5-star Oregon Ducks target now projected to land with SEC powerhouse
A number of the top-ranked recruits have already come to Eugene on official visits over the past couple of weeks, and more are scheduled to make their way to see the Oregon Ducks this summer. One of the top players is 5-star safety Jireh Edwards, who was on campus earlier this spring to check things out.
Edwards is scheduled to take an OV to Eugene on June 19, but on Wednesday morning, a prediction from On3's Steve Wiltfong landed for the 5-star defensive back to land with the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The 247Sports Composite rates Edwards, who stands at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, as the No. 23 overall player in the class, and the No. 2 safety. He has strong ties to Eugene, where his former St. Francis Academy teammate, CB Ify Obidegwu, is expected to be one of the starters in 2025 and have a breakout season.
Edwards is scheduled to announce his commitment on July 5 after OVs to Texas A&M and Oregon.
If Edwards does end up going to the SEC school, Oregon should be able to pivot. This past weekend, they had 5-star safety Jett Washington on campus and are reportedly in a good position to land his commitment after the successful visit.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
35 minutes ago
- New York Post
Nick Saban explains key reason why he hasn't jumped back into coaching
Nick Saban is adamant he won't be coaching football again anytime soon. The legendary Alabama head coach confirmed this on Fox's 'Fox and Friends' show on Friday, after rumors circulated last week of a potential return to the gridiron. Saban finally put his foot down during the program. Advertisement 'There is no opportunity that I know of right now that would enhance me to go back to coaching,' Saban said. 'I enjoy what I'm doing. I did it for 50 years — I loved it. I loved the relationships with the players. I loved the competition. But it's another station of life now.' Last week, former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy said he heard from a trustworthy source that Saban would return to coaching in the future. Advertisement These comments caused a media firestorm with multiple high-profile names, including Saban's daughter and other SEC coaches, chiming in about the possibility of his return. Nick Saban Coaching in 2023. Getty Images Saban is now working as a host for ESPN's 'College GameDay,' and his work proved to be noteworthy off the field last season, so much so that he won a Sports Emmy award for Outstanding Personality/Emerging On-Air Talent. The seven-time national championship winner also works with the Alabama Football team as an adviser. Advertisement With the two jobs, Saban never thought about a possible return to coaching until rumors went wild. 'It's amazing to me that came up in the media and the media speaks for you, and thinks for you,' Saban said. 'I never really ever had a thought about getting back into coaching until two days ago.' Nick Saban talks to the media at Indianapolis for the championship game in 2022. AP The only time he thought about a return was due to the household chores he was forced to do by his wife, Terry Saban. Advertisement 'Miss. Terry said I had to run the sweeper in the entire downstairs,' Saban said. 'While I was running the sweeper, the thought occurred to me, when you were a coach, you had a heck of a lot better job than this. So that's the only time I considered it.'
Fox Sports
2 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Top Teams to Build a Dynasty With in EA Sports College Football 26
Ready to etch your name in college football immortality? Well, virtually at least. EA Sports College Football 26 is here, where dynasties are born and legends are made. FOX Sports Research has broken down the best teams to kickstart your gridiron empire—packed with elite talent, iconic traditions, and recruiting firepower to dominate for decades. We identified the best team from each FBS conference, along with picking out a few challenging programs to build success with. Several factors went into determining this list, which are explained below. Criteria QB Room At any level of football, quarterback play is paramount to a team's success. But when building a dynasty, quarterback depth is just as important as having a veteran starter. The schools that cracked our list not only had a starter with ample production, but also talented backups or highly-recruited prospects. Returning Production When building a dynasty, winning in Year 1 and 2 is still essential in order to garner strong recruiting classes and increase your coach's prestige. In order to do that, using teams with significant returning production is key. Returning production is quantified as the number of players who played in over 50% of their team's (or former schools) snaps in the previous season, or players who accounted for a significant portion of a statistical category. For each program, we've listed their overall FBS rank for returning production on both offense and defense. Recruiting Class Rankings The core of building a dynasty lies within recruiting, both in reality and in NCAA 26. Stacking talented recruiting classes year over year is key to not only winning immediately but creating longevity for a program. This is why programs like Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State have had perennial success. We took a look at the 2026 recruiting class rankings (according to 247Sports Composite) and used this data to make our selections. Additionally, we also accounted for transfer portal class rankings for each school, as it has become a crucial method to obtain talent for all programs. Proximity to recruiting hot bed/pipeline A huge part of having recruiting success is being close to the states that are talent-rich hotbeds. High school players tend not to travel far when deciding where to attend college, especially when there's a powerhouse close to where they grew up. Entering the 2024 season, the five states that had produced the most active NFL players were Texas (211), California (151), Florida (149), North Carolina (11) and Alabama (109). Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Louisiana were the only other states that cracked the 100 mark. Most optimal team from every conference ACC Miami The Hurricanes have been the subject of much discussion entering the 2025 season, and for good reason. Miami has a top 10 high school class for 2026 and brings in the third-best transfer class for Year 1 of your dynasty. And, of course, the major recruiting pipelines of South and Central Florida serve as easy access for you to find both blue-chip recruits and hidden gems. You'll also be able to take advantage of a loaded roster in your first season, as the Canes have Carson Beck under center, along with multiple projected first-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, like Francis Mauigoa (OT) and Rueben Bain (DE). And to build for the future, you'll have a sleeper in true freshman quarterback Luke Nickel— who was an Elite 11 finalist and four-star recruit. Top-ranked high school class in ACC (10th in FBS) Top-ranked transfer class in ACC (third in FBS) QB room: Carson Beck (RS Sr.), Emory Williams (RS So.), Luke Nickel (Fr.) Returning production: 55% overall (75th in FBS), 51% offense (82nd in FBS), 58% defense (52nd in FBS) Major recruiting pipelines: South Florida, Central Florida, South Georgia, Metro Atlanta, Alabama Odds to win 2026 title: +4000 BIG TEN Michigan This one is simple. Besides being one of the most historic programs in college football history, starting a dynasty with Michigan means you'll have the top-rated freshman in college football for three years. Bryce Underwood has an 81 overall rating with the ability to launch it deep and run people over. The Wolverines also boast the 11th-ranked high school recruiting class in the FBS and bring back 64% of their returning production from the previous year. Winning a national championship with Underwood in Year 2 would be the expectation if you chose to start with them. Fourth-ranked high school class in Big Ten (11th in FBS) 11th-ranked transfer class in Big Ten (35th in FBS) QB room: Bryce Underwood (Fr.), Mikey Keene (Gr.), Jadyn Davis (So.) Returning production: 64% overall (29th in FBS), 63% offense (47th in FBS), 64% defense (28th in FBS) Major recruiting pipelines: Michigan, Illinois, Metro Atlanta, Central Florida, Southern California Odds to win 2026 title: +2500 BIG 12 Texas Tech The Red Raiders had a busy offseason, throwing around a lot of NIL money to bolster their roster. Their 2026 high school recruiting class is the second-best in the Big 12, while their transfer class is the second-best in the country. Behren Morton can also sling it, having thrown for 3,335 yards and 27 touchdowns last season. More importantly, you'll have a legitimate shot to win the title in Year 1— as Texas Tech's overall rate of returning production of 75% ranks fourth in the FBS. And, of course, you'll have access to the entire lone star state for recruiting— which everyone knows is filled with tons of talent. Second-ranked high school class in Big 12 (22nd in FBS) Top-ranked transfer class in Big 12 (2nd in FBS) QB room: Behren Morton (Sr.), Will Hammond (RS Fr.), Mitch Griffis (Sr.), Lloyd Jones III (Fr.) Returning production: 75% overall (4th in FBS), 68% offense (25th in FBS), 82% defense (1st in FBS) Major recruiting pipelines: East Texas, North Texas, Pacific Northwest, Alabama, Illinois Odds to win 2026 title: +10000 SEC Texas A&M In reality, any of the top teams in the SEC would be ideal to start a dynasty with. But when you take a deep dive into what A&M has to offer, along with the fact that it hasn't won a national title since 1939— it's hard to think of a more fun SEC program to build. The Aggies boast a top-three high school recruiting class along with the 11th-ranked transfer class. You'll have studs all over the field as the rate of returning productions ranks sixth in the country. And just like Tech, you'll have the entire state of Texas to recruit— and also cemented pipelines in other hotbeds like Florida and Georgia. Marcel Reed is rated an 85 overall at quarterback and only a true sophomore. He's a dynamic dual-threat who will be fun to play with. Second-ranked high school class in SEC (3rd in FBS) Sixth-ranked transfer class in SEC (11th in FBS) QB room: Marcel Reed (So.), Jacob Zeno (Sr.), Miles O'Neill (Fr.), Brady Hart (Fr.) Returning production: 71% overall (6th in FBS), 70% offense (19th in FBS), 73% defense (12th in FBS) Major recruiting pipelines: North Texas, East Texas, South Florida, Central Florida, Metro Atlanta Odds to win 2026 title: +4500 AAC South Florida You're probably thinking, "Really? South Florida in the American?" But when dissecting the numbers, it's very clear that the Bulls are the team to build a future with in the AAC. Despite