Oregon’s weekend trip to Stillwater keeps the Ducks away from Autzen Stadium, and that usually means a quieter stretch on the recruiting trail. Instead, Friday night brought a jolt of unease for Dan Lanning’s staff: five-star commit Dakota Guerrant is heading to Michigan for the Wolverines’ game against Oklahoma.
The visit to Ann Arbor was first reported Friday night, and it stands out because Guerrant is already pledged to Oregon. He was in Eugene last weekend with teammate Deandre Bidden, but now both are set to check out Michigan.
Guerrant committed to the Ducks this summer live on The Pat McAfee Show, though Michigan was a finalist for the Harper Woods native. Per the Rivals Industry Recruiting Rankings, Guerrant is Oregon’s top commit, the No. 21 player in the country, the No. 5 wide receiver in the class and the top-ranked player from Michigan.
The thinking around Michigan has been that Guerrant and his family wanted to see the Wolverines’ offense before making any final judgments on the program. That makes this weekend a big one, especially after Michigan needed an extra second to get past Western Michigan last weekend.
There’s also some Oregon-friendly timing baked into the trip. If Guerrant is still weighing whether to flip to the in-state program, the Wolverines may not be offering their cleanest sales pitch with Oklahoma coming to town and talk already swirling about Bryce Underwood potentially being benched one game into the season.
When Guerrant picked Oregon, he sounded locked in on the Ducks and described the program in personal terms.
"This was always my dream school growing up. Then they started recruiting, it felt like family from the start. I just kept building things with them, and how they're producing, things like that, I've kind of seen myself there from the start."
Even if Oregon were to lose Guerrant, the Ducks would still have other receiver talent in the class. They also hold a commitment from elite athlete Xavier Sabb, who ranks as a top 40 player nationally, along with underrated in-state recruit Malachi Garlington.
Still, the reality in recruiting is simple: nothing is done until a player signs, and even then things can get messy. Oregon has already lived through that kind of chaos with Dallas Wilson and Bryson Beaver. If Guerrant keeps making trips to Michigan, this one could stay tense deep into the fall.
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Oregons Boise State Win Just Took On A Different Look
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That backdrop matters with Oklahoma State coming next, because the Cowboys are trying to sort through an uneven start and an offense built around several newcomers. Their Week 1 loss to Tulsa only added to the uncertainty, and now theyll be without starting left tackle Jacob Sexton for the rest of the season. For Oregon, it turns a routine nonconference tune-up into a game that looks a lot more complicated on paper than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]
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Weddle, the son of former NFL safety Eric Weddle, plays at Rancho Bernardo High School in California and has narrowed his attention to a seven-school visit list that also includes Utah, Cal, BYU, Miami, UCLA and Ohio State. For Oregon, landing him on campus is only the opening step, but it is the kind of early development that can matter when the nations best defensive back prospects start sorting out where they want to spend the next stage of their careers. [Read more 🡒]
Dante Moore Keeps Showing Oregon Has A Weapon Teams Fear Late
Dante Moore keeps giving Oregon something it has wanted in big moments: a quarterback who looks comfortable when the clock is working against everyone else. Against Boise State, Moore helped steer a late first-half touchdown drive on the way to Oregons 34-27 win, and his career-high 378 passing yards only added to the sense that the Ducks can lean on him when possessions get tight. The two-minute offense has become more than a situational package for this team, and Moore has been at the center of it.
For Oregon, the encouraging part is how this has started to feel like a pattern rather than a one-off surge. The Ducks have seen similar late-half success in previous games and seasons, even as the staff around the offense has changed, including Mehringers promotion to offensive coordinator. Now the next test comes against Oklahoma State, and if Moore keeps turning late-game pressure into points, Oregon will keep giving opponents one more thing to worry about. [Read more 🡒]