One year ago, Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon was stuffing the run for Michigan State. Kobe Savage was intercepting passes for Kansas State. Jabbar Muhammad was manning cornerback in the national championship for Washington. Evan Stewart was hauling in catches for Texas A&M. And Dillon Gabriel , of course, was tossing touchdowns for Oklahoma.
Oregon doesn’t want to be known as Transfer Portal U. Coach Dan Lanning’s No. 1-ranked Ducks, after all, boast loads of homegrown talent, including leading rusher Jordan James and leading tackler Bryce Boettcher , who also stars for the Oregon baseball team.
Earlier this year, the Ducks inked the nation’s fourth-ranked recruiting class. Oregon’s 2025 recruiting class is currently ranked seventh. And the Ducks already have landed six ESPN 300 commitments from the Class of 2026.
But in its debut season in the Big Ten, Oregon has jumped to an 8-0 start heading into Saturday’s trip to Michigan behind the play of several key FBS transfers from the past two years. In fact, 12 of the Ducks’ 22 offensive and defensive starters played elsewhere in 2022, including its entire starting receiving corps, starting defensive line and starting secondary.