Tag: Oregon recruiting

Oregon Ducks land 4-star WR Ashton Cozart, flipping him from Oklahoma Sooners

Big time flip for the Ducks. Ashton Cozart is committing to Oregon after previously committing to the Oklahoma Sooners.

The Oregon Ducks landed a massive recruit on Sunday afternoon, getting a commitment from 4-star WR Ashton Cozart, who was previously verbally committed to the Oklahoma Sooners.

Cozart is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 17 WR in the 2023 class, and No. 140 player overall.

Going into the weekend, there was a feeling that the Ducks might be able to make some noise in the recruitment for Cozart, who was visiting Eugene despite Oklahoma coach Brent Venables’ stance on commits visiting other schools, and after some comments from the 4-star recruit over the weekend, it became clear that he might be trending towards the Ducks.

With the commitment, Oregon now has 5 players in their 2023 class. Cozart joins 4-star WR Jurrion Dickey, 4-star RB Dante Dowdell, 4-star CB Cole Martin, and 3-star DL Tevita Pome’e.

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Oregon becomes new favorite to flip 4-star WR Ashton Cozart from Oklahoma Sooners

We may be on “Flip-Watch” in Eugene. Oregon is trending for 4-star WR Ashton Cozart in a big way.

A lot has happened over the past couple of days when it comes to the recruitment of 4-star wide receiver Ashton Cozart. Earlier this week, Cozart announced that he would be taking a visit to Eugene to see the Oregon Ducks, despite being committed to the Oklahoma Sooners since February.

Now that he is in Eugene, the pieces are starting to fall into place for a potential flip. If you look at the 247Sports Crystal Ball predictor, 247Sports Director of Football Recruiting Steve Wiltfong put in his pick for Oregon first on Friday afternoon. Oklahoma insiders Brandon Drumm and Parker Thune have also followed suit, as has Scott Eklund of the 247Sports’ Washington site and Mike Roach of the 247Sports’ Texas site.

Even over at On3 Recruiting, there is a new leader in the clubhouse when it comes to potential landing spots for Cozart.

It it ends up playing out that way, the flip would be huge for the Ducks. Cozart is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 17 WR in the 2023 class, and No. 140 player overall. With 4-star WR Jurrion Dickey already committed, this would further strengthen the Ducks’ 2023 class.

It’s also encouraging to see what Oregon can do when trying to flip a commitment. We got a glimpse in January under this new coaching staff when they got 4-star RB Jordan James to flip his commitment from the Georgia Bulldogs to Oregon. As well, they didn’t technically flip because neither 5-star OT Josh Conerly nor 4-star CB Jahlil Florence was ever committed to USC, but both ended up choosing the Ducks over the Trojans at the very end in a tight battle.

We will see how things play out in the Cozart situation over the coming days, but at the moment, there is some nice momentum in Eugene.

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Ashton Cozart’s Recruiting Profile

4-star safety Tyler Turner lists Oregon Ducks, Oklahoma Sooners as finalists ahead of commitment

The Ducks first offered Tyler Turner less than 3 weeks ago. Since then, he’s visited Eugene, and placed Oregon as one of his final two schools.

Less than a month ago, the Oregon Ducks extended an offer to Texas safety Tyler Turner, a 4-star player from the San Antonio area. Not long after that offer, Turner took a trip to Eugene to check out the campus and meet the coaching staff.

Now, just a week after his visit, Turner has announced the final two candidates for his recruitment — Oregon and the Oklahoma Sooners.

I guess you could say that the visit went well.

Turner stands at 6-feet tall, 180 pounds, and is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 39 S in the nation, and No. 441 player overall. He has not yet announced when he will be making his final decision, but we can feel confident about Oregon’s chances down to the wire.

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Tyler Turner’s Recruiting Profile

5-star Samuel M’Pemba, No. 2 ATH in 2023, sets official visit to Oregon Ducks

5-star ATH Samuel M’Pemba is one of the best players in the 2023 class. He will be taking one of his official visits to Oregon this summer.

The conversation surrounding the Oregon Ducks and blue-chip athlete Samuel M’Pemba has been cold for a couple of months, but that changed on Wednesday when the No. 2 ATH in the 2023 class announced that he will be taking an official visit to Eugene in the month of June to see Dan Lanning and the Ducks’ coaching staff.

