Tag: Oregon recruiting

Recruiting becomes key for Ducks as spring practice begins

“Our best pitch in recruiting is when people come and watch that practice and they see the way we work.”

All eyes were on Eugene Thursday morning as the Oregon Ducks got their spring football underway with the first practice at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex. While media members watched on, and Duck fans followed along as they could via photos and reports, a group of watching eyes may have been more important than others to head coach Dan Lanning.

A group of highly-rated recruits was in attendance, watching practice from the sideline and taking in the cool morning air in Eugene. While many recruiting visits are centered around big games, whether it be the spring game or something in the regular season, Lanning remarked after practice that getting prospects in town to watch practice is among the most valuable things they can do as a staff.

“Our best pitch in recruiting is when people come and watch that practice and they see the way we work,” Lanning said. “They see how we develop talent and they see how much our guys enjoy practice. So it’s really important for us to take advantage of this beautiful place. Get people here where they can experience it firsthand and see it for themselves.”

While seeing the crowd inside Autzen Stadium is always important, and getting to experience the buzz that’s alive in Eugene during a game day on Saturdays in the fall is priceless, there’s a lot to be said about letting these players experience the practice. In the end, most will choose the school where they feel confident they will be developed the most, and have the best chance to continue their career after college and potentially into the NFL.

If they can watch Oregon’s practice and get a feel for how that development will take place, then it could make a world of difference.

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Spring Recruiting Party: High-profile recruits expected in Eugene over the coming weeks

Between now and the end of April, some of the best prospects in the nation will be taking visits to Oregon.

It feels like the world of college football is starting to wake up from hibernation. Since the start of February when national signing day took place, there hasn’t been much going on in the news cycle. Recruiting has been on a dead period, the transfer portal window was closed, and spring football was still weeks out.

However, that’s starting to change. The Oregon Ducks start spring practice later this week, and recruits from all over the country are starting to flock to Eugene, with a number of high-profile visits announced over the next few weeks.

Of course, the biggest recruiting weekend for Dan Lanning and Co. will be on April 29th with the annual Spring Game bringing the likes of 5-star QB Dylan Raiola, 5-star KJ Bolden, 5-star Dylan Stewart, and the entirety of the Elite 11 Camp to town. There are some incredibly important visits taking place between now and then as well.

Below are the scheduled visits that we have confirmed will take place in the months of March and April so far. Of course, more will be added to the list as time goes on.

Top 10 CB Zabien Brown lists Oregon among top schools

The Ducks are squarely in the mix for one of the top cornerbacks in the 2024 class.

The Oregon Ducks appear to be moving quickly when it comes to one of the top cornerbacks in the 2024 class, who recently put the Ducks among his top four schools.

4-star CB Zabien Brown, who is rated by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 73 player in the 2024 class, and No. 8 CB, recently listed the Ducks along with USC, Ohio State, and Alabama as his top schools. Oregon extended an offer to Brown in early February of this year, and has yet to take a visit to Eugene, though that will likely change soon.

Brown is also an accomplished track star and fits the mold of extremely quick and talented defensive backs that the team has been cultivating since Dan Lanning came to town.

We will see if the Ducks can get an official visit from him this summer.

Zabien Brown’s Recruiting Profile

Ducks offer 4-star Air Noland, the No. 8 QB in 2024 class

The Ducks extended an offer to the No. 8 QB in the 2024 class on Thursday.

The Oregon Ducks have been making some noise when it comes to quarterback recruiting as of late. Not only did news come out earlier this week that 5-star QB Dylan Raiola, the No. 1 player in the 2024 class would be in Eugene for Oregon’s spring game in April, but the Ducks also extended an offer to a highly-ranked 4-star QB as well.

Langston Hughes’ 4-star QB Air Noland received an Oregon offer on Thursday. Noland is rated by 247Sports as the No. 99 player in the 2024 class, and the No. 8 QB.

The Ducks have extended a lot of QB offers over the past several months in the 2024 class, so we can add this one to the list.

Noland has yet to take a visit to Eugene, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see him make his way out west at some point in the coming months.

Air Noland’s Recruiting Profile

Spring Football Questions: Which true freshman has the biggest instant impact for Oregon?

The Ducks have over a dozen early enrollees here for spring ball. Which player from the 2023 class makes the biggest impression in April?

Spring is always a time to ask questions when it comes to college football. After a few months of no on-field action taking place, there an endless unknowns that surround each and every program across the nation. Some have seen coaching changes, some are expecting quarterback changes, and every team is trying to figure out what type of production they will get from the newest players on the roster.

For the Oregon Ducks, there are admittedly a lot fewer questions that we have about the program going into the 2023 spring season compared to where we were a year ago. In March of 2022, we were yet to know what Dan Lanning would bring to the table, and the arrival of Bo Nix conjured up talks of a QB battle with Ty Thompson rather than a potential Heisman Trophy campaign.

This time around, Oregon fans should feel confident about what they have in a head coach, and thrilled about the level of QB play in Eugene. That doesn’t mean there still aren’t a litany of questions that need to be answered. That’s why we’re here. We want to look at some of the biggest questions surrounding the program leading up to spring ball, which starts on March 16.

For starters, we’re going to look at the incoming 2023 recruiting class and see which players might have the biggest impacts in their true-freshmen seasons.

If you’re looking at the incoming class as a group of candidates, there are a handful of strong contenders. The Ducks signed the No. 9 class in the nation, with 5-star WR Jurrion Dickey leading the way and a long list of highly-rated 4-stars who could have an impact in their first year.

This spring, though, which ones are going to stand out and make an early statement? Here are my top picks.

