Rivals also compared him to former Oregon quarterback Bo Nix, another efficient passer with dual-threat playmaking.

Mencl’s path to Oregon included visits to Auburn and Penn State before he made his decision. Auburn’s push came later in the process, after the Tigers hired Alex Golesh as Hugh Freeze’s successor.

They offered Mencl in mid-December and brought him in for visits in January and March. Auburn later landed three-star quarterback Gary Chatman in the weeks after Mencl chose the Ducks.

Penn State also entered the mix after a coaching change, and the Nittany Lions were involved with Peter Bourque, the No. 9 quarterback in Rivals’ rankings, after Bourque decommitted from Michigan and before he committed to Virginia Tech.

Mencl is not the only five-star quarterback commitment in Rivals’ updated rankings. Nebraska pledge Trae Taylor is the other, and the Omaha native committed to the Cornhuskers on May 1, 2025.

Among the eight four-star quarterback commitments on the list, Jake Nawrot sits highest. The Chicago-area prospect committed to Kentucky on April 12 and became part of what Rivals described as a historically strong first recruiting class for Will Stein in Lexington.

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