Oregon Ducks lose commitment from second elite quarterback since their loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl
Dan Lanning has been doing an incredible job on the recruiting trail, but you can't win them all. Despite being the only team in the country to finish with a top-5 recruiting class and a top-5 transfer portal class, they can't seem to hold onto their top quarterbacks.After losing 2025 recruit Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who committed […]
Dan Lanning has been doing an incredible job on the recruiting trail, but you can't win them all. Despite being the only team in the country to finish with a top-5 recruiting class and a top-5 transfer portal class, they can't seem to hold onto their top quarterbacks.
After losing 2025 recruit Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who committed to Oregon, showed up, and decided to leave in the transfer portal for an opportunity to start sooner, the Ducks have now lost a 2026 4-star quarterback commit in Jonas Williams, who has flipped his commitment to USC.
At 6'3" 215 lbs, Williams would have given the Ducks a big-framed quarterback unlike what they have had in recent years, although that's expected to end this season with 6'3" 210 lbs Dante Moore seemingly ready to take over as the Oregon quarterback.
Still, as Lanning has shown, recruiting is paramount to building a pipeline of success at Oregon. He's stacking consecutive great classes, but Williams, who was one of their top commits in the 2026 recruiting class, has decided to depart for USC. At least for now. Things could always change.
While it's not ideal, it's not like Oregon is destitute at the quarterback position. Moore figures to be a multi-year starter for the Ducks offense, and the flashes of ability that made him an elite 5-star recruit out of high school were apparent in his freshman season with UCLA. He throws a beautiful deep ball and has pinpoint accuracy, something that the Will Stein offense loves.
Oregon is rumored to be the frontrunner for the top quarterback in the 2026 class, Jared Curtis. Maybe Williams feels the Ducks are turning their attention in that direction. Regardless, you can be sure that Lanning isn't done recruiting the quarterback position in the 2026 class as the program heads into the spring months.
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Follow along all year for more Oregon Ducks coverage on A to Z Sports. You can find me on Bluesky @jonhelmkamp.bsky.social, as well as follow our main page @AtoZSports.bsky.social for all the latest news.
