Oregon Duck fans woke up Thursday morning to the unfortunate news that one of the top players in their 2025 signing class, 5-star wide receiver Dallas Wilson, requested to clear his papers and leave the school.

Wilson, considered the No. 20 player overall and No. 3 WR in the 2025 class, signed with Oregon on National Signing Day earlier this month after being the longest-tenured player in Oregon’s class and gave his verbal in January 2020 Comeback 2023.

There were bumps along the way, and rumors swirled that Wilson would be headed to the Florida Gators in the late hours before the signing period began. In the end, Wilson pulled the ripcord and will now likely end up with the Gators.

So what does this mean for the Ducks? That’s the only question that matters now. Let’s dive in.

Where the 2025 recruiting class stands

Photo courtesy of Na’eem Offord

Before news broke about Wilson, Oregon had the second-best recruiting class in the 2025 cycle, trailing only the Texas Longhorns. With the loss of the 5-star designation, the Ducks’ rankings dropped to No. 5 in the nation.

Still pretty awesome considering.

There aren’t many teams in the country that could absorb the loss of the No. 3 WR in the class and still be on a path to success, but Oregon was uniquely positioned to do so. The Ducks signed 5-star WR Dakorien Moore this cycle, the No. 1 WR in the nation and fourth player overall. They also have 4-star WR Cooper Perry signed in this class.

Oregon’s current WR outlook

Photo courtesy of Ethan Landa

In most cases, losing a true freshman may not have a significant impact on the depth chart, but when talking about a player as talented as Wilson, it’s something to think about. There’s no telling what big role he would play in 2025, but it will be interesting to see how the Ducks handle the WR position now this offseason.

With the loss of Tez Johnson and Traeshon Holden, there was already a good chance that Oregon would try to find a receiver in the transfer portal, which largely depends on the future of Evan Stewart, who is considering a return to Eugene for another season. Does the loss of Wilson increase the need to add a WR to the portal? That’s hard to say. If the Ducks were looking to add a receiver before receiving this news, nothing changes. If they had been on the fence about it, this might have pushed them into the “taking” category.

Regardless, the Ducks have plenty of talent at the WR position, both young and old, and should easily be able to withstand this blow in 2025.

Oregon’s future WR prospect

(Photo courtesy of Zachary Neel)

The biggest impact Wilson’s departure will have is on the future of the WR room in Eugene, and once again it’s hard to argue against the fact that the Ducks are in a unique position to withstand it. Under wide receivers coach Junior Adams, Oregon has recruited the WR position as well as anyone in the country and has filled its coffers for years to emerge at wide receiver.

Not only does this class have Dakorien Moore and Cooper Perry, as well as Jeremiah McClellan, Ryan Pellum and Dillon Grisham in 2024 – all ranked in the top 200 nationally – but fans also often forget about the commitment of 5-star WR Gatlin Bair last year . The No. 27 player in the class of 2024 is currently on an LDS mission and will join the program in a year. Bair is considered one of the fastest players in the country and clocked a time of 10.15 seconds in the 100-meter dash.

If you had the option to keep Wilson or not, of course you would want him on your team. However, the Ducks have also recruited at WR, if not better than any other team in the country in recent years, and they continue to enter the transfer portal as well. This is by no means a death knell for the program.