Oregon Ducks' Dan Lanning To Land Elite Defensive Line Recruit Over Ohio State Buckeyes?

The four-star recruit has 37.5 sacks in 35 varsity games played so far. Geralds recorded 48 solo tackles in 13 games his junior season, while also compiling 30 tackles for loss.

The Oregon Ducks have not had the easiest run of things this recruiting cycle as far as the defensive line is concerned. Defensive lineman Viliami Moala de-committed from the Ducks, and defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui flipped his commitment from Oregon to USC. 

Geralds would be the fourth defensive line commitment for the Ducks in the 2026 class, following four-star defensive linemen Tony Cumberland and Prince Tavison, and three-star defensive lineman Dutch Horsik.

Geralds ranks as the No. 2 player in the state of Georgia and the No. 2 defensive lineman in the country in the class of 2026. There is nothing more Ducks fans would love than to take a top recruit away from the Buckeyes and bring him to Eugene to play for Oregon coach Dan Lanning, which is exactly what On3 reporter EJ Holland has predicted will happen. On3 reporter Max Torres also recently predicted that the Ducks will land Geralds.

Geralds, who is set to announce his commitment on August 2, will choose between Oregon, Ohio State, LSU, Michigan, Ole Miss, and Oregon. On3 reporter Max Torres recently published an article saying the Ohio State “buzz” surrounding the four-star recruit has cooled off in recent weeks, and the Ducks are now in pole position to receive his commitment. 

As of now, the Ducks are ranked at No. 6 on the On3 class of 2026 recruiting rankings. Only one Big Ten team ranks above Oregon, with USC taking the No. 1 spot with two five-star and 19 four-star recruits committed to the Trojans. 

The Ducks have three five-stars and 10 four-star recruits. Oregon has gone with quality over quantity in this recruiting cycle, evidenced by their 93.77 average recruit rating on 247Sports, which is the best in the country. 

Ducks fans will find out on August 2 if Oregon will be the winners of the race for Geralds commitment, and it will be interesting to find out after the fact just how big of a role Oregon defensive line coach Tony Tuioti played in clinching his signature if Geralds does indeed sign for the Ducks. Tuioti has had a great track record in developing defensive lineman to be NFL-ready, and he would most likely be able to do the same with Geralds.