Oregon Ducks Battling Big Ten Rivals for Four-Star Safety Recruit Malakai Taufoou

Taufoou was offered by the Ducks back in January and has scheduled an unofficial visit to Eugene, Oregon, during the spring on April 5, according to Rivals' Max Torres. He also has official visits planned with the Penn State Nittany Lions on June 5, the California Golden Bears on June 12, and the Washington Huskies on June 19, per Rivals.

The UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans, Ohio State Buckeyes, Michigan Wolverines, Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, and BYU Cougars are also being considered by Taufoou through numerous unofficial visits.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound defensive back ranks as the No. 33-best player at his position and No. 33 recruit coming out of the state of California, per Rivals.

In his junior season, Taufoou finished with 46 total tackles (38 solo, 8 assisted), six tackles for losses, four interceptions, three pass deflections, two blocked field goals, and two blocked punts in 14 games played. Offensively, he added 242 yards as a passer, catcher, and runner to go along with seven touchdowns.

Taufoou also played basketball at the varsity level with Serra.

Oregon's 2027 Recruiting Class

According to Rivals, the Ducks' 2027 class currently stands at No. 13 amongst the nation's top programs and No. 4 in the Big Ten Conference behind the No. 3 USC Trojans, No. 2 Nebraska Cornhuskers, and No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes.

Oregon has landed no commitments in the secondary yet. Autzen Stadium will soon be welcoming six other commits at other vital spots:

• Four-star defensive lineman Cam Pritchett
• Four-star running back Cadarius McMiller
• Four-star offensive tackle Drew Fielder
• Three-star athlete Sam Ngata
• Three-star offensive tackle Avery Michael

The Ducks have shown interest in four-star cornerback Danny Lang from Santa Ana, California, and four-star cornerback Josiah Molden from West Linn, Oregon, as well as five-star safety Honor Fa'alave-Johnson from San Diego, California, and unranked safety Brett Smith from Corona, California.

Lang will be in the Pacific Northwest on his official visit on June 19, and Molden went on an unofficial visit back on Jan. 24. Fa'alave-Johnson has taken four unofficial visits to Oregon over the course of nearly the last two years.