Identifying the biggest winners and losers after Oregon Ducks ink historic 2024 recruiting class (2024)

Dan Lanning was brought to Oregon as the head coach of the Ducks in 2021 for one main reason — to recruit.

Of course, he had a strong coaching acumen and had proven at the SEC level that he is as strong a defensive schemer as there is in the nation. But what he could do better than anyone else was get top-rated players under his wing and develop them. So far at Oregon, he’s proven as good at that as anyone else, if not better.

Lanning was the biggest winner on Wednesday in my mind. A year ago, he set off fireworks during the 2022 early signing period with massive commitments and flips.

Anyone can do that once, though.

On Wednesday, Lanning proved it was not a fluke. He got pen to paper for 25 recruits, 20 of which were blue-chip players. It will go down as the highest-rated class in school history, and the first time an Oregon coach has ever signed a class that ranks in the top five nationally.

If the 2023 and 2024 classes were his first two acts, I can’t wait to see what is in store for the third.

Most of the theatrics for Oregon on Wednesday came at the wide receiver position. It’s clear Junior Adams woke up in a dangerous mood, and he saw his plan through.

The Ducks flipped four-star WR Jeremiah McClellan from the Ohio State Buckeyes a couple of hours before flipping four-star WR Ryan Pellum from the USC Trojans. This was on top of signing four-star WR Dillon Gresham and three-star WR Jack Ressler to the 2024 class.

A couple of years ago, the Oregon receiver room was not in a great spot. While Troy Franklin was a diamond in the rough, the talent surrounding him was not up to par. Many of those players have since transferred or graduated, leaving a room full of guys that Adams has either recruited or brought in via the portal.

Coincidentally, the receiver room has never been more talented or had a higher upside. Adams is largely responsible for that.

The Ducks gained a win over the Buffaloes earlier in the week when former Indiana offensive lineman Matthew Bedford flipped his transfer from Colorado to Oregon. It’s safe to say Buffs fans weren’t very happy about it.

I bet they were a touch more upset on Wednesday, though, thanks to four-star Oregon signee Jac’Qawn McRoy.

Four-star OL Jac’Qawn McRoy is sticking with Oregon over the #CUBuffs

Via: @TribSportsLive pic.twitter.com/DG4NYWfLUP

— Scott Procter (@ScottProcter_) December 20, 2023

McRoy had taken a visit to Colorado this month, and there was a lot of buzz about a potential flip to the Buffs by the 6-foot-8 offensive tackle. When going to announce his commitment, McRoy picked up a Colorado hat, but flung it to the side and opted for Oregon instead.

Duck Fans 2, Colorado Fans 0.

Life might be getting tougher for the Buffs, as well, given five-star Jordan Seaton, the No. 1 offensive tackle in the nation, has not yet signed his letter of intent.

We will see where developments go on that front soon, but it might be a bit rocky in Boulder over the next few days.

Look, we can be honest about the last few weeks for Oregon fans. It’s been a bit tough. With the loss to the Washington Huskies, Duck fans saw their chance at a spot in the College Football Playoff go down the drain and Bo Nix fall out of the Heisman Trophy race. That was compounded by the announcement Oregon would play Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl, which has left the fan base desiring something more substantial.

Wednesday provided a great win for those fans who have been frustrated for a couple of weeks. I’ll hand it off to my brother to better explain:

Text from my brother after seeing Oregon's 2024 signing class: "Huge day. I'm ready to get hurt again. Let's go."

Have a feeling that's how a lot of Duck fans are feeling after seeing the latest fireworks from Lanning — fired up for 2024, this time with less hurt.

— Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) December 21, 2023

Losing to your rival twice in a season hurts, and losing the way the Ducks did hurts even more. Oregon fans are ready to get back on the horse, though, and ready to believe in this team, and what Dan Lanning is building. Days like Wednesday help.

The Pac-12 officially died on Wednesday with the announcement Oregon State and Washington State would join the West Coast Conference in basketball and all other non-football/baseball sports. The Big Ten Network spent the next several hours dancing on the grave.

If you tuned in on Wednesday, there’s a good chance you spent the early hours of the afternoon watching the Big Ten Network’s live recruiting show. It featured in-depth analysis of commitments, signings and player fits on new teams. There were also detailed interviews with a number of coaches in the conference.

It was, let’s say … different, from what we’ve seen from the Pac-12 Network over the years.

A real conference tv network covering national signing day pic.twitter.com/8RgRPd6Z7v

— James Crepea (@JamesCrepea) December 20, 2023

Big Ten Network start of 4 hours of National Signing Day coverage with coach appearances.
SEC Network with NSD coverage.
ACC Network starting NSD coverage at 3 p.m. ET.
Pac-12 Network showing replay of UCLA basketball losing to CSUN, no coverage of NSD even for the Pac-2.

— James Crepea (@JamesCrepea) December 20, 2023

The lack of quality programming on the Pac-12 Network was obviously not the sole reason for the conference’s destruction, but it certainly exemplifies the shortcomings of the conference as a whole.

I think a lot of Oregon fans saw a glimpse of what the Big Ten era is going to look like on Wednesday, with the quality of content on full display. It was a nice change of pace, if I do say so myself.

I’m guessing it hasn’t exactly been awesome to be a fan of the USC Trojans over the past week or so. Numerous highly rated players entered the transfer portal, including a trio of five-stars: quarterback Malachi Nelson, edge Korey Foreman and cornerback Domani Jackson.

Then, Lincoln Riley was bested once again by his good friend up north when Dan Lanning and the Ducks stole four-star WR Ryan Pellum right out of the Trojans’ backyard.

The future is a bit unclear for the Trojans at the moment, whether it be the QB position or whether their coach will actually be with the team in 2024. Losing a recruiting battle to one of your rivals is never a fun thing to pile on top of that.

We’ve focused a lot on the offensive side of the ball, obviously, but Oregon’s 2024 class is really a defensive masterpiece. Both five-stars came from the defensive line and seven defensive players ranked within 247Sports’ top 150. That included four of the nation’s top 30 linebackers and three top 120 defensive backs.

Do you think Tosh Lupoi can work with that going forward?

Oregon’s defense was really good in 2023, holding six teams to fewer than 10 points. That side of the ball is young and deep and added a great deal of skill on Wednesday. Going into the Big Ten will certainly be a new test, but I feel confident that they will be prepared.

Dillon Gabriel is going to be set when it comes to offensive weapons this year. He will have Tez Johnson, Traeshon Holden, Gary Bryant and Terrance Ferguson to target in the passing game.

So when I look at the weapons that Oregon added via the 2024 class on Wednesday, my mind went to Dante Moore. I bet he was pretty stoked about the additions of Jeremiah McClellan (No. 13 WR), Ryan Pellum (No. 19) and Dillon Gresham (No. 30) in the 2024 class.

When you factor those three in with former five-star Jurrion Dickey, the No. 2 WR in the 2023 class, you have the makings of an elite bunch going forward.

OK let’s be real, Mario Cristobal was not a big loser on Wednesday. His Miami Hurricanes flipped a couple of major targets and signed the No. 4 class in the nation. He’s doing fine.

Cristobal did, however, lose one of the only things that was his in Eugene. Forever. He was considered the best recruiter that the Ducks had ever had, signing the school’s top-rated class in 2021. Lanning knocked that class out of the top spot on Wednesday, though, taking over the throne for Oregon’s best recruiter. It may not be a big deal, but it is a definitive moment in the young career of Dan Lanning.