Oregon recruiting – Page 57 – Syndication Server

WATCH: Dan Lanning puts a perfect cap on eventful Ducks’ signing day

No better way to celebrate a historic signing day than with Ice Cube and a cigar.

You ever have a long, very successful day of work that you feel proud of? Maybe you had a big presentation, or there was an event that you were planning for, grinding it out for weeks on weeks in order to be prepared, and you ended up crushing it after all was said and done.

When that happens, you feel like blowing off some steam, don’t you?

That appears to have been the case for Oregon Ducks’ head coach Dan Lanning after what will go down as one of the best signing days in school history on Wednesday.

Lanning orchestrated a recruiting palooza that landed a pair of 5-star recruits in Eugene, as well as a total of four flips to go on top of a loaded class of commitments that were already locked in with the Ducks.

After seeing his team be named the biggest winner of the day by numerous recruiting websites, Lanning sat back on Wednesday night and put his feet up, deservedly so.

What did that look like?

The Oregon coach gave us a glimpse, with a cigar in his hand and Ice Cube playing in the background.

What the college football world is saying nationally about Oregon’s banner signing day

The Ducks were the talk of the college football world on Wednesday.

After the first day of the national signing period comes to a close, it’s pretty common to see recruiting websites put out a list of their biggest winners and losers from the day. They usually highlights schools and coaches who made up the most ground and got the biggest commitments, while others are acknowledge for dropping the ball before crossing the finish line.

No matter where you look after December 21, it will be hard to find anyone who is saying that a team had a better day than the Oregon Ducks.

Dan Lanning stole the show on Wednesday as the early signing period opened up, completing a total of four flips — two of which came from Notre Dame — and landing a pair of 5-star recruits in Peyton Bowen and Matayo Uiagalelei. On top of that, the Ducks also landed transfer portal OT Ajani Cornelius, while signing all but one member of their current commits, including 4-star WR Jurrion Dickey.

As you would guess, the Ducks were the talk of the town in the college football world, trending on social media from sunrise to sunset. Here’s a look at what some of the top national media members and the rest of the college football world is saying about the Ducks:

SIGNED: 5-star WR Jurrion Dickey is officially a Duck

5-star wide receiver Jurrion Dickey is officially a Duck. He is the second-highest rated WR to ever sign with the Ducks.

If you just heard a collective sigh of relieve throughout the city of Eugene, you probably weren’t imagining things. It came as a result of the Oregon Ducks watching 5-star wide receiver Jurrino Dickey putting pen to paper and making it official that he is coming to Oregon in 2023 to play college football.

Dickey, the No. 2 WR in the 2023 class and No. 14 overall player in the nation, officially signed his national letter of intent on Wednesday. Dickey is the 9th highest-rated player to ever sign with the Ducks, and the second-highest-rated WR, only behind Cameron Colvin.

At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Dickey will come to Eugene next season with chances to be an instant-impact player, bringing a dynamic skill set that will complement the other receivers on Oregon’s roster well — particularly Troy Franklin.

There are a lot of big names in Oregon’s 2023 recruiting class, but none may be more enthralling than Jurrion Dickey. He is now officially a Duck.

Jurrion Dickey’s Signing Day Profile

Identifying the biggest winners, most impressive wins on Oregon Ducks’ historic signing day

The Ducks just had arguably the best signing day in program history. Here are our biggest winners and most impactful wins from the day.

No matter how you want to look at it, the notion that the Oregon Ducks aren’t the biggest winner coming out of the first day of the early signing period in college football is bordering on insanity.

The Ducks entered the last 48 hours with some tough recruiting news after the loss of 5-star QB Dante Moore, holding the No. 14 ranked recruiting class in the nation. After Wednesday, they now hold the No. 7 class in the nation and were able to pull off some of the biggest flips and commitments of the entire day.

