Oregon’s Texas Pipeline: How the Ducks Built a Recruiting Stronghold Deep in the Heart of Football Country
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Oregon’s rise to national prominence hasn’t just been about flashy uniforms and high-octane offenses. It’s been about strategy-specifically, how the Ducks have turned Texas, one of the most talent-rich states in the country, into a recruiting gold mine.
When Dan Lanning took over in December 2021, he brought with him a clear vision: recruit relentlessly and build a national brand that resonates coast to coast. Since then, Oregon hasn’t just talked the talk-they’ve stacked four straight top-10 recruiting classes, including three in a row that cracked the top five. That’s elite territory, and a big part of that success has come from their growing footprint in Texas.
The Texas Turnaround
Texas has always produced elite football talent, but Oregon’s recent run in the Lone Star State is unprecedented. Under Lanning, the Ducks have signed 13 high school players from Texas-more than double what Mario Cristobal and Mark Helfrich combined to bring in. Even Chip Kelly, during his four-year run, landed just nine Texans, and that stretch included the recruitment of Lache Seastrunk, which ultimately led to NCAA sanctions and a cooling off of Oregon’s Texas ties.
But under Lanning, the Ducks have reignited that connection-and then some. Their last six high school signees from Texas were all ranked in the top 265 nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite. And that’s not even counting the transfers who’ve made their way west.
So what’s fueling this Texas surge?
Familiar Faces, Strong Ties
It starts with the staff. Lanning’s coaching tree is filled with Texas ties. He got his first full-time college gig at Sam Houston State back in 2014, and he’s surrounded himself with assistants who know the Texas high school landscape inside and out.
Names like Will Stein (offensive coordinator), Ra’Shaad Samples (running backs coach), Drew Mehringer (tight ends), and Matt Powledge (former safeties coach) all brought deep connections to the state. But it’s Samples who might be the most influential of the bunch.
Samples’ father, Reginald, is a Texas high school coaching legend. That kind of pedigree opens doors-and keeps them open.
“He can walk into any high school in the state and automatically have a lot of credibility because he was a high school player and because his dad is such a great coach,” said Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire, himself a former Texas high school coach.
Samples has played a role in every Texas recruit Oregon has landed over the last two years, including five-star wideout Dakorien Moore, who played for his father at Duncanville High School. For Samples, this is exactly why he came to Eugene.
“That’s what I came here to do,” he said back in April 2024. “To sign some of these guys, bring a different landscape, bring in guys from Texas, and win recruiting battles … it’s the standard Dan expects from me.”
More Than Just Relationships
Of course, relationships matter-but Oregon’s appeal goes beyond handshakes and high school visits.
Travel from Texas to Oregon has become more accessible, and with the Ducks now in the Big Ten, they’re getting more national TV exposure than ever. Add in nonconference matchups with Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Baylor, and Oregon’s presence in the region is hard to miss.
Then there’s NIL. Oregon’s resources in the name, image and likeness space are competitive with anyone in the country.
Being backed by Nike founder Phil Knight doesn’t hurt either. The Ducks aren’t just recruiting-they’re selling a brand, and it’s one that resonates with top-tier talent.
A Familiar Opponent, A Shared Blueprint
That brings us to this year’s Orange Bowl: No. 5 Oregon vs.
No. 4 Texas Tech.
On the surface, it’s a clash of styles, but dig a little deeper and the similarities are striking.
Both programs have embraced the new era of college football-whether it’s NIL, branding, or recruiting reach. McGuire has tried to build something similar in Lubbock, even pointing to Oregon’s “cool” factor as something the Red Raiders emulate, albeit with their own twist: Adidas and Patrick Mahomes.
“They have a great booster in Phil Knight that really said, ‘Hey, we’re going to go win at the highest level,’ and there’s no excuses whenever it comes to finance,” McGuire said. “You turn around and I think that we’ve shown that we’re doing that.
I think we’re really comparable. … They’ve done it for a little bit longer and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
McGuire’s ties to Oregon go back to 2013, when then-head coach Mark Helfrich visited him at Cedar Hill High School to recruit quarterback Damion Hobbs. Hobbs ultimately signed with the Ducks and spent the 2013 season in Eugene before transferring to Utah State. These days, he’s coaching receivers at Richland High School in Texas, and still keeps tabs on both Oregon and McGuire.
“If I could afford it,” Hobbs joked, “I’d be flying to Miami to see that offense for sure.” He was talking about Texas Tech-but the sentiment applies just as easily to Oregon.
The Evolution of a Pipeline
From LaMichael James and Josh Huff to Dakorien Moore and Aaron Flowers, the names may have changed, but the connection remains the same. Oregon’s pipeline to Texas is no longer a novelty-it’s a cornerstone of the program’s recruiting strategy.
And as the Ducks prepare to face a familiar opponent in Texas Tech, they’re doing so with a roster shaped, in part, by the very state they’ll be lining up against. It’s a full-circle moment for a program that’s not just recruiting nationally-but winning nationally, too.
**Orange Bowl: No. 4 Texas Tech (12-1) vs.
No. 5 Oregon (12-1)**
Two programs. One shared recruiting battleground.
And a whole lot of Texas talent ready to take center stage in Miami.