QUAAAACK: Ducks win major recruiting battle for DT transfer Derrick Harmon
Oregon won the sweepstakes for one of the top transfer portal prizes Friday, as Michigan State defensive tackle Derrick Harmon announced his commitment to the Ducks.
Finding established, productive defensive tackles in the portal is one of the hardest positions to account for this time of year, and Harmon was highly coveted by many schools -- including USC.
Harmon had 40 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble last season while logging 475 defensive snaps for the Spartans in his second year as a primary starter.
He has two years of eligibility remaining.
This pickup is a major addition for an Oregon defensive line that was going to have to rely on a lot of young talent this season following the departures of Brandon Dorlus, Casey Rogers, and Taki Taimani to teh NFL after a solid 2023 season.
Oregon had already picked up Ja'Maree Caldwell - a transfer from Houston - but was still looking to add one more big body on the inside to help the transition into the Big-10 this season.
With Keyon Ware-Hudson the lone returning senior on the interior defensive line, this addition shores up one area that was not quite as solid as the rest of the defense. The Ducks will also look to freshmen Ashton Porter, Terrance Green, A'Mauri Washington, Aydin Breland, and My'Keill Gardner to fill out the depth chart on the defenisve line.