The Transfer Class That Transformed Oregon

The Oregon Ducks at 11-1 have had an outstanding season this year. They have punched their ticket for the college football playoff. Now they wait to find out who they face in the first round.

Oregon would most likely not be in this position without the exceptional ability of Dan Lanning and his coaching staff to target the right transfer players in the portal. Not just this season, but collectively since Lanning joined the team in 2022. Dante Moore, Atticus Sappington, and Noah Whittington are all transfers.

With that said, the 2025 transfer class has been a huge difference this season. Considered the 4^th best class in the country, this group of players have been huge for the Ducks. The team deserves a lot of credit for picking these guys, developing them, and putting them in a position for success.

This has been an all-time transfer class for the Ducks.

Joe Moore Award Finalists

Where would the Ducks be without Emmanuel Pregnon, Isaiah World, and Alex Harkey this year? There were a lot of questions going into the season after Josh Conerly Jr and Ajani Cornelius were drafted last Spring. How would these new players fit with so little time together? World and Harkey taking over the tackle positions, were they up to the task?

Not only has this group exceeded expectations, but they are also (for the third year in a row) finalists for the Joe Moore award. PFF grades them as the best team in pass blocking this season. They’re the best run graded team in the nation and the 5^th best passing team according to PFF. The line has a huge part in all of that.

Emmanuel Pregnon is ranked as the 10^th best pass block guard in the nation (min. 300 snaps) and the 5^th best run blocker at his position. CBS currently mocks him at pick 18 to the Houston Texans.

World doesn’t grade as favorably on PFF. He’s ranked 236^th in pass blocking and 99^th on run blocking, but scouts still like him. His stock is all over the place, but many mocks put him in the late first round or early second round of this draft. NFLmockdraftdatabase.com ranks him 42^nd overall and projects him in the 2^nd.

Undervalued Receivers and Tight Ends

With so many injuries to the receiving corps this season, it’s hard to imagine that Oregon would be in the playoff without Malik Benson and Jamari Johnson. Both players have been key contributors in the month of November, with Dakorien Moore and Gary Bryant Jr. out with significant injuries.

Neither player was highly touted going into the portal.  Benson was ranked as the 37^th best wideout in the class, and the 192^nd best player overall. Johnson was the 15^th best tight end and 414^th overall. This is the very definition of undervalued, and yet Dan Lanning and his staff found these above-the-line players.

Johnson is now graded as the 14th best receiving tight end in the country by PFF and 27^th overall. He has 320 yards on 23 receptions, with most of that production coming in the last six games. He was critical against Washington, with 60 yards on 3 receptions. Even better is that he’s only a redshirt sophomore, so the Ducks get him for at least one more season.

Benson is unfortunately a senior, so this will be his last season. But he has come up time and time again for Oregon when they needed him most. His catch to set up the game winning field goal against Iowa was huge. His punt return for a touchdown against USC was electric. Then came the massive catch for a TD against Washington. It’s hard to imagine that his stock hasn’t risen quite a bit.

Elite Defensive Backs on a Top Three Secondary

A lot of credit has gone to Benson for his play in November, and rightfully so. However, Jadon Canady has been the unsung hero of the 2025 season. While true freshman Brandon Finney Jr has been collecting a lot of the praise, Canady has been quietly having by far his best season.

The redshirt senior from Jacksonville, Florida was only the 16^th best cornerback in the portal, and 263^rd best player overall. He has smashed those rankings this season. PFF has him as the 10^th best corner in coverage in the nation, and the 24^th best corner overall.

He isn’t getting much draft buzz yet, but Mel Kiper did list him in his “just missed” list for corners.

While Canady was under the radar, Dillon Thieneman came in as one of the best players in the class. He has been a difference maker since day 1. Thieneman is listed as the third best safety on Kiper’s big board this year. He’s projected anywhere between the late first round and second round. Thieneman has been excellent this season, and he has two clutch interceptions against Penn State and Washington.

PFF grades him as the 9^th best safety in coverage and the 9^th best on defense overall. He was considered the best player at his position in the portal and the 6^th best player overall in that class. Thieneman has lived up to that hype. He has been a huge part of Oregon’s elite secondary this season.

A Stout Defensive Line

There’s only one name on this list, but it’s a big name; Bear Alexander. The enigmatic defensive tackle came to the Ducks after having an abrupt and dramatic ending with the USC Trojans. At one time, Alexander was a top 50 prospect in his recruiting class. In the portal, he was only the 8^th best player at his position in the portal and the 128^th best overall.

Bear has had a very solid season. He has put up his best overall defensive grade of his career (75.9) and he’s ranked 103^rd in run defense and 108^th overall. The redshirt junior still has one year left of eligibility and it would make a lot of sense for him to return for his final year at Oregon.

Right now he’s mocked anywhere between the 3^rd or 5^th round in the draft. Still, Alexander might opt to risk declaring. I think he could really see his stock continue to rise with one more year rehabilitating his image with the Ducks.

The Punter from Down Under

We can’t really shout out Atticus Sappington in this article. He transferred to Oregon in 2024, but we will just say he has been excellent this season. We can highlight the outstanding play of James Ferguson-Reynolds at the punter position.

JFR was probably the least heralded transfer on the team. He was ranked 43^rd at his position and 3,754^th overall. He came to Oregon from Boise State, and he has had an immediate impact on the Ducks. He’s currently second in the country in yards per return (1.0) and 7^th in return percentage (13.8%).

For comparison, Ross James averaged 14 yards per return (124^th) and return percentage of 10.8 (6^th).

The Only Misses

While Canady and Thieneman have been exceptional this year, Theran Johnson has been a disappointment.  He was the 10^th best corner in the class and 89^th overall. He has not had a good season for Oregon.

Johnson is 851^st in coverage on PFF and 843^rd overall. He has been targeted 29 times and allowed 16 receptions. Johnson is also giving up an NFL passer rating of 103.7, which is second worst on the team behind Kingston Lopa.

I will also add Makhi Hughes to this list, but the data is incomplete. Oregon did not end up needing the highly ranked transfer from Tulane this season. Hughes was ranked 1^st at his position and 13^th overall in 2025. He barely played in the first few games of the year and declared that he would be redshirting after the game against Penn State.

It could have been a bad fit, or maybe just Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr were too good. Either way Hughes did not work out at Oregon. I will note that he hasn’t declared that he’s transferring yet.