QUACKKK: Oregon Lands Three-Star SAF Malakai Taufoou
On Saturday the Ducks landed a commitment from a defensive prospect out of California. San Mateo (Calif.) safety Malakai Taufoou made his commitment to Oregon over Cal and others on the Rivals YouTube channel.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder is the No. 436 ranked prospect nationally in the Rivals Industry Rankings. Taufoou is the No. 38 ranked safety in those same rankings. Washington, Penn State and BYU were his other finalists.
Taufoou is Oregon’s 13th commitment in the 2027 class for Dan Lanning. He joins four-star Semaj Stanford in Oregon’s safety room for this cycle.
The Ducks were a sleeper in his recruitment for much of the last year. While others pushed for the three-star Oregon made a late push including a visit to start the month of April. And that trip changed things instantly for Taufoou.
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“It was great honestly,” said Taufoou, the No. 32 safety in the Rivals ranking. “I went with my dad and my brother and the amount of love they showed us made it feel like home honestly. They treated us like family, showed us around everywhere like it was our first time again. They just showed us lots of love and it felt great to be out there.”
When Tosh Lupoi left for Cal, that left a bit of a hole in his recruitment with the Ducks. It was Lupoi who had built the strongest relationship with the Nor Cal product.
“At first I didn’t really know what to expect because he was my main recruiter at Oregon,” he said. “When he left I was kind of curious–I wouldn’t say I was doubting Oregon or anything. Obviously they’re still gonna be a great program, but I was kind of curious who was gonna take the DC spot. I think they’ve done it perfectly and everything is fitting out well for them. Coach Hampton really knows what he’s doing. So it’s definitely going great.”
Stick to ScoopDuck for more coverage of this latest commitment. Oregon currently has the No. 9 ranked recruiting class in the country.