M’Pemba is an elite athlete who is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 16 overall player in the 2023 class. Standing at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, M’Pemba projects to play anywhere he’s needed at the next level. At IMG Academy, he worked as a slot wide receiver and is focusing on the defensive side of the ball in his senior year, mostly at the EDGE position.

During the season last year, M’Pemba released his top-12 schools, and a week later retracted and added the Oregon Ducks to the mix.

With M’Pemba taking one of his official visits to Eugene, you can assume that Oregon is still in his top schools, and we’ll see how strong of a candidate they are as he gets closer to his commitment.

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Samuel M’Pemba’s Recruiting Profile

5-star QB Jaden Rashada lists Oregon Ducks inside top-7

5-star QB Jaden Rashada is down to 7, and will be making his commitment in June.

Fresh off of a visit to the city of Eugene over the weekend to spend time with Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks coaching staff, 5-star quarterback Jaden Rashada had an announcement on Tuesday.

He released his top-7, and the Ducks were placed prominently in the mix, alongside LSU, Miami, Ole Miss, Florida, Cal, and Texas A&M.

Oregon has been in the mix for Rashada for several months now as they look to add a top QB prospect to their 2023 recruiting class. It was thought that they had a good shot to land 5-star Nico Iamaleava Jr. before he committed to the Tennessee Volunteers, but now they are strongly recruiting both Rashada and fellow 5-star QB Dante Moore, who was also recently on campus in Eugene.

Rashada has said that he plans to take several visits over the summer and announce his commitment in the coming year, but he is going through with the entire process, so we shouldn’t expect any more major news for a little bit.

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Jaden Rashada’s Recruiting Profile

WATCH: Oregon 4-star commit Jurrion Dickey shows out, named ‘Alpha Dog’ at recruiting camp

4-star Oregon commit Jurrion Dickey put on a show this past week at a recruiting camp in California.

Oregon Duck fans got some great news a couple of weeks ago when 4-star wide receiver Jurrion Dickey announced his commitment to come to Eugene to play his college ball.

Dickey, who stands at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 8 WR in the nation, and No. 59 player overall, but many recruiting analysts believe that he will likely climb in those rankings and potentially earn a 5th star this coming season as a senior.

Those are some big expectations, but this past week Dickey showed why many think it’s possible. At the UC Report Elite Underclassmen Combine in Northern California, Dickey put on an impressive display of what he’s capable of.

The performance was impressive enough for 247Sports recruiting analyst Greg Biggins to name Dickey the ‘Alpha Dog’ at the camp, standing above the rest.

“It’s always fun seeing guys like Dickey attend camps when they really have nothing to prove,” Biggins said, via Scorebook Live. “He has already committed to Oregon and the All-American Bowl but wanted to come out just to get in some work and compete. He did all five testing metrics, looked great in position drills and dominated in one-on-ones. When looking at Dickey, it’s tough to find any real weaknesses there. He has a rock-solid 6-2 frame, has both short-area quickness and long speed, is very physical, has strong hands, and plays with a nice edge in his game. He’s a highly competitive kid and is a player we think can come in and make an immediate impact at the next level.”

Music to Oregon fan’s ears. It will be entertaining to watch Dickey’s progression over the next handful of months as he finishes out his high school career and gets prepared to come to Eugene ready to compete. By the looks of it, he should be able to have an instant impact with the Ducks next season.

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Oregon 4-star target Collins Acheampong draws comparison to Jadeveon Clowney

Oregon Ducks target Collins Acheampong drew a comparison to No. 1 pick Jadeveon Clowney in a recent ESPN article.

ESPN recently compiled a list of some of the top-300 remaining recruits in the class of 2023, picking a current NFL star to compare each recruit to.

That is a particularly difficult task when discussing two-way prospect Collins Acheampong, who is set to visit the Oregon Ducks this weekend.

ESPN acknowledged Acheampong, who played tight end and defensive end in high school and could reasonably play both at the next level, is a unique challenge — but it settled on a name that will certainly raise eyebrows in Eugene: former No. 1 NFL pick and Pro Bowl defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.

“Clowney was already established as an elite prospect and rated No. 1 heading into his senior year, so this might seem like a bit of a stretch,” authors Tom Luginbill and Craig Haubert acknowledged. “In many ways, though, this also seems like a natural fit.”

