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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
Oregon’s defense received a significant boost Friday as outside linebacker Nasir Wyatt, ESPN’s No. 38 recruit in the 2025 class and No. 2 player from California, announced his commitment to play for the Ducks.
Wyatt, who plays for Southern California power Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, chose Oregon over Tennessee and Texas, where he also took visits. He told ESPN that the experience Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi and coach Dan Lanning had in developing top outside linebackers steered him toward the program.
“Tosh, he already has a plan put in store for me that allows me to do everything I do best,” Wyatt told ESPN. “When I go up there, he’s going to be able to teach me so much about the game, just because him and Lanning have so much edge background. [Lanning] being the defensive coordinator at Georgia, he had Travon Walker and all those guys from that defense that went in the first round. Having him at Oregon as the head coach, it’s having two defensive-minded coaches to better my edge skills.
“I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity.”
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Wyatt had 14 sacks and 21 tackles for loss last season for Mater Dei. He said both Lupoi and Lanning made comparisons between his game and those from their past stops, such as Alabama’s Rashaan Evans, who Lupoi coached as a Tide assistant, and Georgia’s Nolan Smith.
“Coach Lanning said a lot of my measurements resemble [Smith] and not your typical 6-5 guys but they can still make it up at 6-2, 6-3, 220, 230, but be able to make it fly, that’s what Tosh and Lanning are looking for,” Wyatt said. “Looking at every college and how they wanted me to play in their defense, Oregon just had a different energy and a different feel.”