Tag: Oregon recruiting

Nation’s No. 2 ATH Samuel M’Pemba pushes back official visit with Ducks

Samuel M’Pemba was set to be one of Oregon’s marquee visitors in June, but he’s pushing his OV back.

We aren’t sure of the reasoning yet, but one of the best players in the 2023 recruiting class, five-star athlete Samuel M’Pemba, will not take his official visit to the Oregon Ducks later this month as planned.

M’Pemba announced on Thursday night that his official visit set for June 24 will be pushed back to later in the summer.

M’Pemba, who stands at 6 feet, 4 inches and 230 pounds, is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 2 athlete and No. 16 overall player in the 2023 class. He was set to be one of the marquee members of a recruiting weekend that featured numerous five-star players, including Kadyn Proctor, Richard Young and Jayden Wayne.

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Samuel M’Pemba’s Recruiting Profile

Ducks seemingly fall out of running for 4-star QB Jaden Rashada

Jaden Rashada delayed his commitment to later this month, but the Ducks seem to be out of the running.

There’s been a feeling over the past month or so that the Oregon Ducks had fallen out of the running in the recruitment for 4-star quarterback Jaden Rashada, and on Thursday afternoon, you could argue that was confirmed.

When announcing his decision to push back his commitment from June 17 to June 26, Rashada — the No. 5 QB and No. 29 player in the 2022 class, per 247Sports — listed five schools that are still in the mix.

The Ducks were not one of them. Instead, it was Texas A&M, Florida, Miami, Ole Miss, and LSU. It seems that Rashada will choose between those five schools, with the heavy belief being that the Gators and Hurricanes lead the race.

If you’re an Oregon fan that was still under the impression that Rashada to Eugene was a real possibility, this may be an abrupt realization, but the writing has been on the wall for a few weeks now. According to insiders across the board — notably Justin Hopkins with ScoopDuck, On3 — word is that the Ducks have fallen off of the Rashada train, knowing that they would have to pay significantly on the NIL side of things in order to land him. Instead, the Ducks are ramping up their efforts to land 5-star QB Dante Moore or potentially 4-star QB Avery Johnson.

Moore is expected to take his recruitment into the fall, while Johnson is expected to visit Oregon later this month. From here, though, it seems that those are the names to focus on when it comes to the Ducks’ potential QB future.

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Ducks trending in a big way for trio of 5-star recruits ahead of major recruiting weekend

The Oregon Ducks have turned some heads in the 2023 recruiting cycle, and they are trending in a big way for this trio of 5-star players.

The Oregon Ducks have been picking up steam on the recruiting trail for a couple of months now, and they’re really starting to turn some heads.

With a pair of major recruiting weekends schedule for the end of June, starting this week, we can expect to see a number of five-star players on campus in Eugene. However, Dan Lanning and the Ducks have recently gotten some praise for how they’ve done with a trio of big-time recruits.

RELATED: All of the elite recruiting prospects visiting Ducks in June

Not only did Oregon land 4-star WR Jurrion Dickey — who has impressed lately and could move up to a 5-star before all is said and done — but they’ve also gotten in good with elite players like QB Dante Moore, RB Richard Young, and OT Samson Okunlola.

Here is what 247Sports Recruiting Director Steve Wiltfong had to say about Oregon’s recruitment for those three players:

‘Pitt is where I needed to be;’ 4-star PG Dior Johnson explains decision to de-commit from Oregon

“Having an elite leader like [Coach Jeff Capel], after us talking I knew Pitt is where I needed to be.”

The last week or so has brought a lot of news on the Oregon Ducks basketball front, particular when it comes to one — former, now — player.

That player is Dior Johnson, who is rated by 247Sports as the No. 7 PG in the 2022 class, and No. 37 player overall in the nation. After committing to join the Ducks last summer and signing his national letter of intent in the fall, Johnson asked out of that NLI recently and was granted his release.

RELATED: Ducks drop in recruiting rankings after Dior Johnson leaves

Johnson de-committed from Oregon last week, and on Sunday, announced a new top-3 that included the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Pittsburgh Panthers, and Washington State Cougars.

On Monday, he announced his commitment to Pittsburgh.

