Talent acquisition on the West Coast almost always starts and ends with two schools, Oregon and USC. The recruiting powerhouses pump out pro prospects on an annual basis, and they are stacked once again in 2025, accounting for 12 of the top 100 players in Mike Renner’s NFL prospect rankings.
The No. 7 Ducks host the No. 15 Trojans Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+ Premium in a key Big Ten showdown that not only pits some of the most outstanding individual players in the country against each other but could also determine whether one or both teams will reach the College Football Playoff.
Lincoln Riley put in an immense amount of work over the last year to reestablish USC as a premier destination for high school recruits. After emphasizing the transfer portal in the first three seasons of his tenure and seeing diminishing results, the Trojans now boast the No. 1 high school recruiting class in the country, per 247Sports. Riley’s efforts on the trail produced three top-100 NFL prospects for 2025, and more are on the way.
Dan Lanning, meanwhile, has been nearly unstoppable in bringing blue-chip talent to Oregon both through the transfer portal and from the prep ranks. He continues to stack NFL-bound stars like no Ducks coach before him, and this year he has nine top-100 prospects on his loaded roster.
Below are the 12 most prominent NFL prospects who will take the stage this week on CBS.
Prospect ranking: No. 13 overall | No. 3 QB
There were multiple points this season at which Moore was the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. He cooled down a bit after his scorching run through non-conference play, but Moore asserted himself as a potential first-round pick with an outstanding first year as Oregon’s starting quarterback. The year he spent developing behind Dillon Gabriel seems to have paid dividends, as he is far better than the freshman version of himself that struggled in 2023 to hold onto the job at UCLA. Moore’s last game out was a masterclass in accuracy as he completed 27 of 30 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns in the rout of Minnesota.
Prospect ranking: No. 17 overall | No. 3 WR
Contrary to preseason expectations, it is USC’s Lemon who leads the Big Ten in receptions and receiving yards through 10 games — not Ohio State superstar Jeremiah Smith. Lemon could also eke out a Biletnikoff Award victory over Smith if he finishes the year in style. The third-year wideout had been one of the Big Ten’s most thrilling breakout players this year and emerged not only as a go-to target for Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava but also as a household name in college football because of his ability to make spectacular catches and torch defenders after the grab.
Prospect ranking: No. 22 overall | No. 4 IOL
Pregnon will square off against his old team this week. The two-year starter at USC transferred to Oregon on the heels of an All-Big Ten season, and the decision to play another year of college football rather than depart for the draft was an astute one. Pregnon elevated his stock with the Ducks and will contend to be the first interior offensive lineman selected in the draft. His climb from unranked recruit to projected first-round draft pick is a credit to both USC and Oregon for developing him into a stalwart in the trenches.
Prospect ranking: No. 23 overall | No. 3 EDGE
The box score indicates that Uiagalelei is not as statistically productive this season as he was as a sophomore, but the third-year edge rusher is just as integral a piece of the Ducks’ defensive front in 2025. Uiagalelei racked up 10.5 sacks in his breakout campaign last fall and remains a consistent presence in the opposing backfield, and considering he will still be 20-years-old on draft day, NFL teams figure to fawn over his room for growth.
Prospect ranking: No. 44 overall | No. 8 WR
Overshadowed at times by Makai Lemon, Lane is about as terrific a second option as there is in any receiving unit in college football. At 6-foot-4, Lane is a matchup nightmare with a knack for finding the end zone. He has 16 touchdowns over the last two seasons and has the ability any given week to lead the Trojans through the air. There are also few wideouts in the nation as difficult to defend in the red zone as Lane.
Prospect ranking: No. 49 overall | No. 3 DL
Steady growth over the last three seasons led Washington to the best year of his career. He anchors the Oregon defensive line with a 330-pound frame and is just as capable of getting his hand into quarterbacks’ passing lanes as he is at stuffing runners behind the line of scrimmage. Washington is among the most athletic defensive linemen in college football, which is a tantalizing trait for his size (6-foot-3, 330 pounds).
Prospect ranking: No. 52 overall | No. 3 TE
Outside of a brief injury hiccup around the midseason point, Sadiq has looked as advertised as one of the sport’s top tight ends in his first year as a full-time starter. He is not the kind of target-accumulating tight end who will light up the box score, but his athleticism is uncanny for his position and gives him big-play ability that few others possess. Sadiq’s yards after the catch make him a thrill to watch. He is fresh off his best game as a Duck with eight grabs for 96 yards and a touchdown against Minnesota.
Prospect ranking: No. 54 overall | No. 7 IOL
Laloulu has played in every game since his arrival at Oregon in 2023 and has not missed a start since that season’s Fiesta Bowl win vs. Liberty. Laloulu has manned both guard spots and the center position throughout his time in Eugene, displaying positional flexibility without sacrificing production as a flat-out reliable blocker. “Poncho” Laloulu was PFF’s highest-graded center in Week 11.
Prospect ranking: No. 62 overall | No. 6 DL
Alexander is another former Trojan set to suit up against his old team. His journey from Georgia to USC and eventually to Oregon came with bumps in the road, but he appears to finally be putting it all together and proving why he was once touted as one of the top defensive line recruits in America. Alexander is on pace to set career highs in multiple statistical categories, and he rose to the occasion in some of the Ducks’ biggest games, recovering a fumble at Iowa and notching a pair of tackles for loss against Indiana.
Prospect ranking: No. 64 overall | No. 6 S
Every team in the Big Ten is familiar with Dillon Thieneman by now. After posting consecutive 100-tackle seasons at Purdue and racking up six interceptions as a true freshman, he transferred to Oregon to help reconstruct the Ducks’ defensive backfield and settled in quite nicely. His numbers will not jump off the page as much this year, but Oregon does not need him to put out fires like the Boilermakers did. Instead, Thieneman has been able to show off more of his coverage skills as a versatile safety. He shined against Penn State with the game-winning interception in what was, at the time, the Ducks’ biggest victory of the season.
Prospect ranking: No. 68 overall | No. 9 IOL
Alex Harkey transferred to Oregon from Texas State as a plug-and-play veteran at right tackle. He missed the Iowa game after rolling his ankle but returned to the lineup last week and continues to shine as a run blocker. At 327 pounds, Harkey likely has a future as a guard in the NFL but is athletic enough to protect the edge for the Ducks.
Prospect ranking: No. 79 overall | No. 14 EDGE
Anthony Lucas represented one of Lincoln Riley’s countless transfer portal wins as he packed his bags for Los Angeles after one year at Texas A&M. The former five-star recruit made most of his impact in run defense but took a step forward this season as a pass rusher, posting not only his first career sack but two more to follow in what has been by far his most productive campaign. He is poised to finish 2025 with more tackles in one year than in his previous three combined.
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