Oregon Football Coaches Fly South as Summer Recruiting Heats Up

Much of college football recruiting has become about the name, image, and likeness game but there’s still a place for good old-fashioned face-to-face visits as Oregon transitions to the Big Ten Conference.

With spring football and the transfer portal window in the rearview mirror, Oregon Ducks football coaches have been hard at work on the road meeting (and posting on social media) with the next crop of gridiron talent.

The focus seems to be on the South thus far so let’s walk through some key visits being made by Oregon coaches to Tennessee, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Florida.

Defensive line coach Tony Tuioti recently made his way to Humboldt, Tennessee to check in on current Georgia commit Stephon Shivers, a defensive lineman in the 2025 class. Georgia and Oregon have gone head-to-head for a number of players over the last few years as Georgia head coaching disciple and Oregon coach Dan Lanning likely evaluates talent in a similar way to his former mentor.

Offensive line coach A’lique Terry and offensive coordinator Will Stein were seen in Atlanta, Georgia paying a visit to Offensive Tackle prospect Juan Gaston out of Westlake High School. With a veteran offensive line set to lose key starters after 2024, reloading the offensive trenches will be paramount to Oregon’s success going forward.

Linebackers coach Brian Michaelowski made the trip out to Florida this week to check in on Oregon wide receiver commit Dallas Wilson, along with linebacker Gavin Nix and cornerback DJ Pickett. Getting a foothold in Florida would be huge for Oregon as it’s one of the most talent-rich states in the country.

New Oregon running backs coach Ra’Shaad Samples has been hard at work on the recruiting trail since arriving to Oregon, focusing this week on the state of Oklahoma where the Ducks acquired defensive lineman Xadavien Sims in the 2024 class.

Oregon fans have long clamored for an increased presence in the South and it appears Dan Lanning’s staff is hard at work making that happen. 

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