{"id":116407,"date":"2025-08-03T19:58:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T19:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/116407\/"},"modified":"2025-08-03T19:58:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T19:58:10","slug":"5-star-recruit-davon-benjamin-explains-why-he-chose-oregon-ducks-over-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/116407\/","title":{"rendered":"5-Star Recruit Davon Benjamin Explains Why He Chose Oregon Ducks Over Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coach Dan Lanning<\/a> and the Oregon Ducks <\/a>struck gold in the 2026 recruiting class once again on Saturday with the commitment of five-star defensive back Davon Benjamin.<\/p>\n

The Ducks beat out programs such as the Washington Huskies, the Michigan Wolverines, the Texas Longhorns and the North Carolina Tar Heels to secure their fifth five-star recruit of 2026.<\/p>\n

\"Oregon<\/p>\n

Oregon coach Dan Lanning joins his team during warmups before their game against Utah in final home game of season at Autzen Stadium.<\/p>\n

Ncaa Football Oregon Utah Football Utah At Oregon \/ Chris Pietsch\/The Register-Guard \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n

Benjamin went on the Bussin\u2019 With The Boys podcast<\/a> on Saturday to explain why he chose Oregon over other prominent programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI chose Oregon just based on the stability part of the coaching staff, kind of been recruiting me ever since my freshman year of high school,\u201d Benjamin said. \u201cJust how they approached the day-to-day basis of just the little things, that\u2019s just checking in, just seeing how I\u2019m doing, see if I\u2019m still working. People to keep me grounded to earth and making sure I\u2019m doing the right things.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Southern California defensive back competes for Oaks Christian high school. As a junior, Benjamin recorded 45 tackles, five tackles for a loss, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and six interceptions.<\/p>\n

\"Oregon<\/p>\n

Oaks Christian’s Davon Benjamin leaps free from St. Bonaventure’s Darrien Johnson return an interception for a touchdown in the third quarter of Oaks Christian’s win over visiting St. Bonaventure Friday at Redell Field. The Lions won, 35-0. \/ JOE LUMAYA\/SPECIAL TO THE STAR \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The newest commitment is a versatile athlete, having run track in the past and earning offensive snaps. Benjamin caught 34 passes for 404 yards and two touchdowns in 2024 on offense.<\/p>\n

Benjamin is seen as the No. 35 player nationally and No. 4 safety, according to 247Sports Composite. Despite being highly sought after as one of the top remaining defensive players that hadn\u2019t committed, his connection with the Ducks\u2019 staff stood out.<\/p>\n

MORE: Oregon Ducks’ Dan Lanning Reacts To Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith’s Autzen Stadium Claim<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

MORE: Oregon Ducks, Dan Lanning Elite Recruiting Target Nears Commitment Announcement<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

MORE: Top-10 College Football Teams Most-Likely To Go Undefeated: Surprising List<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

MORE: Cleveland Browns’ Dillon Gabriel Training Camp Stats Day 8<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cReally just building that connection with them over time,\u201d Benjamin said. \u201cAnd then them not putting on a visage for just because this is a recruiting trip. They been who they been from the day I met them all the way throughout.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ducks have had success producing NFL defensive backs since Lanning took the helm in 2022. Most notably the New England Patriots selected Christian Gonzalez in the first round in 2023 and players like Jabbar Muhammad and Nikko Reed signed with teams as undrafted free agents this spring.<\/p>\n

247Sports national recruiting<\/a> analyst Greg Biggins said that Benjamin has the potential to be a three-year college player and a high NFL Draft pick given his position versatility, physicality and high IQ.<\/p>\n

\"Oregon<\/p>\n

St. Bonaventure’s Delon Thompson looks for an opening as Oaks Christian’s Davon Benjamin tries for the tackle during the first quarter of their Marmonte League game at Ventura College on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. St. Bonaventure won 40-28 to earn the league championship.<\/p>\n

St Bonaventure Vs Oaks Christian 07 \/ JOE LUMAYA\/SPECIAL TO THE STAR \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n

When asked about what Oregon fans can expect from him as a player, Benjamin spoke about his excitement to take the field for the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cA dawg. A dawg that\u2019s ready to go out there and go make plays and put on for that green and yellow and just be out there rocking,\u201d Benjamin said. \u201cAfter I get that first pick six, we gonna play that \u2018Shout.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It was another big weekend for the Ducks on the recruiting trail. Lanning received his fourth five-star <\/a>in EDGE Anthony Jones on Thursday. The program missed out on defensive lineman Deuce Geralds to the LSY Tigers on Saturday, but made up for it in a fifth five-star in Benjamin a couple of hours later.<\/p>\n

Oregon jumped to No. 3 in the Rivals 2026 class rankings and No. 7 in the 247Sports rankings. Lanning now has 17 commits in his 2026 class.<\/p>\n

Outside of Benjamin and Jones, the Ducks have verbal five-star commitments from tight end Kendre Harrison, safety Jett Washington and offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Coach Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks struck gold in the 2026 recruiting class once again on Saturday…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":116408,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1318,1317,1315,1316,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-116407","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-ncaafootball","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114966607081268171","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}