Dan Lanning and Oregon flip four-star CB Dakoda Fields from USC

Both USC and Oregon are heading to the Big Ten in 2024, but one of those programs will be without the commitment of four-star cornerback Dakoda Fields from Gardena, California.

Fields has been a USC commit only since June, but a recent official visit to Eugene and head coach Dan Lanning's program apparently really stood out. So much so that the four-star decided to flip his commitment from USC to Oregon.

"This is where I always wanted to be," Fields told 247Sports of Oregon. "I've always wanted to be a Duck so time to turn that dream into a reality. I kind of knew on my last visit but I had to come home and sleep on it and realized Oregon was where I wanted to be."

Fields' recruitment has been an interesting one. He was actually offered by the Ducks in April 2022 but an official visit to USC in early June led to his commitment. This was despite the fact that Oregon was long considered the favorite to land him. He even alluded to that fact when discussing his decision to commit to the Trojans.

“Oregon was on top for me for a while,” Fields had told 247Sports on June 5. “There was a lot I liked about them but there I thought about USC, the more I realized it was the best all-around fit, not just football-wise but academically and opportunities after football. I would still like to take the rest of my official visits but we’ll see what all the other schools feel about that. I’m locked in though and feel really good about USC and I’m excited about my decision."

Fields may have felt locked in with the Trojans then, but it seems clear Oregon has always been on the mind.

"I have a great comfort level there," Fields said of Oregon. "It was very impressive to see what coach Lanning did last year. He went out and got 10 wins in his first year coaching and those weren’t even his guys. They’re building something special now and I think this ’24 class has a chance to be a top 3-5 class and Oregon can make some serious noise very soon.”

Fields is a big-time commitment for Lanning and the Ducks. Per the 247Sports Composite, he's ranked as the No. 9 cornerback in the 2024 class and the No. 83 recruit nationally.