The Oregon Ducks may have stumbled through a chaotic start to the 2026 season, but that hasn’t slowed their recruiting push at quarterback. Dan Lanning and his staff are still landing in the right rooms, and one of the biggest names on their board, four-star quarterback Tristin Gaines, left Eugene with a strong impression after his visit for the season opener against Boise State.
Gaines, a junior at Waller High School in Texas, is rated a four-star by Rivals and the Rivals Industry Ranking, while ESPN and 247Sports list him as a three-star. He’s widely viewed as a consensus top-20 quarterback in the 2028 class, and Oregon was one of the Power Four programs to offer him before his junior season.
The Ducks are not alone in the chase. SMU is also in the mix, but Oregon looks to be setting the pace.
Rivals’ Prediction Machine gives the Ducks a 93 percent chance to land Gaines, and the lone expert prediction has him headed to Eugene. 247Sports, meanwhile, still has no crystal ball prediction logged.
What Gaines took from the trip stood out. In an interview with Sam Spiegelman of Rivals, he said the message from Lanning hit home.
“One message I took away was from Coach Lanning telling me, ‘You fit this place’ - and that meant a lot because I see myself in their system and becoming a part of their family,” Gaines told Spiegelman.
His sophomore season in 2025 showed why he’s drawing so much attention. Per MaxPreps, Gaines threw for 1,267 yards and 12 touchdowns while also running for 438 yards and 10 scores, flashing the dual-threat skill set that keeps programs coming back.
Oregon doesn’t have a commitment yet in the 2028 cycle, but Gaines would give the class an immediate headliner on offense if he chooses the Ducks in the coming months. That would matter for a program trying to build momentum early in the cycle.
Quarterback recruiting has been a mixed bag for Oregon under Lanning, but the position group itself is crowded with talent. The Ducks have continued to attract quarterbacks through both recruiting and the transfer portal, and the success of Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore in the Lanning era has clearly helped.
The expectation is that former Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola will be the starter in 2027. Raiola made his Ducks debut in Week 3 against Portland State and was perfect, going 11-for-11 for three touchdowns.
Oregon also added 2027 five-star quarterback Will Mencl after that. Mencl could challenge for playing time as an underclassman, though he won’t be short on competition. Akili Smith Jr., a four-star quarterback in the 2025 cycle, also saw action in the fourth quarter against Portland State after redshirting as a freshman.
The Ducks are also making a strong push for another quarterback in Gaines’ class, Josiah Boyd. Boyd is a consensus four-star and a top-10 quarterback, and Oregon has already collected four predictions to land him. He saw the Ducks’ 84-0 win over Portland State in person during an unofficial visit to Eugene.
That said, the Ducks haven’t exactly had a clean track record with quarterback commitments in the Lanning era. Bryson Beaver in 2026, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele in 2025 and even Moore in 2023 all either flipped or entered the transfer portal shortly after enrolling.
Now Oregon has a real chance to change that story. With Gaines and Boyd both in play, the Ducks could be on the verge of landing two quarterback commits in the same cycle.
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