Woah! Good news for the Oregon Ducks. Their HC Dan Lanning has found some distraction to heal his wounds. Well, we know how the Rose Bowl mishap against Ryan Day’s Ohio State Buckeyes has left the Ducks with a long-term trauma. But Lanning is in no mood to brood over the loss. Instead, he is focussing on the future. Lanning now dedicated himself to revamping his roster.

Already, the Oregon HC got lucky to have 5-star Na’eem Offord acting as a magnet to land top recruit Makhi Hughes. If you think that that’s all for the Ducks, hold on! Offord sends a warning that there is much more to come. 

Na’eem Offord keeps the Ducks’ fans on their toes

Now it’s no more a secret that the main reason the Ducks got a chance with Hughes was because of Offord. As Steve Wiltfong confirmed on the On3 Recruits podcast, “Makhi Hughes was out in Eugene over the weekend helping his little brother five-star cornerback Na’em Offord.” After all, Offord’s big brother is a two-time 1300-yard rusher for the Green Wave. As Leonard Stephens of Step By Step Sports Training described Hughes as “one of the toughest kids mentally and physically I’ve ever trained.” Well, that man has an eye for talent. After all, he had coached players like Kool-Aid McKinstry, and Byron Young who later landed in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft. You don’t have to go with Stephens’ words when it comes to Hughes. His strong resume is enough. The Oregon fans might be saying, “Thank God for Na’eem.” Well, they should reserve some more praise for him.

Looks like Offord is still not done spreading his recruiting magic. On January 7, he re-shared Hayes Fawcett’s post on his IG story and wrote, “Y’all know how I get with this recruiting stuff got another one coming 👀.” Woah, it’s enough to leave fans at the edge of their seats. Who could be the next big fish for Oregon? 

After landing Hughes, former Florida State wide receiver Malik Benson’s name had been doing rounds. Along with Lanning’s Oregon, Benson visited Tennessee Volunteers and Kansas State Wildcats, his home-state team. But finally, on Tuesday, January 7, he committed to the Ducks. So, Offord obviously is not hinting at him. It now stays a surprise. However, we should not thank only Offord now that Lanning’s program is blessed with the brothers duo.   

Na’eem Offord’s brother will fill big shoes

Monday, January 6 marked an important day for the Lanning’s Ducks. Their running back Jordan James put an end to his Oregon chapter. He has now announced that he will be entering the 2025 NFL Draft. On Monday, he posted on IG where he wrote, “Three years ago, I made the decision to step out of my comfort zone and join a team that would change my life forever.” The caption of the post read, “Thank you Oregon❤️.”

Over his three-year stay at Oregon, James totaled 2,215 rushing yards and 31 rushing touchdowns along with 347 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. Now in his absence, will the Ducks be able to trust Offord’s brother? Well, if they still have doubts they must check out the clip from the October 26 game. In that game, Tulane had to grind out a win over Rice. And guess who came off as the game-changer? Ofcourse, Hughes, who took over the game in the fourth quarter. The score was tied 10-10, when he he ripped off a 17-yard run, then 13 more on the next play. Now Makhi Hughes himself is confident about his transformation. 

As he confessed to Guerry Smith of The New Orleans Advocate, “Last year I was stiff, but I worked on my hips and my balance in the offseason.” Now it’s going to be an absolute proud moment for Na’eem Offord. After all his brother is now expected to carry the tradition that was started with legends like Jordan James, Bucky Irving, and Noah Whittington. But no matter what Hughes brings to the table, the Oregon fans can’t keep calm until they decode the name behind Offord’s post.