Oregon
Oregon Ducks Recruiting: 2025 WR Target Makes College Decision Sunday
With the major core of Oregon’s wide receivers most likely moving onto the National Football League after this season, the room is open for a key Duck recruit to commit.
Tez Johnson and Traeshon Holden are seniors. Evan Stewart and Gary Bryant Jr. are juniors. All four have trending upward draft stock heading into the season. As for those key returnees, the sophomores Jurrion Dickey and Kyler Kasper should get more looks in 2025.
Four-star wide receiver Nae’shaun Montgomery in the class of 2025 has an opportunity to help replace those snaps next season if he chooses to head to Eugene. He will announce his college commitment on Aug. 25 between Florida, Florida State, LSU, Penn State, Alabama, and Oregon.
Montgomery, standing 6-2 and 185 pounds, is out of Miami Central, Florida. He’s ranked as the 33rd wide receiver in the nation, according to On3. It’s leaning towards him deciding to stay in his home state with Billy Napier and the Florida Gators.
Oregon co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Junior Adams knows the expectations are high for his group in the inaugural season in the Big Ten. The talent is there, it’s all about the execution now and not being selfish.
“The biggest thing to me that stands out is how connected we are. The room is super talented and everyone is about the people in that room. We talk about ‘we over me’. Each of those guys, they learn from each other and they hold each other accountable. It’s really cool to be a part of.”
– Junior Adams after fall camp practice
Tez Johnson will be the leading man for Adams on the outside. A lot is riding on Johnson’s shoulders but Adams knows he’s the man for the job based on what he’s seen this offseason.
“Tez is the guy this offseason where I would get random text messages at 7 o’clock in the morning or at night of clips of him in the mall doing a route break drill or doing releases. He’s doing a really good job of trying to master his release game and his route package. He comes into the building early, he’s studying film and getting his eyes right as far as coverage recognition.”
– Junior Adams on Tez Johnson
The competition between all the wide receivers is healthy for them. Adams is glad that his players understand that as well.
“When you do have a ton of talented players, we tell them to make it hard on us. They understand the deal too.”
– Junior Adams on competition
Dillon Gabriel’s decision to come to Oregon definitely had to do with the fact that he will have a ridiculous amount of weapons to sling the ball to. Not many programs in the country should have the top-notch air raid that the Ducks will.
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The good times keep on rolling for the Oregon Ducks in the recruiting world. Dan Lanning and the Ducks scored a massive commitment from five-star quarterback Will Mencl out of Chandler, Arizona.
Oregon had been rumored to be leading the race for Mencl’s services for months, but the No. 1 quarterback in the country, per Rivals, cleared the air and committed to the Ducks on Wednesday evening. Mencl chose the Ducks over Auburn and Penn State, both of which battled hard for him down the stretch.
However, Mencl has been connected to Oregon for a long time. While he was offered last fall before breaking out in his junior season, Mencl has been a fan of the program long before he popped up on the Ducks’ recruiting radar. In a post shared by Rivals recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong, Mencl was announced as a quarterback for the Ducks when he was a kid at the 2019 NFL Draft fan experience in 2019.
Now, Mencl is ready to don the green and yellow for real and make his childhood dreams come true. The Ducks have made a point to get Mencl on campus as often as possible and as recently as last week. The continued connection between both sides is ultimately what made the decision easy for the nation’s top passer. Mencl said he told Lanning and the Oregon staff about his decision on Sunday.
“The biggest thing was the relationship with the staff,” Mencl said after committing. “I feel like that continued to grow over time, especially when I first got there last spring. Being able to sit down with Coach Koa, really being an underlooked guy at that time, and kind of blowing up my junior season. And then, the path to the NFL. You can’t deny what they do with quarterbacks and the type of scheme they run. I felt like that was the best fit for me and my family to get to the next level.”
Koa Ka’ai, Oregon’s new quarterback coach, made waves earlier in the offseason after his recruiting test about ice cream flavors went viral, but that doesn’t appear to have scared Mencl off. In fact, the two have a close connection that Oregon hopes will translate to success on the field in the near future.
“My relationship with Coach Koa, I feel like that is super, super strong,” Mencl told Rivals. “I’ve had a lot of discussions with Coach Lanning about the culture there and how they’re going to continue to sustain greatness throughout the program.”
Mencl exploded onto the national recruiting scene with a massive junior season for Chandler. He completed more than 70% of his passes for 3,815 yards and 33 touchdowns against five interceptions in his junior season, leading Chandler to a state title berth. He also rushed for 741 yards and an additional 17 touchdowns.
The Ducks expect to have some competition for Mencl to compete with when he joins the team for the 2027 season, with Dylan Raiola and Akili Smith Jr. already on the roster and competing for a role as the backup. Oregon has gone to the transfer portal as well in recent seasons, finding success with Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and now Dante Moore.
Oregon has recruited well at quarterback in the past, establishing an NFL pedigree that attracted Mencl. Maybe he will be the one to buck the trend and give the Ducks a true, homegrown product under center.
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‘Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,’ a Wine Enthusiast contributor said of an Oregon wine
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Wine Enthusiast released a list of the top 40 sparkling wines around the world in 2026 – highlighting two bottles of bubbly from Oregon.
“While it can seem like you need a fortune to enjoy high quality sparkling wine, you honestly don’t. Excellent affordable bubbles are being produced around the world, often in places you might not expect. Each of the selections on our inaugural Top 40 Sparkling Wines list delivers personality, freshness, and celebration for under $75,” Wine Enthusiast wrote.
Wine Enthusiast divided its list into separate sparkling categories including, Champagne, Italian Bollicine, American sparkling and bottles $25 and under.
Snagging a spot on the American sparkling list: Corollary Wines in McMinnville.
Corollarly’s 2021 Momtazi Carbonic Rosé Pinot Noir scored 96 points from Wine Enthusiast.
“This is a Peter Max print of a wine, with vivid aromas and flavors to match the wine’s electric Kool-Aid color. It is filled to the brim with aromas and flavors of macerated strawberries, candied rose petals, apricots, and a bitter note similar to watermelon rind. Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,” wrote Wine Enthusiast contributor Michael Alberty.
The second Oregon winery to earn a spot on the list: Lytle-Barnett in Dundee.
Wine Enthusiast also gave Lytle-Barnett’s 2018 Brut Rosé Pinot Noir Chardonnay 96 points.
“Bubbles as persistent as an eight-year-old with a question deliver aromas of dried rose petals, macerated strawberries, and a touch of fresh hay and talc. This 70/30 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend is packed with flavors of lemon zest, Honeycrisp apple slices drizzled in caramel, and a dollop of raspberry,” Alberty wrote.
The nods to Corollary and Lytle-Barnett come as the wineries recently helped launch Method Oregon, a nonprofit made up of 50 Oregon wineries aiming to turn Oregon into a global sparkling wine destination.
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