Tag: Oregon recruiting

David Stone joins long list of 5-star recruits visiting Eugene for Oregon spring game

Add another 5-star recruit taking a visit to Eugene for the Ducks’ spring game this weekend.

The visitor list of recruits at the Oregon Ducks spring game next weekend is hands down growing into the most talented we’ve ever seen in Eugene.

What was already a stacked group of players got even better on Sunday night when 5-star defensive lineman David Stone Jr. announced that he would be in attendance for the spring game.

Stone is the sixth 5-star recruit to announce his intentions to attend the game, joining Dylan Stewart, Elijah Rushing, Colin Simmons, KJ Bolden, and Brandon Baker. Rushing popped up on a visit to Eugene this weekend, so it is unclear whether or not he will return next week for the spring game again.

Stone is rated as the No. 7 overall player in the 2024 class and the No. 2 defensive lineman. At the end of last year, he put the Ducks among his top 10 schools, but this is the first time that we know of him taking a visit out to Eugene.

David Stone’s Recruiting Profile

Return visits, delayed commitments raise intrigue around UO’s 2024 QB recruitment

4-star QB Michael Van Buren is returning to Oregon next week. 3-star QB Luke Moga is delaying his commitment. Those two things may be very connected.

There are some interesting developments that are taking place when it comes to quarterback recruiting at the University of Oregon.

Over the past couple of months, it has become clear that the Ducks are largely picking between a pair of quarterback recruits in the 2024 class; 3-star Luke Moga and 4-star Michael Van Buren. While there was some early buzz that they might be in the mix to land 5-star QB Dylan Raiola, that has cooled over the past month, and it appeared that one of the two aforementioned players was going to end up being Will Stein’s guy in the 2024 class.

A week ago, handicappers would have said that Moga was the likely option, with a prediction from 247Sports Steve Wiltfong for the rising passer to pick Oregon. However, some things may be changing as the cycle goes on.

On Sunday, Van Buren — who was in Eugene for a visit last weekend — announced that he would be coming back to Oregon for the spring game next weekend. Not long after, Moga announced that he would be delaying his official commitment, which was scheduled for April 28, the day before Oregon’s spring game.

It should also be noted that Moga was on campus with the Ducks this weekend.

So what does all of that mean? I’ve got a few thoughts.

North Texas TE transfer Var’Keyes Gumms announces college decision

North Texas TE transfer Var’Keyes Gumms announces college decision

The Oregon Ducks still have a big question to answer when it comes to what they’re going to do at the tight end position in the 2023 season.

After starter Terrance Ferguson went down with an injury earlier in this spring season and will be held out until this fall, it’s been made clear that Dan Lanning and Co. are looking hard at the transfer portal in order to find a TE who can help their depth.

The top option, North Texas TE Var’Keyes Gumms, announced on Sunday that he would be transferring to the Arkansas Razorbacks, choosing them over the Ducks.

The Ducks will continue to look at the portal over the next week before it closes again on April 30th. In the mean time, they will also continue to develop both Patrick Herbert and Kenyon Sadiq while hoping that Ferguson can make a quick recovery and be back in time for the season to start this fall.

Var’Keyes Gumms Transfer Portal Profile

Demetrice Martin discusses Khyree Jackson, coaching his son, and recruiting to Oregon

Oregon CB coach Demetrice Martin talked about identifying a new CB1, and what it’s been like coaching his son, Cole.

In the Dan Lanning era at the University of Oregon, it has become a rarity that we get to talk to some of the assistant coaches on the staff, be it coordinators or position coaches.

This spring, however, we’ve been allowed to rotate through some of the notable position coaches in the building, getting a sense of how things are going across the roster this spring. On Saturday, it was cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin who stepped up to the mic and discussed what his second year with the Ducks has been like.

We got to talk about some of the new transfers on defense, what it’s like coaching his son, Cole, and how he’s been able to find such great success recruiting in Eugene over the past 18 months.

Here are some of the most notable quotes from that interview:

4-star QB Michael Van Buren puts Ducks among top 3 schools

Michael Van Buren, the No. 11 QB in the 2024 class, is down to three schools in his recruitment.

The Oregon Ducks are officially in the thick of it to land 4-star quarterback Michael Van Buren.

Earlier this month, Van Buren announced that he would be making his commitment announcement on July 8, 2023, and he is fresh off of a visit to Eugene last weekend to check out the Ducks.

On Friday, Van Buren announced his final three schools that he will be deciding between: Oregon Ducks, Penn State Nittany Lions, and Maryland Terrapins.

Van Buren is rated by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 130 player in the 2024 class, and No. 11 QB in the class as well.

The Ducks currently have a top-10 2024 class in the nation, but they don’t have a QB committed as of yet. Adding Van Buren to the mix would be a big-time get for Dan Lanning, Will Stein, and the whole group.

Michael Van Buren’s Recruiting Profile

Ducks land in top five for 4-star safety Jaydan Hardy

Again, Chris Hampton and the Ducks find themselves in the running for a highly-rated safety prospect in the 2024 class.

The Oregon Ducks continue to find success in the recruiting game when it comes to the safety position on defense. New safeties coach Chris Hampton has to be the person to thank for that, in large part.

Since Hampton got to Oregon earlier this year, they’ve landed a commitment from one of the top safeties in the nation, Aaron Flowers, and gotten in the running for a handful of other top prospects.

The latest safety to lock eyes on the Ducks is 4-star Jaydan Hardy, a fast-rising prospect from Texas. Hardy is rated as the No. 139 overall player, and No. 12 safety in the 2024 class.

