CBS Sports is already circling Oregon freshman tight end Kendre Harrison as one of the Big Ten newcomers worth watching, and it’s not hard to see why.
The Ducks brought in a loaded 2026 recruiting class, one that finished third nationally in the 247Sports Composite, and Harrison stands out even in that group. Oregon landed five-star safety Jett Washington, five-star edge rusher Anthony "Tank" Jones and four-star offensive lineman Tommy Tofi, but Harrison brings a different kind of buzz. He arrives as the No. 4 tight end and No. 50 overall player in the class, fresh off a Gatorade State Player of the Year season in Reidsville, NC.
At 6-foot-7 and 243 pounds, Harrison already looks the part. He’s also an elite athlete beyond football, with basketball ability that could put him in the mix for Oregon’s men’s team as well. Still, the first order of business is the field, where his path to snaps appears clearer than it does for some of the other young Ducks.
That’s part of why CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford included him on his list of Big Ten freshmen to watch.
"There are at least a half-dozen first-year freshmen expected to play for the Ducks this season, but few hold a loftier recruiting grade than Harrison, last year's Gatorade State Player of the Year in North Carolina," CBS Sports' Brad Crawford wrote. "Oregon lacks experience at the position behind expected starter Jamari Johnson following Kenyon Sadiq's NFL entry, and Harrison, a former two-sport star, brings impressive ability.
As part of Oregon's offensive transition following Will Stein's departure to Kentucky as head coach, Harrison, along with others, learned what changes were being made schematically. With Dante Moore in charge, this passing game will still look like Oregon with subtle differences.
Harrison is a plug-and-play athlete as long as he brings physicality as a multi-dimensional threat."
Oregon’s tight end room gives him a real opening. Jamari Johnson is the expected starter, and after Kenyon Sadiq’s NFL entry, the Ducks don’t have much proven experience behind him.
Johnson, who worked as the No. 2 tight end behind Sadiq in 2025, put up 510 receiving yards on 32 catches and scored three touchdowns. That scoring total could climb in 2026.
The Ducks also aren’t a team that tends to funnel everything to one target, so Harrison doesn’t need the offense to be built around him to matter. If he earns the job, he should see plenty of snaps.
And if that happens, he’ll be the next in line in a pretty strong Oregon tight end pipeline, following Terrance Ferguson, Sadiq and Johnson.
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