5-star QB Dylan Raiola to visit Eugene for Oregon’s Spring Game

It looks like 5-star QB Dylan Raiola, the No. 1 player in the 2024 class, is coming to Eugene for Oregon’s Spring Game.

The visitor list for the annual Oregon Ducks’ spring game is quickly taking shape into one of the best that Dan Lanning has ever put together during his time in Eugene.

We already knew that 5-star EDGE Dylan Stewart and 5-star S KJ Bolden would be in attendance for visits to Oregon that weekend, but now news from 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong shows that 5-star QB Dylan Raiola is planning a visit to Eugene for that weekend as well.

Raiola, who was previously committed to Ohio State, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 QB in the 2024 class, and the No. 1 overall player in the class as well. After decommitting from the Buckeyes, it’s been said that he is strongly looking at the Ducks as a potential suitor, as well as the USC Trojans, Georgia Bulldogs, and Nebraska Cornhuskers.

If the Ducks can make a big impression on him when he is on campus in late April, it could go a long way in his recruitment, and could potentially convince him to come back to Eugene for an official visit down the line as well.

Dylan Raiola’s Recruiting Profile

Top-10 RB Jeremy Payne puts Oregon among top schools in 2024

The Ducks are among the top schools for Jeremy Payne, the No. 10 RB in the 2024 class.

The Oregon Ducks have a strong history at the running back position over the past several decades, and that hasn’t changed at all under Carlos Locklyn, who took over as the RB coach under Dan Lanning in 2022.

The Ducks have brought a number of highly-rated RBs to Eugene over the past couple of seasons, landing guys like Jordan James, Dante Dowdell, and Jayden Limar in the recruiting world, while also bringing Bucky Irving and Noah Whittington to Eugene via the transfer portal.

It appears that Oregon is in good shape going forward, as well, landing among the top schools for 2024 4-star RB Jeremy Payne. Standing at 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, Payne is rated as the No. 10 RB in the class, and No. 153 overall player in the nation, per 247Sports.

The Ducks extended an offer to Payne back in December of last year, and have not yet received a visit from the Texas back. We will likely see that change going forward.

Jeremy Payne’s Recruiting Profile

Where Oregon’s 2023 transfers rank among the nation’s top 150

The Ducks are well represented when it comes to the latest Top 150 transfer portal rankings from 247Sports.

Do you remember back to the end of the 2022 calendar year when the transfer portal window opened up and Oregon Duck fans started to feel a bit uneasy?

It’s understandable why, as a number of players on the current roster — like Byron Cardwell, Dont’e Thornton, Justin Flowe, and so on — announced they would be entering the transfer portal. Some thought that it showed players didn’t want to play at Oregon, while others realized that the Ducks were simply making way for a crop of players better suited to Dan Lanning’s system to come to Eugene.

It appears now that the latter half of thinkers were correct, with a birds-eye-view showing us that the talent level on Oregon’s roster has vastly improved this offseason.

The best way to see this is by looking at the latest transfer portal rankings from 247Sports. Of the 10 transfers that the Ducks added this offseason, 6 ranked inside the top 150. Contrarily, of the 22 players who transferred out of Eugene, only 2 ranked inside the top 150.

It’s not hard to do the math and see that Oregon got better.

So where did all of the Oregon players, both outgoing and incoming, rank among the 247Sports top 150? Let’s take a look.

4-star safety Aaron Flowers puts Ducks among top schools

The Ducks landed among the top schools for Aaron Flowers, the No. 175 player in the 2024 class.

The Oregon Ducks continue to make a strong push at the start of the 2024 recruiting cycle, where they already have a class that is ranked inside the top 10 of the nation and has a good chance to get better.

On Tuesday, one of the top safeties in the class, 4-star Aaron Flowers, announced his top 10 schools and had the Ducks in the fold. Flowers is rated by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 11 safety in the class and No. 175 overall player in 2024.

Flowers has not yet taken a visit to Oregon, but there’s a good chance that he finds his way to Eugene at some point this year, whether that be in the spring or down the road in the summer months.

Aaron Flowers Recruiting Profile

Report: USC transfer WR Gary Bryant to take visit to Eugene

It looks like the Ducks aren’t done trying to add to the WR depth chart this offseason.

The Oregon Ducks don’t seem to be finished when it comes to the transfer portal.

A new report from 247Sports shows that former USC Trojans wide receiver Gary Bryant Jr. is scheduling a visit to Eugene next week to check out the Ducks before making his final transfer decision.

Bryant has already visited Arizona and Miami, and he plans to take a visit to Texas A&M as well before making a decision at the end of the month.

The Ducks are currently stacked at the wide receiver position, with guys like Troy Franklin, Kris Hutson, and Traeshon Holden expected to lead a group that also features young talents like Kyler Kasper, Jurrion Dickey, and Ashton Cozart.

Despite that, it appears that Oregon coaches and players are still working hard to try and get Bryant into the mix, according to Greg Biggens. 

“Junior Adams (WR coach) wants Gary really bad,” Bryant said. “Bo Nix has been reaching out all the time, recruiting Gary and telling him how much they need him. 

“They have some good receivers already there but they said they don’t really have a guy like Gary who can do what he does and return punts and kicks as well.”

Bryant had a great season in 2021, scoring 7 touchdowns in total, but the increased competition in 2022 with Jordan Addison and Brenden Rice in the picture caused his target share to drop. Now he’s looking for a new team to play for.

Might that be the Ducks? They will get a chance to try and convince him of that next week.

Gary Bryant Transfer Portal Profile