One of the complications with firing a coach midseason is handling the recruits who committed to a program to work with a particular coach. After the Oregon Ducks fired offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer, the status of parts of the 2027 recruiting class, which ranks top-5 in the nation, is in question.
Fortunately, one piece of Oregon's future in the backfield seemed to shut down any speculation about his commitment.
On Monday morning, running back commit CaDarius McMiller took to social media to update fans and coaches on where his commitment to the Ducks stands. He tagged Oregon running backs coach Ra'Shaad Samples on X and made sure his future coach knows he is ready to play with the Ducks in the near future.
"Know we overly locked🤞🏾," McMiller
posted on X. The four-star running back out of Tyler, Texas, has been a workhorse in his high school senior season. In eight games, McMiller has racked up 980 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, rushing for 8.1 yards per carry. He is the No. 9 running back in the 2027 class, per 247 Sports, and is the only running back committed to the Ducks, besides linebacker Brayton Feister, who doubles as a running back but is expected to play defense in Eugene.
@RashaadSamples know we overly locked🤞🏾
— 𝐂𝐚𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐬 “𝐊𝐍𝐃“ 𝐌𝐜𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 (@KidNextDooor5) October 26, 2026
Four-star offensive tackle Cameron Wagner made a similar statement on Instagram, once again locking in his commitment with the Ducks. He committed to Oregon back in May and has been vocal on social media in support of the Ducks and their recruiting targets ever since. The Illinois native chose the Ducks over Notre Dame and Wisconsin.
Oregon OT commit Cameron Wagner is locked in with the Ducks🔒 pic.twitter.com/iZ7SjVSYRv
— Oregon Updates (@oregon__updates) October 26, 2026
McMiller and Wagner's reaffirmed commitments to the Ducks are a big first step to making sure the class stays together. A couple of names to keep an eye on are five-star quarterback Will Mencl and four-star tight end Anthony Cartwright III, both of whom committed to Oregon during the offseason. Mencl is close with quarterbacks coach Koa Ka'ai, but also had a relationship with Mehringer, and Cartwright specifically noted Mehringer's role as the offensive coordinator as part of the reason behind his commitment. Mehringer coached tight ends at Oregon from 2022 until being elevated.
Dan Lanning has yet to name a play-caller for the rest of the season, but Samples is one of the coaches who could assume the role and compete to win the job long-term, which would only strengthen McMiller's commitment and the rest of the class.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon commit CaDarius McMiller sends message after Drew Mehringer firing
