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5-Star Brandon Finney Signs With Oregon Ducks Over Penn State: Early National Signing Day Tracker

Originally posted on Oregon Ducks on SI
By Bri Amaranthus | Last updated Dec 4, 2024 8:54 AM ET

@brandonnfinney on Instagram

The Early National Signing Period begins on Wednesday, Dec. 4 and the No. 1 Oregon Ducks are building an elite 2025 recruiting class. Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff have assembled an exciting and balanced incoming class.

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5-STAR BRANDON FINNEY SIGNS WITH OREGON DUCKS

Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff just signed five-star cornerback Brandon Finney despite flip efforts from Penn State. Finney is a 6-2, 185-pound cornerback from Owings Mills, Maryland. Finney is a five-star recruit and ranked the fifth-best cornerback in the class of 2025 per 247Sports.

Finney committed to Oregon on June 25. Finney visited Oregon on Oct. 12 for the Ohio State game.

Finney has been compared by 247Sports to former Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins cornerback Byron Jones. Jones was a first-round pick in 2015, making 2nd-Team All-Pro and the Pro Bowl in 2018.

GAVIN NIX FLIP

The Ducks flipped the committment of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy linebacker Gavin Nix from the Miami Hurricanes and coach Mario Cristobal. The four-star from the class of 2025 had been committed to Miami coach Mario Cristobal since July 1 but Oregon made a late surge. In his senior season, Nix has 33 solo tackles plus 10 assisted. He officially visited Eugene back on June 14.

The Ducks are also still in the running for coveted uncommitted recruits while trending to flip a few commits to further bolster their No. 6-ranked 2025 recruiting class.

Oregon is in the mix to flip the commitments of Kansas State's five-star tight end Linkon Cure, Michigan's four-star tight end Andrew Olesh, Ohio State's five-star cornerback Na'eem Offord and Cal four-star quarterback Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele. As far as uncommitted recruits go, five-star defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart is trending toward USC but Oregon is still in the mix.

As far as retaining commits, five-star cornerback Brandon Finney was trending to flip from Oregon to Penn State but the Ducks are pushing to keep the talent. Finney's decision will be one to watch.

The traditional February signing day is still in place but recruits who want enroll early have until Friday, Dec. 6 to sign with schools. Many elite recruits are opting to jumpstart their college careers and dive into playbooks and programs.

Here are the top classes for the 2025 cycle as of Monday, per 247Sports' composite team rankings:

1. Georgia

2. Alabama

3. Ohio State

4. Texas

5. Auburn

6. Oregon

7. Michigan

8. LSU

9. Tennessee

10. Texas A&M

Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

What makes Lanning an elite recruiter? In exclusive interviews with Oregon star receiver Tez Johnson and tight end Terrance Ferguson, the two Ducks shined a light on Lanning's transparency, consistency and work ethic.

"I think the truth is everything to a kid when you come out of high school," Johnson told reporter Bri Amaranthus. "You just want pure honesty. You want the truth."

"Every game day, we're ready to run through a brick wall for that man," Johnson told Amaranthus. "Because he's going to give you all that he got. He's going to give you 100 percent every day. He's the most mentally prepared and mentally tough guy I've ever seen in my life. I don't know how he does it. The consistency is unbelievable."

Ferguson is not shocked by Lanning's success on the recruiting trail.

"I really appreciate the transparency from coach Lanning," Ferguson told Amaranthus. "The time that I've had with him, I can understand why he's doing what he's doing in recruiting."

Oregon signed a consensus top-five recruiting class in 2024, with a 2025 recruiting class that ranks top-10 and a 2026 recruiting class currently ranked No. 1.

This article will be updated.