Anthony Cartwright III is done with the recruiting circus. The four-star tight end shut it down Sunday, picking Oregon over Miami, Michigan, LSU and Michigan State in a decision he announced on a Rivals livestream. And honestly, the path he took to get there tells you a lot about what Dan Lanning is building out west.
Cartwright is a breakout prospect who really started blowing up this spring. He’s 6-foot-4 with the kind of frame that makes college recruiters dream about mismatches in the red zone. He’s not just an athlete who happens to play tight end. He’s a guy who can line up wide, split the seam or seal the edge on a run play. That versatility is why Oregon wanted him so bad.
The Ducks already had a solid 2027 class cooking. But adding Cartwright gives them 21 total commits and another blue chip piece on offense. It also keeps the momentum rolling from a late June surge that started when they grabbed offensive lineman Lex Mailangi.
Why Oregon?
It wasn’t just about winning or NIL or any of the typical stuff. Cartwright told Rivals it came down to relationships. Specifically, he pointed to the relationships he built with Lanning, offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer and the rest of the staff.
“The relationship that I have been able to build with the entire coaching staff, especially coach Lanning, coach Mehringer, and coach Smith has allowed Oregon to feel more and more like home every time I go out there,” Cartwright said. “From the moment they started recruiting me, it felt like nothing but family.”
Those aren’t throwaway lines either. There’s a specific detail he shared that makes this feel real. Cartwright said his first phone call with Mehringer went almost two hours. That’s not a casual check-in. That’s a coach committing real time to a kid he sees as a future star.
“That still probably is the longest conversation I’ve had with a coach on their first time coming to see me,” Cartwright added.
Oregon as Tight End U
The Ducks have quietly become a factory for tight ends. You don’t just show up and hope to get on the field there. You compete against a pipeline that’s churning out NFL talent.
Kenyon Sadiq went in the first round to the New York Jets earlier this year. Terrance Ferguson landed with the Los Angeles Rams in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft and is expected to have a bigger role this fall. That’s a real selling point for recruits who want to play at the next level. And Cartwright knows it.
He’s not the first kid to look at Oregon and see a clear path to the league. He probably won’t be the last either. Lanning has built a program that sells development, and the results speak for themselves on draft weekend.
Cartwright’s commitment locks down a key piece for a class that’s still growing. The 2027 group now has 21 commits, and there’s no sign Oregon is slowing down.
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