Oregon Ducks surging late with elite five star recruit for Dan Lanning to build his defense around amid official visits

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Travis May | Last updated Jun 7, 2025 1:18 AM ET

The Oregon Ducks are surging late towards adding a potential game-changer for Dan Lanning and his defense for the the 2026 recruiting class. The Ducks have had some ups and downs on the recruiting trail recently with commits, decommits, and some close losses to other top tier programs, but they continue to find themselves in the mix down to that last moment. It looks like that's the case again for the nephew of the late Kobe Bryant, Jett Washington.

Jett Washington, Elite 5 Star Safety Recruit

Yes, Jett Washington is the nephew of (that Kobe Bryant) the NBA legend. He's also a consensus five star recruit in the 2026 recruiting class who has been chased after nonstop by some of the best programs in the nation for the last few years.

Washington's recruitment finally looks like it's heading towards one of just a few options as Oregon is set to have him in for yet another visit (he was just in less than two months ago) this weekend.

NEWS 5-star safety Jett Washington will now take his official visit to Oregon this weekend, @ChadSimmons_ reports

Read: https://t.co/jXNhiRfr6I pic.twitter.com/F7lrM8JoIO
— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) June 5, 2025

Jett Washington is a wildly tall and long safety prospect at 6'5", 200+ pounds with track speed, making him one of the more unique safety recruits in the modern recruiting era. That length, other physical traits, and pure instincts combine to create a player that should be the perfect fit in Dan Lanning's defensive scheme– perhaps the best safety the team has seen since Jevon Holland.

The Oregon secondary should have one of the best safeties in the country already on their team for this upcoming season in Purdue transfer Dillon Thieneman, but he'll definitely be gone after this fall (a likely early draft pick). The Ducks will need to have some young players step up, and that might just be a true freshman in Jett Washington if Oregon can land him.

The Alabama Crimson Tide and Kalen DeBoer are still pushing hard to see if they can swing him (also hosted him twice in the last two months). USC believes they have a chance late in the process given their unofficial visit with him this week too. However, most experts privy to the situation believe Jett is trending towards Oregon or maybe Alabama. Let's hope Lanning can close the deal here to start rebuilding some recruiting momentum Ducks fans are used to seeing.

We'll be back with more Oregon Ducks coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!

And make sure to check out some of Jett Washington's junior season highlights in the video below to get a preview of what he could bring to the Oregon Ducks!

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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