13 days after Ryder Lyons ditched Oregon, Dan Lanning faces new setback as 4-star QB snubs Ducks for Kentucky

Oregon coach Dan Lanning has had a challenging few weeks with recruiting players. Less than two weeks after class of 2026 quarterback Ryder Lyons ditched Oregon to commit to BYU, another QB from the same class has snubbed the Ducks.

On Sunday, Rivals reported that four-star QB Matt Ponatoski committed to Kentucky. Ponatoski picked the Wildcats over offers from Oregon, Alabama and Arkansas.

Notably, Ponatoski will also play baseball at Kentucky.

“I’ll be committing to the University of Kentucky to play baseball and football,” Ponatoski said via KSR+. “Big Blue Nation, I’m ready to work. I’m coming not to change the program, but we’re going to put the program on the map.”

According to On3, Ponatoski is the ninth-ranked quarterback in the country and the No. 100 overall player for the class of 2026.

Ponatoski was named the 2024 Ohio Mr. Football, Gatorade Ohio Player of the Year and MaxPreps Ohio Player of the Year for his junior year performances at Archbishop Moeller High School. The QB led the team to a 14-2 record and an appearance in the Ohio Division I Football Championship by completing 282 of 406 passes (69.4%) for 3,456 yards with 57 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

Ponatoski will be aiming to produce even better numbers in his senior year at Archbishop Moeller. It will also be interesting to see if the QB can excel at the collegiate level next year.

Dan Lanning gets some positive news after four-star OL commits to Oregon

Oregon Ducks HC Dan Lanning - Source: Imagn

Despite a few setbacks in commitments over the past few weeks, Dan Lanning's Oregon was able to land a commitment from four-star offensive lineman Tommy Tofi on Wednesday.

Tofi, a class of 2026 OL, flipped his commitment from Cal to Oregon.

While Lanning will be keeping close tabs on recruiting some top prospects for next season, he will soon need to turn his focus to the 2025 season.

Lanning's Ducks made it to the College Football Playoff last season after an unbeaten run to win the Big 10 championship. However, they lost to Penn State in the first round of the CFP.

Lanning will be looking to make the CFP again next season and make a deep run in the playoffs to potentially win the national championship.