When Harper Woods star receiver Dakota Guerrant committed to Oregon, it was an easy decision.
Guerrant was among the highest-rated receivers in the 2027 class, holding 50 offers, including ones from schools such as Michigan, Ohio State, LSU and Miami (Florida). He only brought one hat to the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, where he made his decision.
Eugene, Oregon, is 2,410 miles away from Harper Woods, but distance did not factor into his decision. Guerrant had family ties to Michigan, with his cousin Jacob Oden currently playing for the Wolverines; Harper Woods head football coach Rod Oden, mentor Brandon Graham, and former quarterback coach Devin Gardner are all Michigan alumni.
Ohio State and LSU have battled for the title of Wide Receiver U in recent years, while Guerrant played for South Florida Express this offseason during the 7-on-7 season. While he strongly considered other schools, his love for Oregon traces back to his childhood.
“It was the jerseys, the uniforms were unmatched,” Guerrant told The Detroit News on how he became an Oregon fan. “The chrome helmets with the all-yellow were my favorite jersey.”
Oregon also has a breast cancer awareness jersey in its collection, similar to the all-pink jerseys Harper Woods wore this year during the football season.
Guerrant also loved watching Oregon’s offense. While Guerrant was too young to watch the Ducks when former head coach Chip Kelly led the team to a BCS title-game appearance in 2011, that did not stop him from watching highlights of former Ducks.
“I would watch De’Anthony Thomas because I used to watch Tavon Austin (who played at West Virginia),” Guerrant said. “I also loved Marcus Mariota.”
Oregon’s offense was also the separator for Guerrant between the other schools. For Rod Oden, Guerrant’s fit in Oregon’s offense is a match made in heaven.
“The style of play is what is most intriguing to him,” Oden said. “They run an up-tempo, spread air raid offense like we do currently. He sees it as a continuation of what he already has been doing.”
Harper Woods offensive coordinator Suruli Kelly-Powell also thinks Guerrant will earn the opportunity to contribute right away and be featured in a balanced offense that can run and pass the ball.
“They throw the ball to distribute the ball, and their playmakers get the ball and go to work,” Kelly-Powell said.
While former Detroit King quarterback and current Ducks quarterback Dante Moore is not expected to be there by the time Guerrant arrives, Guerrant’s support system is comforted by recent pro quarterbacks such as Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel who have played at Oregon. They trust the staff to find Moore’s replacement, whether that is Nebraska transfer Dylan Raiola, Ducks 2027 quarterback commit Will Mencl, or elsewhere.
Guerrant also has talked to current Ducks receivers such as Jeremiah McClellan, Evan Stewart and Dakorien Moore.
Stability and familiarity with the coaching staff also was a factor in choosing Oregon. Michigan, Ohio State and LSU all underwent key coaching changes, bringing uncertainty about what the offenses will look like. Michigan brought in head coach Kyle Whittingham for former head coach Sherrone Moore, while LSU brought in Lane Kiffin for former head coach Brian Kelly.
When Ohio State’s former offensive coordinator and wide receiver coach Brian Hartline became the head coach of USF this offseason, Oregon jumped Ohio State as the favorite to land Guerrant.
Despite former Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein leaving to become the Kentucky head coach this offseason, Guerrant was familiar with his replacement, Drew Mehringer, who was promoted internally. The Guerrant family was also reassured about head coach Dan Lanning and Ducks wide receiver coach and passing-game coordinator Ross Douglas’ commitment to staying with the team.
“We did our research and coach Dan Lanning does not want to go to the pros,” Guerrant’s father, Gerald, said. “He wants to stay a college coach and plans to be there for a while. The wide receiver coach was offered several other jobs that would have paid him more money than Oregon, but decided to stay since he wants to be there.”
Gerald Guerrant also sees many similarities between Oden and Lanning.
“Coach Lanning and Coach Oden are very similar, just one is Black and one is white,” Gerald Guerrant joked. “They have the same philosophy, same grit, no-nonsense, hard-hat coaches and cockiness. They got that aura or that swag. During our season we used to tease Coach Rod and Lanning, ‘Y’all need to listen to each other’s pregame speeches.’”
Oden also thinks Oregon and its Nike ties will be a great marketing fit for Guerrant, who has 26,500 followers on Instagram and a DaGoata clothing brand that he got Pat McAfee to wear and do a TikTok dance after his commitment.
“There will be a ton of things coming out from Oregon and Detroit,” Oden said. “They have a plan to use that platform and leverage it to build his DaGoata brand.”
Before Guerrant early enrolls at Oregon in January, he has one more season of high school football left. This past year, he launched his DaGoata football camp and also helped bring NIL opportunities to high school athletes in Michigan.
With his commitment behind him, he now can focus on football. Guerrant has goals to win another state championship like he did during his freshman year and wants to win Mr. Football after being a finalist for the award last season.
To accomplish his goals, Guerrant is willing to do whatever it takes, even if he has to play quarterback like he did for the Southfield Falcons during his little league days to help ease Harper Woods’ young quarterbacks.
While Guerrant is only a day into his commitment, he already has plans to start recruiting his high school teammates to Eugene, including wide receiver Deandre Bidden, who is visiting Oregon on Wednesday in hopes of continuing the Harper Woods wide receiver-to-Oregon pipeline.
Tarohn Finley is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Here’s why Dakota Guerrant’s decision to pick Oregon was easy
Reporting by Tarohn Finley, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tarohn Finley, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
