Dallas Wilson, a five-star wide receiver from Tampa Bay Tech High School pledged his allegiance to the Oregon Ducks on Jan. 17 last year. Despite his early commitment to the Ducks, he was taking visits to other programs such as Florida and Miami.
The Gators were the biggest threat to Oregon throughout the receiver's recruitment. They kept pursuing the five-star prospect and hosted him for their 27-16 win over the LSU Tigers on Nov. 17. Florida's push seems to have paid off as Wilson asked for his official release from the Oregon Ducks, per On3 on Thursday.
Wilson is planning on signing with the Florida Gators once he gets the green light from the Ducks. The On3 Recruits' X (formerly Twitter) account shared the news and college football fans pounced on it to express their opinions about it. They slammed the Ducks and their coach, Dan Lanning, for not being able to hold onto a five-star recruit while hailing Gators coach Billy Napier.
"Billy stuffing Dan in a locker," one fan said.
"Don’t guilt a kid into signing with you next time Oregon," another fan wrote.
"Trouble brewing in Portland?" another fan commented.
However, a few fans saw the positive side of the situation and called it a "good decision."
"Good decision, lagway and the Wilson boys are going to light it up in the swamp next year," one fan wrote.
"Best of luck Dallas," another fan said.
"Those Nike checks are bouncing 👀," another fan commented.
The Ducks had a great recruiting cycle this year as they successfully landed 21 commitments. However, Dallas Wilson's apparent U-turn will hamper Oregon's roster for the future as the school is left with just three five-star prospects from the class.
Dallas Wilson spoke about his visit to the Florida Gators in November
Five-star wide receiver Dallas Wilson announced his commitment to the Oregon Ducks in January 2023. He signed with the program on National Signing Day but is now set to revoke his pledge. Wilson is expected to sign with his home state school of Florida after officially cutting ties with the Ducks.
Wilson has been on Florida's radar since the beginning of his recruitment and took an official visit to the Gators' campus for their win against LSU in November. He spoke about the visit and claimed that it gave the Gators a boost in his recruitment.
"Definitely did, definitely did. I promise I did not think they were going to pull out the win. They shocked me. They showed me what I was looking for and I loved that," the five-star recruit said, as per On3. "Miami and Florida were a close second. Now I think Florida’s pulling ahead."
Dallas Wilson is ranked No.19 in the country and is the second-best player at his position in the Class of 2025, as per On3. He is also the third-best overall prospect in the state of Florida.
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