Oregon football's 2024 recruiting class takes shape as it signs more than 2 dozen players

This story was updated at 6:20 p.m.

The Oregon football team bolstered its roster for the 2024 season and beyond on Wednesday, as it signed the most highly regarded recruiting class in program history.

And the Ducks might not be done.

More than two dozen recruits sent in their written commitment, including a trio of front seven defenders who rank among the best in the country, a pair of sought-after wide receivers who flipped from previous verbal commitments at the last minute, and 6-4 cornerback ranked the best junior college player at his position.

The three-day early signing period opened Wednesday and by late afternoon, 26 players had signed national letters of intent to play for Oregon next fall — 13 defensive players, 12 offensive players and a punter. The overall class ranks fifth nationally and second-best among teams in the Big Ten behind No. 3 Ohio State.

"I think it just speaks to the consistency of our approach," Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. "And ultimately, you always want to focus on the guys you get and not the guys you don't and we did a good job of identifying targets that fit our needs, what we were looking for, but also fits our values of what we want in this program."

That includes 20 players who are rated as four-star recruits by the 247Sports Composite rankings, which combine the recruitment ratings from 247Sports, Rivals.com and ESPN to provide an overall rating for each recruit. The rankings are considered an industry consensus.

Among the Ducks' haul are six players ranked in the top-100 overall.

"Obviously the best way to enhance your team is to enhance your talent and then it goes into developing that talent," Lanning said. "So if we have that we've got a great, great chance to be successful here."

Related: Freshmen edge rushers Uiagalelei, Purchase, Tuioti detail first season as Ducks

Leading that list are defensive lineman Aydin Breland and edge rusher Elijah Rushing, who are ranked as five-star recruits by 247Sports, though their composite rankings have them as four stars.

The 6-5, 290-pound Breland is ranked 16th overall by 247Sports, and the No. 4 player at his position.

“Possesses the physical tools, athletic profile, and in-game playmaking flashes that suggest a high-ceiling future that could produce an impact college player with high-round NFL Draft upside,” wrote 247Sports national scouting analyst Gabe Brooks in his recruiting profile of Breland.

The 6-6, 251-pound Rushing is No. 17 overall and No. 2 at his position.

“Athleticism and pursuit range of a modern edge rusher,” Brooks wrote. “High-level physical tools and immense upside.”

Yelm, Washington, linebacker Brayden Platt (6-2, 240) is ranked 53rd overall and No. 4 at his position. He will also compete in track and field for the Ducks. Platt was the national high school leader in the javelin in 2023 and won the Nike Outdoor Nationals with a throw of 228 feet. He also has a shot put personal-record of 64-¼.

“Each of his hits are loud and violent while being completely clean,” 247Sports national recruiting editor Brandon Huffman wrote.

Others in the top 100 are JacQawn McRoy, a 6-8, 365-pound offensive lineman from Pinson, Alabama, who is No. 80 overall and No. 6 at his position. Cornerback Dakoda Fields is No. 92 overall and No. 6 positionally.

Sione Laulea (6-4, 185) from College of San Mateo, is the top-ranked junior college cornerback and No. 2 JC player overall.

The Ducks scored signing-day flips with a pair of four-star wide receivers previously pledged to future Big Ten rivals.

Jeremiah McClellan, ranked No. 72 overall, had been verbally committed to Ohio State since August, and Ryan Pellum — a nephew of former Oregon player and longtime defensive assistant coach Don Pellum — had been committed to Southern California since June.

"It's just an everyday approach," said Lanning when asked about the relentless nature of recruiting. "I think we've got a staff that's been doing this for a while and recognizes it's not about the short term, it's about being able to do something every single day. Focus on the longterm goals."

Oregon also signed three in-state players — Clackamas offensive lineman Devin Brooks, West Salem offensive lineman Trent Ferguson and North Medford tight end A.J. Puliano. They are ranked as the No. 2, No. 8 and No. 10 players in the state, respectively.

"There's years when there's not as much talent necessarily in the state that's gonna fit our needs here at Oregon, and there's years where there is, and this year there was some guys that are really talented in state that we felt like are gonna be great players for us in the future," Lanning said. "And anytime there's local talent, anytime there's West Coast talent that fits our needs, those are the guys that we want to get."

