When former 5-star WR Johntay Cook II left Steve Sarkisian’s Texas last week, Oregon had their hopes up. Why? Because Dan Lanning and the Ducks have been heavily recruiting him before his commitment to Texas in 2023. Plus, Cook’s Instagram profile picture of him in Oregon’s uniform from his official visit in 2022 is a big reason why the Ducks fans are building castles in the air. But hold in your expectations for that may not be the case.

There’s one SEC program that stands in the way between the union of Johntay Cook and Oregon—Ole Miss. OMSpirit recruiting analyst Zach Berry joined Josh Newberg in a new YouTube episode on On3 Recruits on November 11 to talk about Lane Kiffin’s chances of winning Cook. He said, “[Cook] took an OV the summer before he ended up ultimately signing with Texas. He’s got a really good relationship with Lane Kiffin. He raves about the OV. He actually had basically a documentary crew with him that filmed the entire visit so that’s big.”

Zach Berry also mentioned that Oregon’s hot pursuit of Johntay Cook but handed the upper edge to the Rebels, saying, “I think that Johntay Cook knows not only will Lane Kiffin get him the football but he knows that he could be a potential focal point of the offense in 2025 and beyond.” Landing him would be a big win for Ole Miss, who would be losing their star WR Tre Harris to the NFL next year. 

Johntay Cook parted ways with Texas on the grounds of lack of production. In his two seasons with the Longhorns, the No. 3 WR of the 2023 class saw rotational playing time, recording just 16 catches for 173 yards and two touchdowns. The 19-year-old is yet to enter the transfer portal, which he’s expected to do on December 9. But as of now, the battle will be between Oregon and Ole Miss in their fight for this coveted WR. 

Oregon Ducks lead in 2025 recruiting class

As far as the 2025 recruitment strength goes for the two programs, Oregon has a better standing. The Ducks rank 7th in the nation with 16 commits, with the latest being 4-star TE Vander Ploog, who flipped his commitment from Washington. Their class includes three 5-star players, eleven 4-star players, one 3-star player, and an unstarred commit. 

As for Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss, they have a 2025 recruiting class strength that ranks 19th in the nation with 18 commits. They don’t have a single 5-star player in next year’s class. Right now, they have the commitments of eight 4-star players and ten 3-star players. But they’re still in the process of attracting elite players. But as you can see, landing Johntay Cook would be a much bigger win for the Rebels than Oregon, who already has two 5-star WRs in their 2025 class.