Legarrette Blount Jr. offer the latest in Oregon legacy recruiting trend

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A consistent and stable program doesn’t turn its back on history. Since Dan Lanning took over the Oregon Ducks in 2022, he’s made a point to connect the different eras of the program’s history in a way that was missing under previous regimes.

Former players were welcomed back with open arms and celebrated by the fans. Oregon connected its current players with the former beloved stars that tore it up inside Autzen Stadium. There was a real culture being established about what it meant to be a Duck, strengthening that bond for those within the program and those who have moved on.

That bond is still intact.

Lanning has grown to be known as one of the fiercest recruiters in the country. Thanks to Oregon’s winning pedigree and NIL foundation, the Ducks can be in the race for any recruit or transfer they want.

Still, that’s not the main focus. Lanning has said he wants to find players who fit the culture and mentality of the team he is building in Eugene. The pillars of the program are connection, toughness, growth and sacrifice. There’s no better place to find a recruit with those values than one who is connected to a former Duck.

Quarterback Akili Smith Jr. sparked the trend that Lanning has continued to set in the 2027 recruiting class. Smith, the son of former Oregon quarterback Akili Smith, has joined the Ducks’ loaded quarterback room and pushed for a backup role. Some could say that the Ducks gifted the son of the former first-round NFL draft pick a roster spot, given his history in the program, but that would be false. Smith Jr. is a 6-foot-5 passer and former four-star prospect who could develop into a starter if things go the right way.

As the Ducks assemble their 2027 class, connecting to their history has only been more emphasized. Three-star athlete Sam Ngata is committed to the Ducks as a linebacker. He is the son of former Oregon star and Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl champion Haloti Ngata, who had a 13-year NFL career and is in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Josiah Molden, son of former Oregon cornerback Alex Molden, is one of the top commits in a loaded defensive class so far for the Ducks. Molden is a four-star prospect and the top recruit in the state of Oregon. His father recorded 10 interceptions in four seasons in Eugene and helped guide the Ducks to back-to-back appearances in the Rose Bowl and Cotton Bowl in 19194 and 1995, respectively. That was the time period when Oregon was rising into national relevance.

Most recently, Lanning’s staff extended an offer to three-star 2028 athlete Legarrette Blount Jr., who plays both wide receiver and safety. Of course, he is the son of one of the most feared Oregon running backs of all time: LeGarrette Blount. In 2008, Blount ran for 1,002 yards and 17 touchdowns, which was a program record at the time.

After being suspended for most of the 2009 season, he went undrafted in the NFL, but that didn’t stop him from winning three Super Bowls (tied for the most by a former Oregon player) and building an impressive nine-season NFL career. Now, he’s coaching his son at Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix as a co-offensive coordinator.

A legacy recruit comes with extra attention, expectations and comparisons. Smith Jr., Ngata and Molden will all try to carve their own path as Ducks, and Blount Jr. figures to be on his own path if he does wind up committing to the Ducks. Oregon has a clear draw to recruits with an NFL background in their family, and part of that is because of the program’s NFL success in the past decade and Lanning’s ability to connect the dots between the past, present and future of players wearing green and yellow.

Ryan Walk, who played one season under Lanning, and Verone McKinley III, who never suited up for the Ducks under Lanning’s leadership, both have roles on the current staff, as does former safety Steve Stephens. For the spring game, Penei Sewell, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Deommodore Lenoir all came back to coach, while even more former Ducks came back to showcase the program’s NFL fraternity.

Blount Jr. is just the latest offer the Ducks have extended to someone with a connection to the history of the program, and Lanning’s devotion to celebrating what makes Oregon what it is suggests that won’t be the last time he offers a next-generation Duck.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Dan Lanning’s legacy recruiting trend ties Oregon’s past to future

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