It started early with the flip of 4-star Baylor Bears QB Austin Novosad. Not too long after the surprising flip came from Notre Dame’s 5-star safety Peyton Bowen, which was soon accompanied by a commitment from 5-star EDGE Matayo Uiagalelei. After a little bit of time passed, 4-star LSU CB Daylen Austin announced that he was flipping to Oregon, and then 4-star Notre Dame RB Jayden Limar completed his flip to the Ducks early in the afternoon.

On top of all of that drama, the Ducks were able to sign a majority of the players who were already committed to Oregon, losing only 4-star CB Caleb Presley in an expected flip to Washington.

The afternoon was capped off with a commitment from OT Ajani Cornelius, one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal, giving the Ducks a potential starter on the offensive line.

Not a bad day, huh?

That’s an understatement. It could very well go down as the best signing day in Oregon history, with the Ducks starting out as the No. 14 class in the nation and finishing well within the top 10.

Here are some of the biggest winners and individual wins from the day:

Despite losing 4 starters, Oregon’s offensive line could be a major strength in 2023

The Ducks are losing 4 starters on the OL this offseason. To retool, they turned around and picked up two of the top transfer portal lineman on the board.

By any metric you want to look at, it’s pretty easy to see that the Oregon Ducks had one of the best offensive lines in the nation last season. They were loaded with veteran leaders on the offensive front, utilizing the experience of guys like Alex Forsyth, T.J. Bass, Ryan Walk, and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu. Oregon gave up only four sacks all season, which was the best in the nation.

Unfortunately for Duck fans, it seemed early in the offseason like that may have been the mountain-top for OL play in Eugene. With four of those veterans leaving Eugene after exhausting their collegiate eligibility, it leaves only LG Marcus Harper as the returning starter.

Sure, there are guys like Josh Conerly, Jackson Powers-Johnson, and a handful of other younger players who have some experience playing in games, but it’s no secret that the Ducks don’t have the same depth and experience going into 2023 as they did going into 2022.

It’s a good thing the transfer portal exists, isn’t it?

Both Dan Lanning and offensive line coach Adrian Klemm attacked that need for the Ducks this offseason, and the early returns have been spectacular for Oregon. On Tuesday night, former Texas Longhorns OL Junior Angilua announced that he would transfer to the Ducks, and Wednesday afternoon saw former Rhode Island OT Ajani Cornelius do the same.

Angilua started 34 games across multiple spots on the line during three seasons in Austin, and was named a team captain for the Longhorns, as well as a Preseason Big-12 All-American in 2022 before an injury sidelined him for the year.

As for Cornelius, he is among the most highly-coveted players in the transfer portal this off-season, and has held offers from some of the top Power-5 schools in the nation, including Tennessee, Ohio State, Nebraska, Miami, and Penn State.

When it comes to new coaching staffs who haven’t had a few years to stack recruiting classes on top of each other and build up a depth chart full of their own guys, losing a group of seniors at a single position could be catastrophic, with not many places to turn. However, Lanning and Klemm took the opportunity to attack the transfer portal this offseason and get the offensive line back to a strength for the offense with a couple of big-time commitments.

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‘Maturity, power, intelligence;’ Dan Lanning’s Ducks score huge win with Ajani Cornelius

The news came out on Wednesday afternoon that former Rhode Island offensive tackle Ajani Cornelius would be signing with the Oregon Ducks and heading to Eugene for the remainder of his college career.

If you’re a Duck fan who isn’t currently celebrating, you had better start jumping for joy.

Cornelius was one of the most highly-coveted players in the transfer portal this offseason, garnering offers from some of the biggest schools in the Power 5 conferences, including the Miami Hurricanes, Ohio State Buckeyes, Tennessee Volunteers, and many, many others.

Standing at 6-foot-5 and over 300 pounds, Cornelius comes to Eugene with a chance to be a Day 1 starter on the Oregon offensive line, acting as an instant impact player who can help retool the Ducks’ front after losing four of five starters from the 2022 season. He brings 22 games of starting experience with him, as well as some character traits that will make him a veteran presence in the locker room.

“Maturity, power, intelligence,” a source told me of Cornelius on Tuesday. “He steps on campus ready to make an immediate impact.”

