Led by Matayo Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti, the Oregon Ducks are projected to have one of the best DE rooms in the nation in 2026.
Much like the interior defensive line, the Oregon Ducks' edge rushing room got a major shot of adrenaline in the arm in the days following the end of the 2025 season. Both Teitum Tuioti and Matayo Uiagalelei announced their return for the 2026 season, giving Oregon one of the most experienced and talented pass-rushing duos in the entire nation.
Of course, we saw some attrition at the position following the return of these two players, with a handful of younger guys transferring out of Eugene with expectations of playing bigger roles going forward. Regardless, though, anything is worth it to keep guys like No. 10 and No. 44 around for one more season.
Fortunately, the Ducks still return a couple of high-upside players and have some elite EDGEs coming in via the 2026 recruiting class.
While there are still several offseason months ahead of us, with spring ball acting as a reprieve in the middle of the calendar, let's dive into Oregon's DE room and see how things are laid out for the coming season, looking at who is leaving, who is coming back, and what guys are coming into the program as well.
Returning Players
Matayo Uiagalelei
Career Stats: 42 games — 90 tackles, 25 TFL, 18.5 sacks, 1 INT, 8 PBU
A year ago, Matayo Uiagalelei led the Big Ten in sacks, with 10.5, and while his pass-rushing numbers might have dipped slightly in 2025, he improved his game, becoming a better run-defender and havoc-wreaker. Getting him back for one more season was among the biggest offseason victories for Oregon, guaranteeing themself another year of one of the best defensive ends in the nation.
Teitum Tuioti
Career Stats: 42 games — 156 tackles, 27.5 TFL, 17.0 sacks, 7 PBU
Along with Matayo, Teitum Tuioti's announced return for 2026 was monumental for Oregon, giving them one of the best sets of defensive ends in the nation next year. Teitum had a career year in 2025, leading the Ducks with 16.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks. He became a national name last season and should be well known by the time next season rolls around.
Nasir Wyatt
Career Stats: 15 games — 11 tackles, 4 TFL, 3.0 sacks, 1 forced fumble
Oregon had a lot of dynamic true freshmen in 2025 making an impact, and Nasir Wyatt was one of them. While his game needs to expand a bit to have an impact on every down, he proved himself to be one of the most successful pass-rushers on the team, notching three sacks on the year, including a strip-sack forced fumble in the Peach Bowl against Fernando Mendoza.
Elijah Rushing
Career Stats: 11 games — 3 tackles
A former 5-star player, Rushing has been biding his time and developing over the past couple of years in Eugene. He has a very high upside and the ideal frame for the position at 6-foot-6, 250 pounds. We will see if he can crack the rotation this year, but he's going to have a great opportunity.
Departing Players
Blake Purchase
Career Stats: 35 games, 39 tackles, 7 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 1 INT, 2 PBUs
Blake Purchase was one of Oregon's bigger losses in the portal this year. While he was not an every-down player, he did have a significant role on the defense, and found a lot of production on pass-rushing downs. He has transferred to the Ole Miss Rebels.
Ashton Porter
Career Stats: 26 games — 25 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack, 1 PBU
Ashton Porter became a fan favorite over the past year after his life story came to light in the 'Ducks Vs. Them' training camp series, and he stepped up and found some real production this year, though in a complementary role. He has now transferred to the Houston Cougars.
Tobi Haastrup
Career Stats: 3 games — 1 tackle
Tobi Haastrup was always unlikely to see the field as a true freshman, seeing that he picked up the game of football midway through high school and was still learning the sport. However, he is a freak of an athlete and has a really high upside, should things click. He has transferred to West Virginia to continue his career.
Incoming Players
Anthony 'Tank' Jones
Recruiting Rating: 5-star (0.9872) — No. 19 player, No. 5 EDGE
One of the biggest wins of Oregon's 2026 class was signing 5-star EDGE Anthony Jones, the No. 1 player from the state of Alabama. We've seen over the past year that Lanning is willing to play true freshmen when they can contribute, and there's a hope that Jones will be able to fit this mold, becoming a force on the defensive line, much like Wyatt was in 2025.
Prince Tavizon
Recruiting Rating: 4-star (0.9036) — No. 316 player, No. 31 EDGE
After reclassifying from the 2027 class to 2026, Prince Tavizon comes to Oregon as a high-upside player who is still young but has a lot of potential. We will see how quickly he can get up to speed and have an impact.
Dutch Horisk
Recruiting Rating: 3-star (0.8711) — No. 1,011 player, No. 76 EDGE
Dutch Horisk is another EDGE that Oregon got in the 2026 class, and while he might be more of a developmental product as a 3-star guy, he does have good size at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds.
Bleu Dantzler
Career Stats: 4 games — 1 tackle
After losing some guys in the portal, the Ducks stayed in-state and got freshman EDGE Bleu Dantzler from Oregon State to transfer to the Ducks and fill out the room.
Transfer Portal Needs
With the addition of Oregon State's Bleu Dantzler, it doesn't feel as if Oregon needs many more pieces to fill out this room, if any. There's a chance that they could still add someone, particularly if he offers flexibility and the ability to play both inside and outside, much like a Brandon Dorlus. But at the moment, they could go into 2026 and feel good about where they're at here.
Overall Position Outlook
This room is loaded at the top for Oregon, with two of the best edge-rushers in the nation in Teitum Tuioti and Matayo Uiagalelei, both of whom could be top-50 draft picks in the 2027 NFL draft. Behind them, there is a ton of upside and promise with guys like Nasir Wyatt, Elijah Rushing, and Tank Jones. The Ducks have done a really good job of recruiting and developing this position over the past few years, so there's no reason to expect that to change going forward.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Previewing Oregon Ducks DE room ahead of 2026 offseason
Category: General Sports
