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.
In Other News...
Oregons Running Back Room Just Earned A Massive National Ranking
Oregons backfield is already drawing national attention after CBS Sports slotted the Ducks running back room third in the country, a nod to how much production is returning and how much depth is piling up behind it. The group is headlined by sophomores Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr., who gave Oregon a steady one-two punch last season and now give the offense a proven foundation to build around again.
Davison and Hill combined for more than 1,500 scrimmage yards and 21 total touchdowns in 2025, and the Ducks are not stopping there. Colorado transfer Simeon Price has joined the mix, while freshmen Brandon Smith and Tradarian Ball are also in the room, giving Oregon a crowded competition for the next snaps and a depth chart that still has some sorting out to do. [Read more 🡒]
Dana Altman Suddenly Has Oregon Back In A Familiar Conversation
After a rough 2025-26 season that left Oregon at 12-20 overall and 5-15 in Big Ten play, the Ducks are suddenly back in a conversation they badly needed. CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein has pointed to Oregon as a potential sleeper in the league for 2026-27, and the reason is simple enough: the roster has been turned over almost completely through the transfer portal, giving Dana Altman a fresh group to work with in his 17th season.
Oregon lost eight players and brought in eight transfers, a makeover that gives Altman a chance to reset the program quickly rather than spend another year patching holes. Rothsteins view is that the Ducks could be one of the most improved teams in the Big Ten and have a path back to the NCAA Tournament, which is exactly the kind of expectation shift that can change the mood around a program before the season even starts. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Lannings Rare Oregon Portal Misses Still Sting For Ducks Fans
Oregons transfer-portal haul has usually been a point of pride under Dan Lanning, but not every addition has delivered the instant boost fans expected. Makhi Hughes, Isaiah World and Caleb Chapman all arrived with real buzz and the sense that they could help shape the Ducks season, yet each one ran into a different kind of roadblock once the games started.
Hughes never found a consistent role in the backfield, World had stretches where his play did not match the lofty projections attached to him, and Chapmans time in Eugene was derailed by injuries before he could build momentum. For a program that leans on the portal to patch holes and raise the ceiling, those misses still stand out because they show how quickly a promising fit can turn into a quiet footnote. [Read more 🡒]