Oregon football recruiting: Ducks beat Georgia, Miami for top-50 DL Aydin Breland

One of the five remaining top-50 national prospects is off the board: Aydin Breland, a four-star defensive lineman from Mater Dei High School in Southern California, committed to Oregon on Saturday. Here’s what you need to know:

• Breland is ranked No. 38 overall in the Class of 2024 in the 247Sports Composite. He is ranked as high as No. 11 (by 247Sports) and as low as No. 102 (Rivals).
• He picked Oregon over Georgia and Miami.
• Oregon now has 24 commitments in its 2024 class that ranks No. 9 nationally. Breland is the second top-100 player in the class, joining cornerback Dakoda Fields (No. 72).

What’s the significance for Oregon?

Oregon has spent most of this recruiting cycle with a class that ranked outside of the top 10 nationally, but the Ducks are making their move — much like they did a year ago — to close out the 2023 cycle. There is no question that adding a top-40 player to a class is significant regardless of circumstances, but the Ducks dipped into a high school that used to be a USC pipeline to get an elite-level defensive lineman. I don’t think you could come up with a more impactful recruiting scenario.

Oregon wants to build its program like it’s an SEC school, and that doesn’t happen without big, athletic defensive lines. Add in the fact that Breland comes from an important recruiting territory for Oregon and hurts a conference rival, and that is the definition of winning in recruiting. — Ari Wasserman, senior college football writer

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(Photo: Darren Yamashita / USA Today)