Army, Memphis and Tulane's terrific seasons last year, South Florida has the top-ranked high school recruiting class of all AAC teams along with the fifth-best transfer class. Their returning production ranks 14th in the FBS at 67% and Byrum Brown is a speedy quarterback who should be able to lead you to victory in Year 1. Top-ranked high school class in AAC (56th in FBS) Fifth-ranked transfer class in AAC (82nd in FBS) QB room: Byrum Brown (Sr.), Gaston Moore (Gr.), Locklan Hewlett (Fr.) Returning production: 67% overall (14th in FBS), 66% offense (38th in FBS), 68% defense (17th in FBS) Recruiting pipelines: Central Florida, South Florida, Alabama, Metro Atlanta Odds to make 2025-26 CFP: +2500 C-USA Liberty Despite losing Kaidon Salter to the transfer portal, Liberty brings back a loaded roster in 2025 — with a 66% returning production rate, good for 15th in the country. To replace Salter, you'll have veteran Ethan Vasko— Coastal Carolina's quarterback last year. They bring in the top-ranked high school recruiting class in the conference and have a recruiting footprint in North Carolina as well as other states in the South. Top-ranked high school class in C-USA (84th in FBS) Fifth-ranked transfer class in C-USA (105th in FBS) QB room: Ethan Vasko (RS Jr.), Ryan Burger (RS Jr.), Michael Merdinger (RS Fr.), Ethan Houck (Fr.) Returning production: 66% overall (15th in FBS), 61% offense (56th in FBS), 72% defense (13th in FBS) Recruiting pipelines: North Carolina, Metro Atlanta, South Florida, Alabama Odds to make 2025-26 CFP: +1000 MAC Toledo In last year's version of this, we identified Toledo as a team to consider when building a dynasty because of the upside quarterback Tucker Gleason had. Well, he proved us right, as he threw for 2,793 yards with a TD-INT ratio of 24-to-8 — while also rushing for 364 yards and seven touchdowns, all in just 10 games. The Rockets went 8-5 last season and bring in the second-best high school class in the MAC along with a transfer class that ranks in the top 100 of the FBS. Ohio and Michigan are also sneaky good recruiting pipelines you'll have access to. Second-ranked high school class in MAC (81st in FBS) Fourth-ranked transfer class in MAC (98th in FBS) QB room: Tucker Gleason (Sr.), John Alan Richter (Jr.), Walter Moses (Fr.) Returning production: 60% overall (48th in FBS), 75% offense (11th in FBS), 46% defense (100th in FBS) Recruiting pipelines: Ohio, Michigan, Central Florida, South Florida Odds to make 2025-26 CFP: +1800 MWC, PAC-12 San Diego State UNLV had a great case to be our Mountain West/Pac-12 selection, but San Diego State edged them out with its top-ranked high school recruiting class in the conference along with Jayden Denegal under center. While he might not be the highest-rated player or have much game experience, Denegal spent three years at Michigan and was a top 20 quarterback in his class coming out of high school— also exhibiting several physical tools at 6-foot-5, 235 pounds. You'll also have access to a plethora of recruits in the Golden State. Top-ranked high school class in MWC/Pac-12 (66th in FBS) Sixth-ranked transfer class in MWC/Pac-12 (104th in FBS) QB room: Jayden Denegal (Jr.), Bert Emanuel Jr. (Jr.), Kyle Crum (Jr.), J.P Mialovski (Fr.) Returning production: 52% overall (82nd in FBS), 33% offense (123rd in FBS), 72% defense (14th in FBS) Recruiting pipelines: Southern California, Arizona, Northern California, North Texas Odds to make 2025-26 CFP: +15000 SUN BELT South Alabama This was arguably the toughest conference to choose a team from, as the "Fun Belt" has tons of parity with schools like Louisiana, Old Dominion, James Madison and Coastal Carolina all being viable options. But we went with the Jaguars, as they brought in the second-best high school class in the conference along with returning over 50% of their production on both sides of the ball. Zach Pyron started two games at QB for Georgia Tech last season. Second-ranked high school class in Sun Belt (83rd in FBS) Twelfth-ranked transfer class in Sun Belt (110th in FBS) QB room: Zach Pyron (RS Jr.), Bishop Davenport (RS Jr.), Jared Hollins (RS Fr.), Bubba Thompson (Fr.) Returning production: 57% (68th in FBS), 63% (50th in FBS), 51% (79th in FBS) Recruiting pipelines: Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Metro Atlanta Odds to make 2025-26 CFP: +2500 Fun Rebuilds You'll Keep Coming Back To If you like a challenge, the schools below will definitely present you one. You'll need to be dominant on the sticks, as wins will be really hard to come by given the situations each school below is in. Let's take a look: Delaware or Missouri State There are two new schools in the FBS this season, upping the total to 136 programs in 2025. Welcome the Blue Hens and Bears to the big show! What better story would there be then to lead a former FCS school to a title at the next level? Both programs join Conference USA, which also welcomed Kennesaw State from the FCS level last season. The Owls finished 2-10 in their first FBS campaign, which highlights just how difficult a dynasty with either Delaware or Missouri State would be. Still, C-USA is one of the weaker conferences in the FBS, and you're always just a recruit away from changing it all. Southern Miss The Golden Eagles went 1-11 last season and have tough competition in the Sun Belt. But this might be one of the more interesting teams to start a dynasty with, as the roster is completely different from last