Here’s a closer look at who the Ducks are getting with the latest addition to their roster:

BREAKING: Rhode Island OT Ajani Cornelius commits to Oregon Ducks

The Ducks just landed arguably the most coveted player in the 2023 transfer portal. OT Ajani Cornelius is coming to Oregon.

The Oregon Ducks have officially landed arguably the most coveted player in the transfer portal this offseason, getting a verbal commitment from offensive tackle Ajani Cornelius, a former Rhode Island Ram.

Cornelius has made waves in the transfer portal this offseason, garnering attention from some of the top Power 5 schools in the nation and receiving scholarship offers from places like Oregon, Tennessee, Ohio State, Nebraska, South Carolina, Penn State, and many others.

He was the feature of a piece from The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, who tabbed Cornelius as the “hottest commodity in the portal” this year. Now he is a Duck and will be coming to Eugene for the 2023 season.

Cornelius started the last 22 straight games at tackle for Rhode Island, and standing at 6-foot-4, 315 pounds, he projects to instantly come to Oregon and insert himself into the offensive line as a Day 1 starter. This was a big need for the Ducks to address over the offseason, with four of their five starters from the 2022 season moving on from Eugene.

Now with projections that former 5-star OT Josh Conerly Jr. will start at one tackle position, while Cornelius starts at the other, the Ducks’ offensive line is shaping up nicely for the 2023 campaign.

Ajani Cornelius Transfer Portal Profile

Ducks flip 4-star RB Jayden Limar from Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Massive recruiting win for Carlos Locklyn and the Ducks, flipping 4-star RB Jayden Limar from Notre Dame.

The Oregon Ducks scored another massive win in the recruiting world on Wednesday, landing a verbal commitment from 4-star running back Jayden Limar, who was previously committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish since May of 2022.

Limar is rated as the No. 3 player in the state of Washington, and is viewed by 247Sports as the No. 16 RB in the 2023 class. He has been on multiple visits to Eugene over the past couple of years and has developed a close relationship with both Dan Lanning and Oregon RB coach Carlos Locklyn.

This recruiting flip does not come as a major surprise, with On3’s Justin Hopkins logging a prediction for it to happen earlier this month.

Limar is now the second RB in Oregon’s 2023 recruiting class, joining 4-star RB Dante Dowdell, who is rated as the No. 6 RB in the class.

Jayden Limar’s Recruiting Profile

SIGNED: 4-star defensive lineman Johnny Bowens is officially a Duck

Oregon ventures into Texas and signs 4-star defensive lineman Johnny Bowens and beats out Texas A&M, Miami, and others.

It’s no surprise that Oregon head coach Dan Lanning is recruiting and in the case of Johnny Bowens, signing top defensive talent.

This time, Lanning went into the vast land of Texas and found the 6-foot3, 265-pound defensive lineman out of Converse.

Nearly every school in Texas, including Texas A&M, Baylor and Houston, wanted to sign Bowens, not to mention Miami. At his size, Bowens could either bulk up and be an interior lineman or slim down and be an edge rusher/linebacker hybrid.

Most recruiting services have Bowens as a Top 30 defensive lineman and a Top 50 player overall in that recruiting hotbed of Texas.

Ducks get commitment from 3-star ATH Solomon Davis

The Oregon Ducks picked up another verbal commitment on the day, landing 3-star ATH Solomon Davis.

The Oregon Ducks got a commitment on Wednesday that may not make waves in the recruiting world but is one of the more impactful additions on signing day, with the staff working hard to close this one down the stretch.

3-star athlete Solomon Davis announced that he would officially commit to Dan Lanning and the Ducks, making the change from the Arizona Wildcats just a couple of weeks after announcing his decommitment.

Davis is rated by 247Sports as the No. 36 ATH and No. 573 overall player in the nation.

After taking a visit to Oregon earlier in December, it was felt that the Ducks had a strong lean from Davis to get a commitment. Davis also took a visit to Stanford this last weekend and was said to have loved the experience, but Dan Lanning was able to get him to commit to the Ducks in the end.

Tag: Oregon recruiting