Oregon
Oregon Football: Ducks Trio Near Top of Positional Rankings
Dillon Gabriel, Tez Johnson, and Evan Stewart will be the faces of the Oregon Football air game next season, with plenty riding on the trio.
According to PFF’s Max Chadwick, Gabriel was ranked as the second best quarterback in the country heading into next season. As for the wide receiver rankings, Johnson was fourth and Stewart was ninth.
Gabriel comes from Oklahoma, having made the decision to transfer over to Oregon in December of 2023. Before Oklahoma, he played at UCF from 2019-21. Gabriel had success at both schools with a record of 33-16 as the starting quarterback.
In his career, Gabriel has thrown for 14,865 yards to go along with 125 touchdowns and 26 interceptions. He isn’t just a one-trick pony as he can do it on the ground as well, running for 1,030 yards and 26 touchdowns in his career.
“(Dillon Gabriel) is one of the guys (already)… He’s in the locker room cracking jokes with us… He’s going to have the best season yet.”
– Tez Johnson via Oregon Ducks on SI
Johnson is coming off a stellar senior season with Oregon after playing the first three years of his career with Troy. He had 1,182 receiving yards on 86 catches and 10 touchdowns and is looking to build off that in his final season with the Ducks.
Johnson is going to be one of the favorites for the Fred Biletnikoff Award, which is given annually to the most outstanding wide receiver in college football.
“He’s got speed, I think that shows up. He has the ability to get in and out of breaks, and he can really create separation with his speed. Obviously, he’s a little bit lighter, so we got to get him to continue to bulk up and wait for him to be a consistent player because if you take a couple of hits at that size, you’re not going to be able to be as productive.”
– Dan Lanning on Tez Johnson via DucksWire
Stewart was one of the top transfers in the portal this offseason and he ultimately found that his best next step was with Oregon coach Dan Lanning. In his sophomore season with Texas A&M, he finished with 514 receiving yards on 38 catches and 4 touchdowns. In his freshman campaign, Stewart had 649 receiving yards on 53 catches and 2 touchdowns.
It’s important to keep in mind that this was during two rough seasons for the Aggies who went 12-13. You can only imagine how much the field is going to open up for Stewart with Oregon’s offensive scheme.
“The thing that probably sticks out the most to me about Evan is the way he attacks the ball in the air. He can contort his body and move in a lot of different directions to be able to grab balls that a lot of guys don’t go attack. He’s truly a guy that when the ball is in the air, he’s going to go attack the ball.”
– Dan Lanning on Evan Stewart via 247Sport
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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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