Three Oregon commitments are getting an early start on their senior seasons Friday, with Sam Ngata, Hayden Stepp and Toa Satele all set to open the year before the Ducks even begin their 2026 campaign.
Ngata will be the first of the trio to take the field when Salt Lake City’s Olympus High School visits Cedar Valley in Eagle Mountain, Utah. That matchup kicks off at 6 p.m.
PT (7 p.m. MT), and it gives the three-star edge another shot against a familiar opponent.
Last season, Ngata helped Olympus beat Cedar Valley by coming up with 1 interception, 4 tackles and a deflected pass. He also handled a little work on offense, finishing with three touches for four yards.
Ngata was one of Oregon’s early 2027 commitments, and he’s the son of former Duck standout Haloti Ngata.
Later Friday, Stepp and Bishop Gorman will begin their season against Somerset Academy Losee in Las Vegas. That game is set for 7 p.m.
PT and will be streamed by NFHS Network. Bishop Gorman enters the season ranked No. 2 nationally by MaxPreps.com, while Somerset Academy is coming off an 0-10 year that included a 44-0 loss to Bishop Gorman.
Stepp had two tackles in that win last season, and he closed his junior year with 24 tackles and 4 pass deflections. Through his high school career, he has 3 interceptions and 12 pass deflections.
Bishop Gorman’s schedule does not exactly ease in. The Gaels will be back on the big stage Aug. 21 when they host St.
John Bosco, which is ranked No. 1 ahead of them. Stepp comes to Oregon as a four-star recruit ranked by 247Sports as the No. 61 prospect overall and the No. 5 cornerback in the country.
The 6-foot-3 defensive back chose the Ducks over more than 40 offers, trimming his final list to Oregon, Alabama and Cal.
Oregon’s footprint at Bishop Gorman does not stop with Stepp. The Ducks also have offers out to three 2028 prospects there: four-star defensive lineman Tayaun Lawrence, who has Oregon in his Top 5, along with three-star quarterback Ace Amina and four-star receiver Zyren Menor. Oregon has also offered 2029 offensive tackle Jason Lawrence and cornerback Brayley Manning.
Satele and Mililani will close out the trio’s Friday slate when they host Liberty of Henderson, Nevada. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
HT (10:30 p.m. PT), with Spectrum OC16 carrying the game in Hawaii.
It shapes up as a strong opener on both sides: Liberty is Nevada’s No. 2 team behind Bishop Gorman, while Mililani checks in at No. 4 in Hawaii.
Satele is a four-star linebacker ranked by 247Sports as the No. 84 overall prospect and the No. 6 linebacker nationally. He picked Oregon over Texas, Notre Dame and Cal. Across the field, he’ll line up against a Power-4 running back commit in BYU pledge Ezra Sanelivi, Liberty’s top-ranked prospect.
Mililani also has another Oregon connection in its pipeline. The Ducks have offers out to two 2028 players from the school, including Satele’s younger brother Trison Satele, a four-star defensive lineman. Star quarterback Hunter Fujikawa is another four-star recruit with an Oregon offer.
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