Four-star athlete McNutt commits to Oregon

Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff WriterAug 3, 2024, 03:43 PM ET
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Four-star athlete Trey McNutt, No. 35 in the 2025 ESPN 300, committed to Oregon on Saturday, landing with the Ducks over Texas A&M as the third top-40 prospect in Dan Lanning’s 2025 football recruiting class.

McNutt, the third-ranked athlete in the 2025 cycle, was previously set to announce his pledge on July 19 before he pushed his commitment date and took follow-up visits to Texas A&M and Oregon last weekend.

McNutt, of Shaker Heights, Ohio, is now the 15th and third-highest-rated member of Lanning’s latest class in Eugene. With McNutt in the fold alongside fellow Oregon commits Dorian Brew (No. 45 in ESPN 300), Brandon Finney (No. 113) and Dierre Hill (No. 129), the Ducks now hold pledges from four of the top 10 athletes in the 2025 class.

McNutt’s pledge arrives as Oregon’s second high-profile commitment of the day. The Ducks gained a key pledge in the 2026 class earlier Saturday when quarterback Jonas Williams, the No. 2 dual-threat passer in the 2026 class, announced his pledge to Oregon over LSU along with finalists Alabama and Ohio State.

McNutt’s pledge marks Oregon’s eighth pledge since June 1 and the latest in the Ducks’ hot summer on the recruiting trail, which has the program ranked No. 5 in ESPN’s latest team rankings for the 2025 cycle. The 6-foot, 180-pound two-way star is expected to play safety at the next level and heads for Eugene trailing only No. 1 wide receiver Dakorien Moore (No. 3 in 2025 ESPN) and four-star pass catcher Dallas Wilson (No. 33) among the top prospects in Oregon’s incoming class.

Hailing from the suburbs of Cleveland, McNutt’s recruitment picked up steam following his sophomore season at Shaker Heights as offers rolled in from across the Big Ten and SEC. Texas A&M, Oregon, Florida and USC emerged as favorites for his pledge this spring, and McNutt took official visits to all four schools, along with an unofficial trip to nearby Ohio State, before landing on the Ducks ahead of his senior season.

A multisport athlete at Shaker Heights, McNutt enters his senior campaign as Ohio’s top two-way player. As a junior last fall, McNutt had 61 total tackles with 12 pass breakups and two forced fumbles to go with 611 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns as a wide receiver. McNutt also competes as a sprinter with the school’s track and field program.

McNutt will enter the fall as the top defender committed to the Ducks’ incoming class, joining a group that includes a fellow top-100 prospects in Brew — the nation’s fifth-ranked athlete who is expected to play cornerback in college — and outside linebacker Nasir Wyatt, the 88th-ranked player in the ESPN 300.

In the wake of tight end DaSaahn Brame’s flip to Tennessee, McNutt brings Oregon’s tally of ESPN 300 commits to 13 in the 2025 cycle. With a commitment from another of the nation’s top athletes, Lanning and Ducks’ are maintaining their momentum in their pursuit of landing a second-straight top-five signing class later this year.