Oregon’s recruiting trail has taken a couple blows in recent weeks, including losing a couple players to other programs. There have been plenty of highlights, along with Oregon working to flip a 5-star plus wide receiver from Ohio State, but they’ve taken their lumps as well.
There’s some speculation as to why Oregon has had some recent misses, with some of that speculation coming from On3 Volquest’s Brent Hubbs. To put it bluntly, he wasn’t too kind to the Oregon recruiting system.
On3’s Brent Hubbs rips Oregon for lack of relationship building in radio appearance
Let’s get to the “why” first. Tennessee is fresh off flipping a 2025 recruit commitment from Oregon in 2025 4-star tight end DaSaahn Brame. Brame is a 6’4″ 225 lb athletic tight end that committed to Oregon over Tennessee originally at the end of June, but has since flipped to the Vols.
Making a radio appearance on Nashville’s 104.5 The Zone, Hubbs made it clear that he believes Oregon is lacking in the relationship-building department.
“Here’s the other thing too—we talk about NIL a lot, right? NIL, NIL, NIL. At some point, when the money’s pretty even, it comes down to where you’re most comfortable. So you got to go recruit them. I think Oregon is learning this, right? Oregon just kind of had the thought process of, “We’ll just go buy us a class,” and they’ve lost three or four commits in the last two weeks because they don’t really want to work and live in Eugene. And I don’t think the coaches have the relationships with those players that other schools have. I think they’ve just said, “Well, we’ll NIL it.” You can’t just NIL it because everybody’s got NIL funds now, okay? I mean, at the Power Five level, everybody’s got a plan for NIL. So at some point, it comes back to old-school recruiting and your relationships, and you’ve got to work at it,” Hubbs said.
We all know Oregon has NIL money. Nike co-founder Phil Knight has made it clear that he will provide unlimited NIL funds to the Ducks, but to state that Oregon is simply relying on money and is setting out to “buy a class” without building relationships is irresponsible and factually inaccurate.
Family relationships have always been an integral part of Dan Lanning’s recruiting
Peyton Woodyard, a freshman safety that transferred to Oregon from Alabama this offseason, has been familiar with the Ducks since he was in high school.
In April of 2022, shortly after Lanning took the job as the Oregon head coach, Woodyard took an unofficial visit to Eugene and received an offer from the Ducks a couple weeks later. At the end of the day, he ended up enrolling at Alabama, but Woodyard and his family were always impressed by Lanning and his team.
“We were recruited by Dan Lanning and his staff throughout Peyton’s high school career and quite frankly it was a great process. We felt a genuine connection with countless members of the staff, which made us feel like family but more importantly they made Peyton feel welcomed. In fact, when Peyton initially chose to go play for Alabama they remained professional and did not hold any hard feelings towards him or our family. Peyton always felt that Oregon was authentic and would prepare him on and off the field to achieve his goals,” Gerald Woodyard, Peyton’s father, told me.
At the end of the day, it was that connection to the coaching staff, their respect for Woodyard’s decisions, and their commitment to him as a person, not just an athlete, that won out.
Oregon has resources, as all the top programs around the country do, but recruiting has as much, if not more, to do with the investment in the individual and their family as it does the financial incentive. Oregon has plenty to offer, from top notch facilities, to a stunning campus and education. Just take a trip to Eugene and you’ll find one of the most beautiful colleges in the country surrounded by the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. It’s not hard to see why Oregon has appeal, especially now after their athletics have entered the Big Ten Conference.
For a recruit, the campus, the amenities, and now competing on a higher stage only equates to more opportunities for a national spotlight and higher competition. What’s not to love.
