While the rest of the country was largely finished with their 2026 recruiting classes two months ago, Oregon still had a couple late additions up its sleeve. Last month, the Ducks grabbed former Arizona four-star running back signee Brandon Smith, who was released from the Wildcats’ class after opting not to sign in December. And […]
While the rest of the country was largely finished with their 2026 recruiting classes two months ago, Oregon still had a couple late additions up its sleeve.
Last month, the Ducks grabbed former Arizona four-star running back signee Brandon Smith, who was released from the Wildcats’ class after opting not to sign in December. And on Wednesday during the second National Signing Day, they grabbed another player from a former Pac-12 rival. Irvine (Calif.) Crean Lutheran three-star defensive lineman Anthony Jones announced his pledge to the Ducks, helping to replace significant numbers of players lost to the NCAA Transfer Portal.
The addition of Jones also pushed the Ducks up one spot in the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings, jumping from No. 4 to No. 3 past Ohio State.
Oregon now sits less than a tenth of a point behind Notre Dame for the No. 2 spot, though it’s likely to remain there with no more blue-chip additions expected.
Jones is the No. 422 overall prospect and No. 40 DL in the 2026 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 40 player in California.
Winding recruitment ends with Jones as a Duck
The 6-foot-5, 285-pounder finished his senior season with 23 tackles, 8 tackles for loss and three sacks, while being recorded with 46 total quarterback pressures. Across his sophomore and junior seasons, he totaled 100 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks as one of the Golden State’s most disruptive front-seven defenders.
Jones is a two-time former UCLA commit, who came back on the board for a second time during the December signing period. He was one of many who originally backed off a pledge to the Bruins after the early-season firing of head coach DeShaun Foster this fall. He then jumped back in the boat in October, choosing the in-state program over Arizona State and Arkansas.
But when new head coach Bob Chesney was hired from James Madison, Jones chose to look around again and decommitted for a second time.
He opted to hold off on signing and is now headed to Eugene after he chose the Ducks over fellow finalist Wisconsin.
Category: General Sports
