Oregon
Oregon Ducks Recruiting: 5-Star Jared Curtis Trending to Ducks Over Ohio State, Georgia?
Over the weekend in Eugene, the No. 1 Oregon Ducks hosted a group of talented high school recruits in Autzen Stadium to watch their 39-18 victory over the Maryland Terrapins. One of those sought after prospects is Jared Curtis, a five-star quarterback from Nashville, Tennessee, and ESPN’s top quarterback prospect for 2026. This was Curtis’ second visit to Eugene, with the Ducks heavily pursuing this quarterback.
It seems like the interest is going both ways, as Curtis recently spoke highly of this weekend’s visit with On3 Sports.
“Me and my dad came up here, we loved it,” Curtis said to On3. “With 55,000 people, it was probably one of the loudest stadiums I’ve been in.”
The volume at Autzen Stadium is becoming quite the topic nowadays, with fans Big Ten team after team entering their game week with Oregon poking fun at the around 54,000 fan capacity, only to be immediately shocked by the loud atmosphere. It’s a factor that can shock opposing teams, opposing fans, and especially hopeful Oregon recruits.
The 6-4, 225 recruit also shared with On3 that he really enjoyed the camaraderie with the Ducks from the athletes to the coaches.
“They’re well coached and they’re disciplined and I think they’re hungry to go get it,” Curtis said.
Curtis also went on to talk about his growing relationship with Oregon offensive coordinator, Will Stein. Stein is also the quarterbacks coach for Oregon, and has an extensive background with the position as a former quarterback for Louisville in his playing days and his previous role as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UTSA.
“The relationship with me and Coach Stein. My mom and dad really like it up here. What they do in their offense with the quarterbacks and getting players around them,” Curtis said.
According to 247Sports, Curtis currently has 37 offers across the country. Some of the biggest schools to vie for the Nashville native are Alabama, Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee, and Texas. Curtis was previously committed to the Georgia Bulldogs, but decommitted during week eight so he could fully explore all of his options for a future school.
“I let [coach Kirby Smart and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo] know it just doesn’t seem right or fair to stay committed while checking out other programs. I want people to know where I stand and I’ve learned that making big decisions takes time,” Curtis said in a letter posted to social media.
During his sophomore year in high school, Curtis put up 180 of 321 in passing with 2,522 yards and 25 thrown touchdowns. He also had nine interceptions on the season while rushing for 543 yards and 13 touchdowns. Curtis is a versatile athlete, making him the perfect fit for a high-flying offense like Oregon’s, which is currently surging forward under the leadership of Dillon Gabriel, another quarterback known to use his arms and his legs for a dual threat.
Curtis is visiting Georgia and then Ohio State next before making final decisions.
However, it seems like Oregon will be sticking in this quarterback’s mind as he travels across the country, to find his future team.
“The stadium was the most impressing thing,” Curtis said. “The atmosphere.”
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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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