Calling it now: Oregon's 2026 class with five 5-stars is going to look like a bargain by the time we flip two of them in the 2027 year. I know everybody wants to talk about the Ducks sitting pretty at the top of the ESPN 2027 rankings and how they are cleaning up in the northwest and California. Fine. Let them have their moment. But I have been tracking this stuff long enough to know that a program sitting on five 5-stars in one class creates a logjam. Guys want to play. Guys want the ball. And when you have that many elite prospects in one room, some of them start looking around for a better situation. That is where we come in.
Our staff has been working the 2027 board quietly and I mean quietly. No splashy crystal balls. No big social media moments. Just handshake deals and sillent commits that the recruiting services have NOT caught up on yet. The 247 composite is always behind the real story by about six to eight weeks. I am hearing from sources close to the program that we have at least two top-100 guys in the 2027 class who are already locked in but keeping it under wraps until the dead period opens up. One of them is a California kid who every Big Ten program is chasing. Oregon, Ohio State, Michigan all want him. And he is ours.
The real battle though is the head to head with Oregon for the west coast croots. ESPN can put them at the top of the 2027 rankings all they want but the 247 team rankings tell a different story when you dig into the actual commit list. Oregon loaded up early on a bunch of high-floor guys. We are targeting ceiling. There is a difference. And when you factor in NIL and the fact that our collective is matching whatever Phil Knight is throwing around, the playing field is level. I am not worried. By the time the early signing period hits in December 2027, we finish inside the top 10 nationally. Book it.