Oregon
Oregon Ducks Battling Georgia, Alabama for Five-Star Quarterback Recruit Jared Curtis
After this season, the Oregon Ducks will longer have the luxury that the ultra-experienced Dillon Gabriel brings to the quarterback position, but the program is already setting itself up for success under center in the near future.
Per reports from On3’s Hayes Fawcett, the Ducksx are currently the front-runners for 2026 five-star quarterback Jared Curtis, who de-committed from the Georgia Bulldogs on Thursday before their 30-15 win on the road over the No. 1 Texas Longhorns.
“My interest in Oregon is above the others right now,” Curtis told On3. “It’s my relationship with coach (Will) Stein and coach (Dan) Lanning. It’s great and we had a great time when we went up there.”
According to Fawcett, Curtis is “currently working” on setting up a trip to Eugene for Nov. 9 to watch the Ducks take on the Maryland Terrapins. Despite de-committing from Georgia, Curtis has yet to completley cross the Dawgs off his list, as he will visit Athens on Nov. 16 after visiting Auburn on Nov. 2.
A product of Nashville Christian School, Curtis is a five-star quarterback on On3’s rankings and a four-star on 247Sports’ rankings. On3 has him listed as the No. 4 overall player in the 2026 class and the No. 1 quarterback.
Curtis has received offers from programs like Florida, Colorado, Ohio State, Alabama, LSU, Indiana, Miami, Michigan, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Penn State, USC, Tennessee, Texas and many more.
During the 2022 and ’23 seasons, Curtis went a combined 303 of 529 passing for 4,807 yards, 52 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He added 161 rushes for 1,024 yards and 20 more scores.
Should Oregon land a commitment from Curtis, he’d be the second quarterback commit for the Ducks in the 2026 class, joining four-star Jonas Williams. The other current commits in the class include four-stars like offensive tackle Kodi Greene, running back Tradarian Ball and defensive linemen Tomuhini Topui and Tony Cumberland. Three-stars in defensive lineman Viliami Moala and edge rusher Dutch Horisk round out a class that currently has seven commits.
According to 247Sports’ scouting report of Curtis, he’s a productive deep-ball passer.
“Not afraid to dial up the deep ball and tends to connect on plenty of vertical shots,” wrote 247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins. “Also excels at hitting timing-based breaking routes over the middle. Shouldn’t be classified as a true dual-treat talent, but can move the chains with his legs and work off-script when the pocket collapses.”
No. 1 Oregon will host No. 20 Illinois on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PT.
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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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