The haters are suddenly awfully quiet about the Oregon Ducks and their 2026 recruiting class.
As recently as last week, rival fans were making jokes about "Phil Knight's check bouncing" and arguing Dan Lanning's infamous pool jump with now-Texas commit Richard Wesley was the beginning of a decline.
But those trolls have crawled back under the bridges from whence they came.
And Oregon is among the hottest recruiters in the country with a class that has jumped nearly 40 spots in less than a month.
What happened?
In truth, the concerns were always overblown.
Oregon missed out on a trio of elite five-star recruits - quarterback Jared Curtis (Georgia), Ryder Lyons (BYU) and Jackson Cantwell (Miami) this spring/summer.
But Dan Lanning is known for creating multiple pathways to success.
Gone are the days of an Oregon miss followed by a three-star commitment to fill the void.
No Cantwell? No problem.
In the past 10 days, Oregon has added commitments from elite interior lineman Tommy Tofi and five-star offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho, the nation's No. 4 overall recruit and the highest-rated OL pledge in program history.
For the second cycle in a row at quarterback, the Ducks pivoted from early options to the hottest uncommitted prospect at the illustrious Elite 11 Finals.
That was Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutele a year ago... well, for about a week (JKS, we hardly knew ye).
This year, it proved to be Vista Murrieta (California) quarterback Bryson 'Platypus' Beaver.
The nickname might not stick, but the commitment almost certainly will.
Sprinkled in with those answers along the offensive line and at quarterback are a few of the top pledges in this cycle: Bishop Gorman (Nevada) five-star safety Jett Washington, fast-rising four-star wide receiver Messiah Hampton - a possible five-star recruit - and newly-added Florida four-star safety Devin Jackson.
Recruiting is fluid, and setting a mid-June endpoint to begin naming winners and losers is silly.
That's a bit of free advice for the trolls.
Oregon was always prepared for a big summer, vaulted by a flurry of key mid-June official visits that, by all accounts, went swimmingly for the Ducks.
Oregon's class - just barely inside the top-50 a few weeks ago - sits at No. 10 nationally after the Thursday addition of Iheanacho and Jackson.
Equally impressive, Lanning's future Ducks have tied the record for most five-star recruits in a single Oregon class with three.
That trio - Reidsville (North Carolina) tight end Kendre Harrison, Iheanacho and Washington - make up the second-most five-star commits in any class in the country, behind only Alabama (4... soon to be 5).
And Oregon isn't done.
On Tuesday, elite track and field star and top-50 football recruit Jalen Lott is expected to announce his college commitment.
It could prove to be more good news for the folks in Eugene.
So, it seems the trolls were, once again, wrong about Oregon's downfall.
Iheanacho put it best on "The Pat McAfee Show" when announcing his commitment.
"It's damn green in Eugene."
More Oregon News
- Prediction: Oregon Ducks to land elite playmaker
- Immanuel Iheanacho commits to Oregon Ducks
- National expert: 'I expect Dante Moore to be a Heisman finalist'
- Tommy Tofi, elite offensive lineman, commits to Oregon
- Bryson Beaver explains Oregon commitment, new 'Platypus' nickname
- Oregon commit, Kobe Bryant's nephew becomes ESPN 5-star recruit