2022 four-star DL Gracen Halton decommits from Oregon

Gracen Halton is no longer committed to Oregon.

The four-star 2022 defensive lineman had remained committed to the Ducks since first making his decision last January. However, amid the coaching change in Eugene, the San Diego-St. Augustine star decided to keep his options open while remaining locked in with his pledge to Oregon as he looked at other schools.

"First off I would like to thank the Oregon Community, you guys have shown a lot of love," Halton wrote in a social media post Wednesday afternoon announcing his decision. "I want to thank Coach Cristobal, Coach Mastro, Coach Joe, for giving me the opportunity to come and play at the University of Oregon when they were there. Also would like to thank some big new bros I met at Oregon...we will always be locked in. I believe that god has many plans for us and sometimes you have to overcome some bumpy roads to recognize his plan. But at the end of the day if you BELIEVE it will always plan outright & I've definitely learned that. After a great conversation with my family I would like to announce that I am decommitting from the University of Oregon. Please respect my decision."

Oklahoma has continued to be well involved in pursuing the 6-foot-2 recruit, and he visited Norman over the weekend ahead of his decision to back off his pledge to the Ducks Wednesday.

Sooner Scoop’s Josh McCuistion has already logged in a Rivals FutureCast selection for Halton in favor of the Sooners. Oklahoma offered Halton back on Dec. 30.

The Ducks now have 10 commitments in the 2022 class with seven of those prospects already signed. Receiver Justius Lowe, offensive lineman Kawika Rogers and defensive back Trejon Williams are committed but remain unsigned heading into next week’s regular signing period.

Losing Halton to Oklahoma would be a blow for the Ducks and new head coach Dan Lanning, but Oregon does hold signatures from defensive lineman Ben Roberts and Sir Mells after they both inked a National Letter of Intent with the program in December.

Lanning and his staff have also added Washington defensive line transfer Sam “Taki” Taimani this offseason as well.

The regular signing period is set to begin next Wednesday and will run through April 1.

Halton is currently rated by Rivals as the 17th-best strongside defensive end in the class and the 19th-best recruit in California for the 2022 class.