Tag: Oregon recruiting

Every QB that the Ducks have offered in 2024 recruiting class

The Ducks have a lot of QB options in 2024, but they will need to add a prep guy in the 2024 class. Here’s who they’ve offered so far.

While the past few weeks since the 2023 national signing day have been relatively quiet on the recruiting front, things are about to start ramping up for the Oregon Ducks.

We are currently in a recruiting dead period, where in-person contact between recruits and coaches is not permitted. However, starting on March 1, we enter a quiet period, where visits can take place once again. We already know of a few visits that are going to take place in the coming months for Oregon, and as we get closer to the Ducks’ Spring Game on April 29, there will undoubtedly be more announced.

At this point in the year, though, we wanted to take a second to look at some of the offers that Oregon has extended to players in the class of 2024, hoping to get a good sense of where things stand, and where the Ducks might be looking to go in the next cycle. At the moment, Oregon’s 2024 class ranks No. 8 in the nation, with commitments from a pair of Top-100 players and five 4-stars.

One of the main things that the Ducks will need to figure out after the 2023 season is where they plan to go at the quarterback position. Whether the 2024 starter will be Ty Thompson, or Austin Novosad, or someone from the transfer portal, it’s a certainty that Bo Nix will no longer be in the mix. While it’s unlikely that a 2024 player will compete for the starting job, but the Ducks will likely look to add another QB in this upcoming cycle.

Here are all of the QBs that they’ve offered so far:

Oregon Ducks get commitment from PWO long snapper

Walk-on long-snapper Keller Stafford will join his high school QB Austin Novosad this coming season in Eugene.

The Oregon Ducks are continuing to fill out their roster ahead of the 2023 spring football season, this time bolstering the special teams’ depth chart.

On Tuesday afternoon, it was announced that long-snapper Keller Stafford had accepted a preferred walk-on roster position with the Ducks, coming in to attempt to replace former long-snapper Karsten Battles.

Stafford is a 6-foot-0, 185-pound player from Dripping Springs, Texas, the same high school as Oregon QB Austin Novosad.  Stafford played linebacker in high school alongside Novosad.

Along with Nick Duzansky and Luke Basso, Stafford will now compete for the starting long-snapper job in Eugene in the 2023 season.

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5-star CB Bryce West to take visit to Oregon this spring

5-star CB Bryce West is expected to take a visit to Eugene later this spring.

The Oregon Ducks seem to be in good standing with one of the top cornerbacks in the 2024 class.

5-star cornerback Bryce West, the No. 5 CB in the 2024 class and No. 26 overall player in the nation will reportedly be taking a visit to Eugene this spring, according to a report from 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong. West is rated as the No. 1 player in the state of Ohio and says that the Ducks have been making a heavy push for him recently, working hard to get him on campus.

At the moment, Oregon has a 2024 recruiting class that ranks inside the top 10 nationally, and they will work hard to try and add some star power over the coming months as they get into the start of the 2023 season.

Bryce West’s Recruiting Profile

Ducks crack top-10 of ESPN’s SP+ rankings for 2023 season

The ESPN SP+ rankings are among the most well-respected in college football. See where the Ducks land ahead of 2023.

There are a million ways to rank and evaluate teams throughout the year in college football. Whether it’s based on overall record, recruiting, returning talent, or strength of schedule, fans are never lacking of different ways in which they can view their team, comparing them to others and assessing the future possibilities.

In today’s era of college football, we have the transfer portal rankings as well. There are so many different rankings, all holding a unique weight and importance, that it can eventually make your head spin. However, there is one set of rankings that I tend to give a bit more credence to in the offseason than others. Those are ESPN’s SP+ rankings, brought to us by Bill Connelly. 

If you are unfamiliar with the SP+ rankings, it’s not too complicated. They are based on the following: Returning production — how many players from last year’s roster are still on the team; Recent recruiting — how the last few classes of recruiting stack up, with more weight placed on the most recent signees; Recent history — quite simply, how good has the team been over the past 2-4 years. More weight has also been placed on the transfer portal in the past couple of years, and the amount of production that each team is expecting to receive from incoming players via the portal.

As you can see, a lot goes into these rankings, and they offer a concise view of how teams stack up in each college football season. So how are the Ducks viewed according to SP+? Take a look:

4-star CB Ify Obidegwu puts Oregon among top schools

The Ducks landed among the top schools for 4-star CB Ify Obidegwu.

The Oregon Ducks look to be in good position to contend for a blue-chip cornerback in the 2024 class.

To start the week, 4-star CB Ify Obidegwu announced his top seven schools, with the Ducks staying in the mix alongside some of the top schools in the nation, including Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, and USC.

Obidegwu is rated by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 15 CB and No. 158 overall player in the 2024 class.