Acheampong hasn’t played since his freshman year of high school, so he certainly will not be a finished product the way Clowney was coming into college at South Carolina. But as ESPN points out — some of the measurables are strikingly similar:

“Both are towering, lengthy edge defenders with nearly identical reach and hand sizes. Beyond the size, the 6-foot-7, 235-pound Acheampong blends equally impressive speed and agility, posting a similar L-drill (7.33) time this spring to Clowney’s at the NFL combine (7.27).”

Acheampong is being recruited by UCLA and Washington, as well as Michigan and Miami, but Dan Lanning’s comfort with two-way players — and his recent string of successes on the recruiting trail — could help seal another big win for the Ducks this offseason.

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Oregon’s Carlos Locklyn has proven immense recruiting value in early tenure with Ducks

Carlos Locklyn is on a heater. With the addition of 4-star Dante Dowdell, Oregon’s haul of players at the RB position is impressive.

When the Oregon Ducks hired Dan Lanning as the head coach early in December of 2021, it was widely believed he would continue the run of recruiting success built under Mario Cristobal and the former staff.

It turns out the impressive staff Lanning has put together in Eugene has a ceiling that may be even higher.

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One coach who has clearly proved his worth early in his tenure is running back coach Carlos Locklyn. The former Western Kentucky and Memphis coach has hit the ground running in Eugene. After the commitment from four-star running back Dante Dowdell on Friday afternoon, it’s clear Oregon’s history of talented rushers has a great chance to continue.

With Locklyn at the helm of the backfield, here are some of the RB moves the Ducks have made in the past few months:

Jordan James

  • Four-star RB, Georgia flip
  • No. 16 RB in 2022, No. 195 overall player

Noah Whittington

  • Transfer from Western Kentucky
  • 719 total yards, 2 TD in two seasons

Mar’kiese ‘Bucky’ Irving

  • Transfer from Minnesota
  • 772 yards, 4 TD in freshman season

Dante Dowdell

  • Four-star RB, chose Ducks over Ole Miss, Tennessee
  • No. 20 RB in 2023, No. 298 player overall

Those additions to the roster don’t take into account potentially two of the biggest roster moves that the Ducks have made this off-season — persuading both Seven McGee and Sean Dollars to withdraw their names from the transfer portal and return to Eugene.

Lanning’s coaching staff is loaded with individuals who can create relationships with young players and inspire them to join a movement going on at Oregon. Thus far, Locklyn has been as impressive as anyone for his ability to bring elite rushers to carry on the legacy of dominant RBs in Eugene.

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Where Oregon stands in 2023 rankings after commitment from 4-star RB Dante Dowdell

Dante Dowdell is the No. 20 RB in the 2023 class, so where does his commitment put Oregon in the national recruiting rankings?

The Oregon Ducks received a big-time recruiting commitment on Friday afternoon, with four-star running back Dante Dowdell announcing he plans to play his college ball in Eugene.

Dowdell, who is the No. 20 RB and No. 298 player overall in the 2023 class, chose the Ducks over Ole Miss and Tennessee. He joins four-star cornerback Cole Martin, four-star wide receiver Jurrion Dickey and three-star defensive lineman Tevita Pome’e in the Oregon’s recruit class.

The commitment from Dowdell didn’t move the Ducks up in the Pac-12 recruiting rankings, but it gave them a significant bump in the national 2023 class rankings. They went into Friday ranked No. 37 according to 247Sports. So where do they stand now?

Let’s take a look…

Top unsigned OL in Washington places Oregon Ducks in recruiting cutdown

The best unsigned OL in the state of Washington is down to five schools, with the Oregon Ducks firmly in the mix.

One thing that Dan Lanning and his coaching staff emphasized when taking over with the Oregon Ducks was that they needed to do whatever they could to keep the northwest’s most talented players close to home during their college years.

So far, things seem to be going according to plan, with Landen Hatchett, a 3-star offensive lineman, cutting his schools down to 5 and including the Ducks in the mix.

Hatchett is a 6-foot-3, 295-pound IOL who is ranked as the No. 2 lineman in the state of Washington. According to 247Sports, he is the No. 46 IOL in the 2023 class, and No. 678 player overall.

In Hatchett’s top-5, the Ducks are among three Pac-12 schools to make the cut, alongside Washington and USC. Hatchett is also planning to take official visits to the Michigan Wolverines and Texas A&M Aggies.

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Landen Hatchett’s Recruiting Profile