4-star DL Jericho Johnson commits to Oregon

Four-star Fairfield (Calif.) Armijo defensive lineman Jericho Johnson has committed to Oregon.

He chose the Ducks over finalists USC, Washington and Utah, as well as more than a dozen other Power Five offers. He took official visits to Washington and Miami in June, but returned to Oregon in late September for a visit that turned out to be a pivotal one in his recruitment.

Johnson is the No. 143 overall prospect in the 2024 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He ranks as the nation’s No. 16 defensive lineman and the No. 13 recruit in California.

In total, Oregon holds 26 commitments this cycle and currently sits at No. 3 nationally in the On3 Industry Football Team Recruiting Rankings. Among those 26 are 19-blue chip commitments, giving the Ducks one of the highest blue chip ratios (blue-chip commits/total commits) of any program in the country.

Johnson has an On3 NIL Valuation of $78K. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

Ducks add to impressive defensive line class with Johnson

While former head coach Mario Cristobal recruited one side of the trenches extremely well, the other side was left somewhat bare when he departed.

Lanning’s first priority was fixing that, and in the 2023 cycle, he signed 11 prospects who projected to play along the defensive line or at the EDGE spot. He has followed that up in 2024 with three more commitments, including four-stars Xadavien Sims and Jaxson Jones, along with high three-star Tionne Gray.

With his commitment, Johnson becomes the highest-rated defensive lineman of this year’s class and the second-highest in the past two seasons.

The Ducks’ class also features elite talent at the skill positions on both sides of the ball. Oregon has three top-150 prospects in the defensive backfield committed with cornerbacks Dakoda Fields and Ify Obidegwu, as well as safety Aaron Flowers.

Oregon was one of the biggest winners during Wednesday’s Early National Signing Day, as it flipped a pair of elite wide receivers to bolster its class on the offensive side. Saint Louis Christian Brothers Academy four-star WR and top-100 recruit Jeremiah McClellan flipped from Ohio State, while Long Beach (Calif.) Millikan four-star WR Ryan Pellum flipped from USC.