When Mario Cristobal left the Oregon football team and joined Miami after the 2021 regular season, some fans were concerned about the program’s recruiting.
Cristobal was a recruiting asset and although he left a lot to be desired as an on-field coach, he recruited at a high level. When Dan Lanning was hired, some were concerned that he would not be able to match his predecessor’s on-field success.
Two years later, he’s doing even more.
In 2019 and 2021, Cristobal landed top-10 classes and in 2020 he had a top-15 group. Lanning came in and rescued the class of 2022 that would have otherwise been lost by signing the No. 16 group in the country headlined by five-star offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr., who he convinced to join the Ducks. He also signed a solid transfer class led by Bo Nix, Bucky Irving and Christian Gonzalez.
As if that wasn’t enough proof that he’s an elite recruiter, he went out and signed the No. 9 recruiting class for 2023 and also the No. 9 transfer group. In 2024, he signed the No. 4 recruiting class and the No. 2 transfer class. And so far, he has the No. 12 class for 2025, led by two five-star players. Oh, and he has the No. 3 group for 2026.
While that’s a hot idea, I think Lanning is on his way to being the best scout in college football not named Kirby Smart. He learned from Smart, so it makes sense.
You could argue for Ryan Day, but that may be more because of the program he coaches than his actual recruiting skills. It’s hard not to recruit elite classes at Ohio State.
Lanning is a top-10 machine and it doesn’t look like that will end anytime soon.
Now he just needs to get his on-field performance to match up with elite recruiting (he’s already showing he can). This program is in good hands.