The Ducks extended an offer to Obidegwu last fall, and the 4-star Maryland product took an unofficial visit to Eugene earlier this year in January before the 2023 signing day. He obviously liked that visit enough to include the Ducks among his top schools going forward.

We will see if the Ducks can get an official visit from Obidegwo over the coming months.

Ify Obidegwu’s Recruiting Profile

4-star safety Jaylen McClain lists Ducks among top schools

4-star safety Jaylen McClain lists Ducks among top schools

The Oregon Ducks are staying active on the recruiting trail, and they got god news this past week, landing among the top schools for one of the top safeties in the northeast.

4-star Jaylen McClain, the No. 21 safety and No. 242 overall player in the 2024 class recently cut his recruiting list down to 10 schools, with the Ducks listed among teams like Georgia, Michigan, USC, Penn State, and several others.

Oregon saw a change at the safeties coaching position this offseason, with Chris Hampton coming over from Tulane to take over for Matt Powledge, who left to take a job with the Baylor Bears. It will be interesting to see how that impact recruiting over the next year, particularly at the safety position.

Jaylen McClain Recruiting Profile

Oregon’s Demetrice Martin named Pac-12 Recruiter of the Year

DB pedigree in Eugene. Coach Meat is getting the recognition he deserves.

The DB Pedigree has certainly been upped in Eugene under the watch of Coach Demetrice Martin.

After the Oregon Ducks turned in the No. 8 ranked recruiting class in the nation, with a handful of highly-rated defensive backs boosting the numbers, a lot of praise has been coming to Eugene. Head coach Dan Lanning receives a lot of it, deservedly so, but we all know that the coaches alongside him need to get the proper credit that they deserve as well.

Martin recently got that praise, being named the Pac-12 Recruiter of the Year by 247Sports. After being listed as the primary recruiter for 4-star CB Rodrick Pleasant, 4-star CB Daylen Austin, 4-star CB Cole Martin, 4-star S Kodi DeCambra, 3-star ATH Solomon Davis, and 3-star CB Collin Gill, it isn’t hard to see why Martin was given the honor. Coach Meat was also the primary recruiter for 4-star CB Jahlil Florence, 4-star CB Khamari Terrell, and 4-star S Trejon Williams in the 2022 class.

Here’s what 247Sports’ analyst Steve Wilftong had to say about Martin:

Oregon brings in the nation’s No. 8 class, tops in the Pac 12, with cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin assisting with some major wins on the trail.

None bigger than the one on the last day, National Signing Day, as the Ducks came out on top over USC for perhaps the fastest player in the class in Top247 cornerback Rodrick Pleasant. Martin was also the primary on Top247 cornerback Daylen Austin who flipped on LSU during the last day of the Early Signing Period.

Martin was the lead recruiter for his son in Top247 cornerback Cole Martin, and also was integral in gaining signatures from four-star safety Kodi Decambra, athlete Solomon Davis and cornerback Collin Gill.

Not only is Martin one of the best recruiters out west, but he is renowned for his development of players as well. We will get to see over the next year or two how quickly this secondary in Eugene can take a step forward and become one of the best in the Pac-12.

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Top-100 WR Aeryn Hampton puts Oregon among top schools

4-star WR Aeryn Hampton, the No. 77 player in the 2024 class, has Oregon among his top schools.

It’s starting to look like the wide receiver group in Oregon’s 2024 recruiting class could be pretty special.

Already, the Ducks have commitments from Jordan Anderson and Tysheer Denmark, the No. 84 and No. 87 players in the nation, respectively. Now Oregon has also landed in the top-7 for 4-star WR Aeryn Hampton, who is rated as the No. 77 overall player in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite.

Hampton is listed as an athlete, where he is the No. 7 at his position in the class, though he is expected to play on the offensive side of the ball in college.

There are several Crystal Balls already logged for Hampton on 247Sports, with the Alabama Crimson Tide currently favored to land the 5-foot-10, 175-pound receiver.

Oregon extended an offer to Hampton back in December, and he has yet to take a visit to Eugene, so we will see if that takes place over the coming months as he continues his recruitment.

Aeryn Hampton’s Recruiting Profile

In new era of the transfer portal, Dan Lanning knows that relationships are king

In this new world of the transfer portal, building and maintaining relationships can pay off down the road. Nobody knows that as well as Dan Lanning.

By almost any measure, the Oregon Ducks had an incredibly successfully year when it comes to recruiting in the 2023 cycle. They finished with the No. 8 class in the nation, the second-highest-rated class the school has ever seen, and they had the top-ranked class in the Pac-12 for the fifth consecutive year.. Considering that this all took place in Dan Lanning’s first full year on the job, that’s pretty impressive.

And to be completely honest, it could have been a lot better as well.