A lot of Duck fans can connect a few dots to see the reasons behind Johnson’s decision to leave. As one of the top players in the 2022 class, Johnson projects to be a starting player, and major contributor wherever he goes. However, the Ducks brought back veteran PG Will Richardson this offseason, as well as incoming transfer guards Keeshawn Barthelemy and Jermaine Couisnard. It’s safe to say that Johnson was going to be fighting hard for minutes on the floor.

After his commitment to Pittsburgh, though, the phenom high schooler explained to ESPN the reasoning that went into his decision ultimately.

“I was looking for a coach to challenge me and hold me in high account,” Johnson said to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. “I still have some things to work on and another level to tap into, in all phases of the game. Coach [Jeff] Capel has a great track record and was a great player himself. I honestly feel like he’s going to pour into me as a person and player. Having an elite leader like himself, after us talking I knew Pitt is where I needed to be.”

This is not the first time that Johnson picked a school and then changed his mind. He committed to play at Syracuse in February 2020 but elected to change gears after nine months and reopened his recruitment, eventually settling on Oregon in June 2021. A year later, he again elected to reopen his recruitment, quickly deciding to commit to Capel and the Panthers.

“Deep down I’m a young man that loves this game of basketball and it’s allowed me to do so much, early in my career,” Johnson said. “I also understand that to put myself in the best position possible, you need to be led by truth-worthy, high-character men and Jeff Capel is that.”

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4-star Oregon commit Jurrion Dickey continues to turn heads

Oregon commit Jurrion Dickey continues to turn heads this spring, and could potentially earn a 5th-star before all is said and done.

It’s starting to look like Oregon’s 4-star wide receiver commit Jurrion Dickey could turn into a 5-star WR before long.

In the wake of his commitment to the Ducks, Dickey has been impressive this spring, showing out at a number of recruiting showcases across the nation. Most recently, he was at the OT7 in Las Vegas playing with his 7-on-7 team, and he left those in attendance with some high marks, and reason for Oregon fans to get excited.

Here is the takeaway from Adam Gorney, the National Recruiting Director for Rivals.com:

Someone came up to me and said Oregon commit was better than “all those South Florida receivers” as the four-star is playing with the Miami Immortals this weekend. I watched the San Jose (Calif.) Valley Christian standout completely dominate his game late on Thursday and I’m starting to become an even bigger believer.

The Oregon wide receiver commit has a filled-out 6-foot-2 frame, he’s fast, sudden, competitive and he makes really tough catches look really easy. There’s also something about his personality where he wants to dominate and show how good he is. Maybe Dickey needs to show a little more over time to be a five-star but currently ranked No. 23 at receiver nationally is way too low.

According to 247Sports, Dickey is currently ranked as the No. 10 WR in the 2023 class, and No. 59 player overall. He stands as one of the marquee members of Oregon’s 2023 recruiting class, which currently is ranked as high as No. 10 in the nation, according to On3.

Should Dickey continue to impress, and even put it all together for his senior high school season this fall, there seems to be a good chance that he will climb up the recruiting rankings and potentially earn a fifth star next to his name.

If that does happen, Oregon fans should be even more excited to get him in Eugene.

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Elite 4-star DL out of Maryland includes Oregon Ducks in top-5

4-star DL Dashawn Womack, one of the top-ranked players from Baltimore, placed the Ducks in his top-5.

We’ve seen a trend recently of the Oregon Ducks getting into the recruiting mix for top prospects late in the game, but making up ground quickly. That is understandable when you consider the fact that a new coaching staff in Eugene is still working to catch up on lost time.

The quick ground coverage is certainly the case when it comes to 4-star DL Dashawn Womack, an elite player out of the state of Maryland. Oregon extended an offer to Womack on May 2 of this year, and Womack turned around and put the Ducks in his top-5 this weekend despite not taking a visit to Eugene just yet.

According to 247Sports, Womack is ranked as the No. 13 DL and No. 106 player in the 2023 class.

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Dashawn Womack’s Recruiting Profile

Breaking: 2022 5-star guard Dior Johnson to decommit from Oregon

5-star guard Dior Johnson decommitted from the Oregon Ducks and will look for a new school to begin his college career.

