Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning and his coaching staff are right in the conversation for four-star safety Malakai Taufoou out of the 2027 recruiting class. He comes from the Bay Area powerhouse, Junipero Serra in San Mateo, California.
Along with the Pacific Northwest’s prominent program, Taufoou is down to the Washington Huskies, Penn State Nittany Lions, California Golden Bears, and BYU Cougars, according to Rivals’ Hayes Fawcett.
Per 247Sports, Taufoou is now preparing for his scheduled official visits with each of the contending programs, except Oregon and BYU at this time.
- Washington in Seattle, Washington: June 19
- California in Berkeley, California: June 12
- Penn State in University Park, Pennsylvania: June 5
Taufoou was offered by the Ducks back in January and went on an unofficial visit to Eugene, Oregon, on April 5. He also checked out nearby first-year coach Tosh Lupoi at Cal on April 8, as well as new coach Matt Campbell with Penn State on April 18.
The 602, 200-pound defensive back ranks as Rivals’ No. 35-best player at his position and No. 33 recruit coming out of the state of California.
In his junior season, Taufoou finished with 50 total tackles (45 solo, five assisted), six tackles for losses, four interceptions, three pass deflections, two blocked field goals, and two blocked punts in 14 games played. Offensively, he added 242 yards as a passer, catcher, and runner to go along with seven touchdowns.
Taufoou was named the West Catholic Athletic League’s Defensive Back of the Year in 2025. He also plays basketball at the varsity level with Serra.
According to 247 Sports, the Ducks’ 2027 class currently stands at No. 9 amongst college football’s top programs and No. 4 in the Big Ten Conference behind the No. 7 Washington Huskies, No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions, No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes, and No. 3 USC Trojans.
Oregon has already landed two other commitments for the future secondary. Autzen Stadium will soon be welcoming six other commits at other vital spots, making eight total.
- Four-star defensive lineman Zane Rowe (Little Elm, Texas)
- Four-star running back Cadarius McMiller (Tyler, Texas)
- Four-star defensive lineman Cameron Pritchett (Alabaster, Alabama)
- Three-star offensive tackle Avery Michael (Turlock, California)
- Three-star athlete Sam Ngata (Salt Lake City, Utah)
- Four-star cornerback Ai’King Hall (Dothan, Alabama)
- Four-star EDGE Rashad Streets (Raleigh, North Carolina)
- Four-star cornerback Josiah Molden (West Linn, Oregon)
The Ducks have shown a large amount of interest in four-star cornerback Hayden Stepp from Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 6-3, 185-pound specimen will take his official visit to Oregon on June 12 and see what first-year defensive coordinator Chris Hampton is building.
Three additional recruiting targets to monitor are 6-1, 180-pound four-star cornerback Brandon Sherrard from Shadow Creek in Pearland, Texas, 5-11, 180-pound four-star safety Semaj Stanford from Broken Arrow in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and 6-3, 190-pound three-star safety Junior Tu’upo from Thompson in Alabaster, Alabama.
Tu’upo, who is a high school teammate of Pritchett, will be at Oregon’s Spring Game on Saturday, April 25 at 1 p.m. PT, airing on the Big Ten Network.
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