Panic Strikes Dan Lanning as B1G Rival’s Sneaky Agenda Confirmed After Oregon Deals Brutal Recruiting Hit

If you thought the Oregon Ducks were just about flashy jerseys and Nike money, think again. Under the leadership of Dan Lanning, the Ducks achieved a remarkable 13-0 regular season, won the Big Ten championship in their first year in the conference, and entered the College Football Playoff as the number one seed. However, they faced a setback in the Rose Bowl, where Ohio State handed them a defeat. They came so close to glory, yet fell a few feathers short of winning a national championship. Although there have been rumors about Lanning potentially moving to the NFL, he has made it clear that he has no intention of leaving behind the green and yellow for professional football anytime soon.

The Ducks are going after the best talent aggressively. Such as Kendre Harrison, the No. 1 tight end of the 2026 class, is on board. In the middle of all this, the Ducks are hitting a roadblock in signing top linemen from Southern California. Oregon was the hip out-of-state choice for years, bringing SoCal talent north on Nike cool and that signature Eugene hospitality. “They’re also competing now with USC, who realize that they’re in Southern California; it’s amazing how that works; it’s not good for Oregon,” says Brian Smith in conversation with Spencer McLaughlin on the Locked on Ducks podcast.

“USC is trying to round up all the linemen in California instead of letting them play for the Ducks, and that’s going to be more competition,” says Brian. USC has shut the door on the big boys in the trenches, particularly. The Trojans have gone all out on holding home local linemen, and it’s paying dividends. New faces in the USC recruiting department, such as general manager Chad Bowden, have turbocharged their work, making Southern California prospects feel like royalty on visits. Four-star defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui’s recent decommitment from Oregon-with USC the heavy favorite to land him-is just the latest example. And he’s not alone; several other top-150 SoCal recruits have either flipped or are leaning toward the Trojans.

“USC’s kind of looking like they’re cooking a little bit like I don’t think it brings Oregon down a ton; it certainly makes it harder to get a top-five class.”

USC is pulling out all the stops to recruit Elijah Harmon, a 4-star defensive lineman from Inglewood High School and one of California’s most sought-after prospects in the class of 2027. Harmon’s visit to USC in March left a strong impression on him, particularly in terms of the team’s culture and the guidance of defensive line coach Eric Henderson. As Harmon approaches his decision, USC is maintaining its strong interest, facing competition from Oregon, Texas, Alabama, and others, making it an open race at this point.

Both Oregon and USC can recruit top ten classes simultaneously, but it’s a lot more difficult for Oregon to remain in the top five of the country when USC is knocking it out of the park. Spencer McLaughlin says in the podcast, “If USC had recruited in those cycles the way they are right now and the emphasis they’re putting, particularly on players in the trenches, Brian, then Oregon would probably have two straight top 10 classes and not two straight top-five classes.”

In past years, Oregon was able to match USC for the best West Coast prospects and generally win out, particularly because USC wasn’t as active or well-coordinated in recruiting under past regimes. But now that USC is stepping up its game, adding new staff, and making a concerted effort to retain elite prospects at home, they’re winning more of those battles.

Oregon’s fight to keep its elite status

After years of observing Dan Lanning transform Oregon into a recruiting behemoth, this spring has been a wake-up call for Ducks fans. Lanning, who’d been on a high with consecutive top-five recruiting classes and a reputation for flipping blue-chip recruits, suddenly found himself in damage control mode.

The worst gut blow came when five-star quarterback Jared Curtis, who was once thought to be a virtual lock for Oregon, made a dramatic about-face and signed with Georgia instead, after months of see-sawing that had Ducks fans holding their phones like they were watching the season finale of a soap opera. Despite Oregon spreading the red carpet, with repeat visits and personal contact from Dan Lanning and his team, Jared Curtis had a closer affinity for Georgia’s staff, particularly head coach Kirby Smart and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo.

Curtis wasn’t the only highly touted recruit to fall through Lanning’s hands. Oregon also missed out on offensive tackle Kodi Greene (to Washington), defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui (to USC), and wide receiver Kayden Dixton (to Ohio State), among others. The Ducks’ prospects with top edge rusher Derek Colman-Brusa also took a nosedive, with Washington now the heavy favorite. It’s been a succession of high-profile flips and near-misses that’s left the fanbase complaining and Lanning scrambling to maintain the 2026 class in elite status.

With all these big hits on the roster, Lanning hasn’t been sitting back and pouting; he struck back by adding 4,200-yard QB Matt Ponatoski and five-star Ryder Lyons and is spreading the net wider for talent nationwide. But with the transfer portal also taking 13 Ducks (two of whom were four-star transfers), the spring has been a recruiting gauntlet.

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