When Oregon Ducks guard Will Richardson withdrew from the 2022 NBA draft and returned to Eugene, there were immediately questions about how Dana Altman would find playing time for the bevy of talented playmakers.

That question got a little bit easier to answer on Thursday after a report from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony indicated that Dior Johnson, a five-star prospect and the No. 4 ranked point guard in the class of 2022, plans to decommit from the Ducks and explore other college options.

Johnson saw a once wide open backcourt situation in Eugene gradually fill up with transfers and returners, clouding up his path to immediate playing time for the Ducks.

When the season ended, Johnson looked in line to potentially start as a true freshman for Oregon in 2022. Jacob Young was out the door, Will Richardson was exploring the NBA draft, and Eric Williams and De’Vion Harmon both entered the transfer portal and found new homes at San Diego and Texas Tech, respectively.

However, Altman and his staff struck quickly via the portal, adding Jermaine Couisnard out of South Carolina and Keeshawn Barthelemy from Colorado.

Those two additions, along with the two junior college guards – Tyrone Williams and Brennan Rigsby – would have been enough to make any young guard reconsider his decision.

The return of Rivaldo Soares didn’t help matters, and the final nail in the coffin was almost certainly the return of Richardson, who immediately steps into the role of primary ball-handler for Altman’s squad.

Johnson will have no shortage of interest among the premier college basketball programs in the country, although finding a situation with a clear path to playing time – on a Power-5 team – may be a challenge at this late stage of the offseason.

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No. 1 player in Hawaii schedules official visit to Oregon, joining Ducks’ massive recruiting weekend

Add 4-star LB Liona Lefau — the top-ranked player in Hawaii — to the star-studded list of visitors in June.

The Oregon Ducks have done well recruiting the state of Hawaii’s best player. He has scheduled one of his five official visits to Eugene for a mega recruiting weekend at the end of June.

Four-star linebacker Liona Lefau, who is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 1 player in Hawaii, announced he plans to take an official visit to Oregon on June 24. Lefau will be among some of the best players in the nation. Among those visiting that weekend are five-star Richard Young, five-star Jayden Wayne, five-star Kadyn Proctor, five-star David Hicks and five-star Samuel M’Pemba.

Lefau is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 15 LB in the 2023 class and the No. 190 player overall. The Ducks are among the favorites to land him, but we will wait to see how this recruiting weekend goes for Oregon.

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Liona Lefau’s Recruiting Profile

Oregon Ducks climb into top-10 of On3 Recruiting rankings; USC Trojans No. 1

The Ducks are moving up in the 2023 recruiting rankings, now being placed inside the top-10 according to On3.

Every recruiting site that you’re going to look at is a little bit different. Some sites will rank teams according to their total number of recruits, and reward quantity over quality. Others will look at how many high-end recruits you have in your class, and value that higher than a school who has a class full of 20 3-star players.

While 247Sports may do things one way, the new On3 Recruiting service does things another. They tend to reward teams for getting commitments from blue-chip prospects, even if there are only a handful.

Recently, On3 released their new team rankings for the 2023 class, and there was a shift at the top, which will make a couple of Pac-12 teams pretty happy.

At the top, the USC Trojans took over the No. 1 spot, replacing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Not too far down the list, the Oregon Ducks moved into the top-10, while they are ranked as low as in the mid-20’s according to some other sites.

Here are the full top-10 rankings, according to On3 Recruiting:

No. 1 EDGE in 2024, Colin Simmons, schedules visit to Oregon for this summer

The No. 1 player in Texas and No. 1 EDGE in the 2024 class is coming to Eugene for a visit

Many Oregon fans are focused on the high-profile list of future stars who will be making a visit to the Ducks’ campus near the end of June, but Dan Lanning and Co. just added another talented visit for a month later.

5-star Colin Simmons, the No. 1 ranked EDGE in the 2024 class, announced on Friday that he would be taking an unofficial visit to Oregon on July 29-30. At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Simmons is the No. 1 ranked player in the state of Texas and is the No. 18 player in the 2024 class, per 247Sports.

It is too early in his recruitment for Simmons to have a list of top schools, but he has some high profile offers from the usual heavy-hitters — Alabama, Georgia, USC, Miami, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and many more.

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Colin Simmons’ Recruiting Profile