The Ducks signed one 5-star player in 2023 — WR Jurrion Dickey — but they were incredibly close to landing a handful of others. Take QB Dante Moore, or DL David Hicks, for example. Or look at ATH Nyckoles Harbor, or S Peyton Bowen, or RB Richard Young. All of those teams had the Ducks among their top 2 or 3 schools before making a decision. Moore flipped to UCLA; Hicks chose Texas A&M; Harbor committed to South Carolina. Bowen actually chose the Ducks, but hours later changed his mind and flipped to Oklahoma.

The point is that Lanning and his team were in the hunt for a lot of these players, but couldn’t quite close down the stretch.

Many may see that as a negative, but if you want to wake up this morning and choose to be an optimist, you can easily see the silver lining in it all.

In today’s world of college football where the transfer portal is incredibly prevalent, a lot of players end up having multiple recruitments, and multiple commitments. After starting their college careers at one place, sometimes they find that it doesn’t suit them — whether it be the culture or the amount of playing time that they’re getting — and another school might fit them better. In the cases where that does happen, schools — and coaches — with the best relationships with those players often jump to the front of the line in the second round of recruiting.

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A perfect example of this is South Carolina defensive end Jordan Burch transferring to Oregon this offseason. Burch, a former 5-star DE, was recruited heavily out of high school, and one of the schools he strongly considered was the Georgia Bulldogs, with Lanning leading the charge.

The Bulldogs didn’t end up getting Burch, but Lanning had that relationship built, and it ended up paying off a couple of years down the road.

“I think that it just shows that you never know when a relationship might go full circle,” Lanning said when talking to media members on Signing Day. “I know his work ethic, I know his demeanor and his approach and having a strong relationship. You know, four years ago, you never realize it’s gonna pay off down the road and come full circle like I said, but then it gives us a chance to be better. I’m really excited about him being here.”

Might this be the start of a trend that we see take place at Oregon?

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Take someone like Hicks, who was rated by 247Sports as the No. 7 player and No. 1 DL in the 2023 class. He developed a great relationship with Lanning, and took multiple visits to Eugene over the course of his recruitment. My sources from within the program tell me that he really wanted to commit to the Ducks, but in the end, a push from his family to stay closer to home at Texas A&M ended up winning out.

What if he doesn’t like College Station as much as he thought, and decides to enter the transfer portal a year or two down the road? What’s stopped the Ducks from being the favorite to land him should that happen?

Of course, none of this matters unless the highly-rated players that Oregon missed on end up entering the transfer portal. But should that happen, and these guys end up looking for a new home down the road, I like where the Ducks stand.

Why?

Because Dan Lanning knows that in the world of recruiting, relationships are king.

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5-star WR Jurrion Dickey highlighted as instant-impact player for Oregon in 2023

Can 5-star WR Jurrion Dickey have a role in Oregon’s offense as a true freshman in 2023?

In the world of college football where the transfer portal is as relevant as it is, life for incoming recruits and true freshmen has arguably gotten a bit tougher. Not only are coaching staffs now spending more time and resources on recruiting current college players who can help make an impact right away, but when a high school recruit does land at his new school, it may be a longer runway ahead of them before they can get on the field and be a difference-maker because of the propensity of transfers ahead of them on the depth chart.

Despite that, there are still a select number of incoming freshmen that are talented enough to not only see the field, but potentially have an impact on the team right away.

For the Oregon Ducks, 5-star wide receiver Jurrion Dickey has been tabbed as one of those players who could potentially make waves as a true freshman in Eugene.

Here’s what On3’s Charles Power had to say about Dickey:

Jurrion Dickey looked like the most physically and technically advanced wide receiver in the cycle throughout the offseason and early in the fall. The Oregon signee ended up missing most of his senior season with an injury, but he showed enough to indicate he’s primed to make an early impact if healthy. The 6-foot-2.5, 215-pounder has a complete skill set as an outside receiver. He’s an outstanding route-runner with the ability to drop his weight and change directions with ease. Dickey is physical and coordinated at the catch point and presents a big challenge for defenders in the open field with his play speed and ability to run through arm tackles. If he’s good to go, we expect Dickey to be catching passes in Eugene early on next season. Fellow Oregon signee safety Tyler Turner is another we could see making an early impact.

It will be incredibly tough for Dickey to get a lot of playing time as a freshman, as the WR spot in Eugene is deep and talented at the moment. Not only do you have guys like Troy Franklin and Kris Hutson returning as major contributors from 2022, but there are also guys like Kyler Kasper and Justius Lowe who are entering their second year after coming to the Ducks as highly-rated recruits. On top of that, Oregon brought in WR Traeshon Holden from Alabama, and WR Keyonteze Johnson from Troy.

In order for Dickey to move up the depth chart enough to have an impact in his first season, he’s going to need to be incredibly impressive. Fortunately, it seems like that’s entirely possible, with the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder ranking as the No. 2 WR in the 2023 class, and No. 21 overall player in the nation.

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