He has yet to take a visit to Oregon, but he included the Ducks among his top 5 schools this past week, and will likely find his way out to Eugene over the coming months before making his commitment.

Jaydan Hardy’s Recruiting Profile

Oregon WR commit Dallas Wilson quickly rising among top-ranked players in 2025 class

Oregon WR commit has quickly risen to near the top of the 2025 recruiting rankings since committing to the Ducks.

On January 17, 2023, a player by the name of Dallas Wilson announced that he was committing to the Oregon Ducks. 

I had never heard of him, and I’m sure that a lot of Oregon fans were with me in asking “Who?” when the news came out.

Upon further research, it turned out that Wilson was a wide receiver from Florida in the class of 2025 who had received an offer from Oregon just hours before offering his verbal commitment. He was unrated by all of the major recruiting websites, so it was hard to get a feeling for how excited fans were to get about his commitment. He looked good, but nobody knew too much about him just yet.

They’re quickly learning.

While Wilson, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound player out of Tampa Bay has continued to grow and put highlights on tape, the recruiting world is taking notice. While ESPN and Rivals have yet to grade him out, both 247Sports and On3 have done their scouting, and the results are incredibly impressive.

While still considered a high-end 4-star, Wilson is rated as the No. 21 overall player in the 2025 class by 247Sports, and the No. 4 WR in the class. On3 is not as generous with their ranking, though he still lands as the No. 105 player and No. 17 WR.

Not too bad for a recruit that few Oregon fans knew of when he committed, huh?

National brand makes recruiting at Oregon easier for Ducks’ coach Chris Hampton

“When you talk to kids now, they know exactly who you are,” Hampton said. “I’m a little bit prettier than I was at my previous spot.”

No matter where you go in the world of college football, recruiting is largely the same. You bring a kid to campus, show him the facilities, lay out a plan for how he will be utilized if he chooses to play for your school, and try to sell him on his future.

However, that’s a lot easier to do in some places than others.

We always talk about the world of recruiting turning into an arms race in college football. The best teams get the most money, and pour that money back into the facilities in order to improve the experience for kids coming in. We’ve seen this become a trend across the nation in the past decade, with schools working hard to try and one-up each other every year, getting the highest tech equipment and flashiest amenities that money can buy.

Fortunately for Oregon fans, the Ducks are one of the best teams in the nation when it comes to dominating the recruiting game. Year after year, they are voted as having the best facilities, and they consistently rank atop the Pac-12 when it comes to top-rated recruiting classes, and are a fixture inside the top-15 nationally.

This has made it easier for Chris Hampton, Oregon’s new safeties coach, to find success recruiting some of the top players in the nation, he told me.

“When you talk to kids now, they know exactly who you are,” Hampton said on Tuesday. “I’m a little bit prettier than I was at my previous spot. The kids are definitely intrigued by coming here with the brand, Nike, and just Oregon in general with winning and coach Lanning being here.”

As the defensive coordinator at Tulane last year, Hampton was able to prove himself as a good recruiter, landing a couple of nice defensive back prospects. Early on in his Oregon days, though, Hampton has already made a splash by getting a verbal commitment from 4-star Aaron Flowers, the No. 7 safety in the 2024 class.

Hampton also recent extended an offer to 5-star DJ Pickett, the No. 1 safety in the 2025 class, someone who will likely find his way to Eugene for a visit over the coming months.

The Oregon logo holds weight in the world of college football, and the Nike brand is recognizable across the globe. When it comes to pitching high school players on a future in Eugene, those two things go hand in hand, and are usually successful in convincing some of the best players in the nation to be a Duck.

“I think it all helps,” Hampton said. “Recruiting has been going great.”

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Ducks extend offer to 5-star DJ Pickett, No. 1 safety in 2025 class

Oregon’s Chris Hampton has big eyes in the class of 2025, offering DJ Pickett, the No. 1 ranked safety in the nation.

The Oregon Ducks’ new safeties coach Chris Hampton is making an early impression on the recruiting game up in Eugene since coming over from Tulane.

Already he has landed a commitment from Aaron Flowers, one of the top safeties in the 2024 class, and he appears to be big-game hunting, extending an offer to DJ Pickett, the No. 1 safety in the 2025 class, and the No. 6 overall player, per the 247Sports Composite.

Pickett is a rising star in the 2025 class, and he has a lengthy offer list from some of the top schools in the nation. The Ducks will likely be aggressive in recruiting him, attempting to get him out to Eugene for a visit in the coming months as his process continues.

DJ Pickett’s Recruiting Profile

Updated list of linebackers for Oregon to consider in the transfer portal

With Keith Brown gone, the Ducks could stand to add another LB to the mix. Fortunately, there are some great options in the transfer portal.

Even before linebacker Keith Brown announced over the weekend that he would be entering the transfer portal and leaving the Oregon Ducks, linebacker was a position of relative need for Dan Lanning’s defense.

While you have a lot of talented players, there isn’t an exorbitant amount of depth. With guys like Jeffrey Bassa, Jestin Jacobs, and now — without Brown — Jamal Hill leading the way, and unproven players like Devon Jackson, Harrison Taggart, and Elijah Williams behind them, it’s easy to see that the Ducks could stand to add a player or two to the LB room.

That was the case before Brown entered the portal, and it’s been turned into a more dire need since the roster move.

Fortunately for Oregon, there are a number of really solid options available in the transfer portal. While more players will continue to enter the portal and eventually come off of the board, the Ducks will likely reach out to a handful of guys who they think can improve their roster instantly.

Here are some players that I think the Ducks might try and target.