year. Southern Miss has 54 incoming transfers in 2025, with 21 hailing from Marshall and four from West Virginia. That includes Braylon Braxton, who put up over 2,200 yards of total offense for the Herd along with 23 total touchdowns and just two interceptions. Can you be the coach to put all the pieces together in Hattiesburg? Kent State This might be the hardest rebuild of them all, as the Golden Flashes were the only FBS team to go winless in 2024. That's right, they went 0-12. Their high school recruiting class ranks 95th in the FBS, their transfer class is 121st and their rate of returning production is 43%— which ranks 110th nationally. A dynasty rebuild with Kent State is truly for the brave, skilled and fearless. Mississippi State You're probably thinking, "an SEC team as a tough dynasty rebuild?" But the fact that the Bulldogs are an SEC program is exactly why this task would be so difficult. You wouldn't even be the best program in your own state! Going 2-10 last season, they also revamped their 2025 roster— bringing in 34 players in the transfer portal (17th-ranked transfer class in the FBS), while also still hauling in the 28th best high school class in the FBS. Their rate of returning production ranks 37th in the country at 62%, and you'll need it— as the Year 1 schedule includes the likes of Arizona State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Florida, Texas, Georgia, Missouri, and of course the Egg Bowl. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Item 1 of 3 Get more from the College Football Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox News
3 hours ago
- Fox News
Trump admin cracks down on Oregon and Virginia for defying Title IX and women's sports executive order
The U.S. Department of Education ramped up its campaign against schools defying Title IX and President Donald Trump's executive order on Friday. Secretary Linda McMahon announced actions against the states of Oregon and Virginia for their policies on gender ideology. In Oregon, McMahon is launching an investigation against the state's Department of Education (ODE) after a high school sports season that featured multiple incidents involving trans athletes in girls' sports that garnered public attention, and two lawsuits over the matter. "If Oregon is permitting males to compete in women's sports, it is allowing these males to steal the accolades and opportunities that female competitors have rightfully earned through hard work and grit, while callously disregarding women's and girls' safety, dignity, and privacy. Title IX does not permit that shameful arrangement, and we will not tolerate it," said Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary for the DOE's office of civil rights (OCR). On Thursday, Oregon girls' track athletes Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard filed a lawsuit against the Oregon School Athletics Association (OSAA) after an incident at the state's track and field championships on the last day of May. Anderson and Eckard alleged that the OSAA not only excluded them from official photos, but also withheld their medals. The suit argues that the girls' First Amendment rights were infringed upon by the officials. Earlier in July, two other female students, Maddie Eischen and Sophia Carpenter, filed a lawsuit against the ODE and OSAA for its policies that allow males to compete in girls' sports after an incident where they withdrew themselves from a track meet in April, because a male was set to compete against them. Both Carpenter and Eischen previously told Fox News Digital the experience was "traumatic." "My experience at the Chehalem track meet and scratching myself from the meet was traumatic, something I never imagined ever having to do," Eischen said. Carpenter added, "It was emotionally traumatic trying to know what I should do and how I should respond to competing with [the trans athlete]." The U.S. DOE investigation directly cites the lawsuits and the firm representing the athletes, the America First Policy Institute. Fox News Digital has reached out to the ODE for a response. Meanwhile, Friday also saw the DOE OCR announce an update on its investigation against five school districts in Virginia for "allegations of discrimination on the basis of sex." The OCR concluded its investigation and determined that the five school districts had violated Title IX. The investigation was based on complaints alleging that the Divisions have similar anti-discrimination policies pertaining to "transgender-identifying" students, which violate the sex-based protections of Title IX. "Although this type of behavior was tolerated by the previous Administration, it's time for Northern Virginia's experiment with radical gender ideology and unlawful discrimination to come to an end. OCR's investigation definitively shows that these five Virginia school districts have been trampling on the rights of students in the service of an extreme political ideology," Trainor said. "The Trump Administration will not sacrifice the safety, dignity, and innocence of America's young women and girls at the altar of an anti-scientific illiberalism." The five school districts now have 10 days to come to a voluntary agreement with the Trump administration or risk a referral to the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ has already launched lawsuits against officials in Maine and California for those states' policies that allow trans athletes in girls' and women's sports.