Oregon's overall composite score was 288.10, putting the Ducks behind No. 1 Georgia (315.22), No. Alabama (300.75), No. 3 Miami (289.44) and No. 4 Ohio State (288.81).

Other conference teams in the top 25 were No. 14 Penn State, No. 15 Michigan, No. 18 USC, No. 19 Nebraska and No. 22 Wisconsin.

The Ducks could add more high school players through Friday and appear to be in the running for four-star defensive lineman Jericho Johnson. They can also still add to the roster through the transfer portal.

Oregon Ducks football 2024 signing class

Player | Position | Previous school | Height, Weight | 247Sports composite ranking

Aydin Breland | Defensive line | Mater Dei HS, Santa Ana, Calif. | 6-5, 290 | Four stars

Devin Brooks | Offensive line | Clackamas HS | 6-4, 290 | Four stars

Fox Crader | Offensive line | Evergreen HS | Vancouver, Wash. | 6-6, 285 | Four stars

Trent Ferguson | Offensive line | West Salem HS | 6-7, 300 | Three stars

Dakoda Fields | Cornerback | Junipero Serra HS, Gardena Calf. | 6-2, 185 | Four stars

Aaron Flowers | Safety | Forney HS, Forney, Texas | 6-0, 290 | Four stars

Tionne Gray | Defensive line | Hazelwood Central HS, Florissant, Missouri | 6-6, 295 | Four stars

Dillon Gresham | Wide receiver | San Jacinto HS, San Jacinto, Calif. | 6-0, 175 | Four stars

Jaxson Jones | Edge rusher | Yuma Catholic HS, Yuma, Ariz. | 6-3, 215 | Four stars

Tyler Kinsman | Punter | Skyview HS, Nampa, Idaho | 6-5, 225 | Two stars

Sione Laulea | Cornerback | College of San Mateo | 6-4, 185 | Four stars

Kingston Lopa | Linebacker | Grant Union HS, Sacramento | 6-5, 190 | Four stars

Jeremiah McClellan | Wide receiver | Christian Brothers College HS, St. Louis | 6-0, 190 | Four stars

JacQawn McRoy | Offensive line | Clay-Chalkville HS, Pinson, Ala. | 6-8, 365 | Four stars

Luke Moga | Quarterback | Sunnyslope HS, Phoenix, Ariz. | 6-2, 190 | Three stars

Kamar Mothudi | Linebacker | Los Alamitos HS, Los Alamitos, Calif. | 6-3, 200 | Four stars

Ify Obidegwu | Cornerback | St. Frances Academy, Baltimore | 6-1, 185 | Four stars

Ryan Pellum | Wide receiver | Millikan HS, Long Beach, Calif. | 5-11, 170 | Four stars

Brayden Platt | Linebacker | Yelm HS, Yelm, Wash. | 6-2, 240 | Four stars

A.J. Pugliano | Tight end | North Medford HS | 6-3, 220 | Four stars

Jack Ressler | Wide receiver | Mater Dei HS, Santa Ana, Calif. | 5-11, 195 | Three stars

Da’Jaun Riggs | Running back | St. John’s HS, Washington D.C. | 6-0, 202 | Three stars

Elijah Rushing | Edge rusher | Salpointe Catholic, Tucson, Ariz. | 6-6, 251 | Four stars

Roger Saleapaga | Wide receiver | Orem HS, Oren, Utah | 6-4, 220 | Four stars

Xadavien Sims | Defensive line | Durant HS, Durant, Okla. | 6-3, 275 | Four stars

Dylan Williams | Linebacker | Long Beach Poly HS, Long Beach, Calif. | 6-2, 210 | Four stars

Transfers

Matthew Bedford | Offensive lineman | Indiana

Dillon Gabriel | Quarterback | Oklahoma

Jay Harris | Running back | Northwest Missouri State

Dante Moore | Quarterback | UCLA

Kobe Savage | Safety | Kansas State

Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: National signing day: Oregon Ducks football inks best-ever class