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The Oregon Ducks took a hit in the recruiting world on Monday when 5-star quarterback Jared Curtis, the No. 1 QB in the 2026 class, announced his commitment to the Georgia Bulldogs. Curtis was once committed to the Bulldogs, but he opened up his recruitment at the end of last year and strongly considered opting to the Ducks.
In the end, a pull to stay closer to home and play for Kirby Smart won out.
Now, Dan Lanning and his team pivot, and it may not take long for them to find their future QB in the 2026 class. Less than an hour after Curtis committed to Georgia, On3’s Steve Wiltfong logged an official prediction for the Ducks to get a commitment from 5-star QB Ryder Lyons, the No. 1 player in the state of California.
Lyons stands at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, and is rated by 247Sports as the No. 6 player in the 2026 class and the No. 3 quarterback. He has been strongly considering the USC Trojans as well, but if the Ducks are able to get their full attention on him now with Curtis out of the picture, it’s not hard to see him picking Oregon.
While that would be a great get for the Ducks and a solid pivot, it wouldn’t be a perfect transition. While Lyons is a member of the 2026 class, he is planning to take an LDS mission after high school, so he wouldn’t come to Eugene until 2027. When looking at the quarterback future at Oregon, you could project that either Dante Moore or Austin Novosad would be the starting QB in 2025 and 2026. With Curtis in the mix, it was assumed that he could take over in 2027 as a redshirt freshman. However, without Curtis, the Ducks would need to rely on either Luke Moga or Akili Smith Jr. in 2027 as the starter. They could also choose to go into the transfer portal for a one-year rental QB as well, if needed.
While missing out on the top QB on your recruiting board is not easy to deal with, it…
Source link : https://duckswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ducks/recruiting/2025/05/05/oregon-ducks-football-ryder-lyons-usc-trojans-prediction/83464022007/
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Publish date : 2025-05-05 22:14:00
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