The Oregon Ducks rose as the potential team to beat for landing four-star quarterback Josiah Boyd.

The star from Vista del Lago High in Moreno Valley, California, clearly became a high priority for the Ducks' 2028 recruiting class during summer 2026. Especially after previously losing out on five-star passer Christopher Vargas to Ohio State, then three-star target out of Frisco, Texas Trey Wright who chose USC.

Unfortunately for Oregon, new recruiting intel points to the Ducks going 0-for-3 here.

Oregon Trending Downward for Josiah Boyd

Oregon is losing its grip on securing Boyd, per national recruiting outlets On3/Rivals and 247Sports.

And now the frontrunner is a Big Ten rival that looks ready to hand the Ducks a new loss, this time on the recruiting trail: UCLA. National recruiting analyst for Rivals Greg Biggins even believes that Boyd could make his decision much sooner than his original Nov. 23 target date.

"I now believe UCLA is in the driver’s seat for Boyd and have switched my commitment pick from the [Kentucky] Wildcats to the Bruins. Boyd was originally planning to announce his commitment on November 23 but it now sounds like his decision could happen much sooner and likely in the next week or two," Biggins wrote.

In the end, distance combined with the success of UCLA likely played a factor here as the Ducks may lose out on landing the Inland Empire target to an even closer university in proximity to him. Which in turn rises as one of the biggest California recruiting wins for the Chesney-led Bruins.

Oregon Hosted One Other Quarterback

Oregon witnessed quite the recruiting blitz before the 2026 regular season began. Including landing notable five-stars in quarterback Will Mencl and edge rusher Rashad Streets, the latter taking in the Nebraska at Oregon contest during the weekend of Oct. 17.

Yet things have simmered recruiting wise for coach Dan Lanning and his coaching staff. And not just limited on topping off their 2027 recruiting class either.

Oregon currently holds zero verbal commitments for the 2028 class. Past Ducks teams have managed to win over recruits early, especially the ones who were navigating through their junior season while Oregon was chasing a conference title. But now things have quieted down.

The Ducks, though, have hosted some prominent names on recruiting trips this season. Four-star athlete Jayce Halasz represents one of the more high profile visitors from the 2028 class out of Kapowsin High in Graham, Washington. But Oregon hosted one true quarterback too: Four-star Luke Rubley out of Regis Jesuit High in Aurora, Colorado.

Rubley could very well emerge as the new QB target the Ducks go after in this 2028 class. Especially with Boyd taking in UCLA during the Ducks' emotional home win over Nebraska and now trending toward the Bruins.

Oregon has three home games left for the 2026 season, handing the Ducks three chances to host more recruits and potentially start building the 2028 class.