Oregon Signing Day – Page 2 – Syndication Server

SIGNED: 4-star JUCO OL George Silva is officially a Duck

4-star George Silva, the No. 1 JUCO OT in the 2023 class, is headed to Eugene.

His name may not draw the same buzz as a Kadyn Proctor or Ajani Cornelius on the recruiting trail, but the Oregon Ducks just got one of the best available offensive linemen in this 2023 class.

4-star JUCO OL George Silva signed his national letter of intent with the Ducks, joining Adrian Klemm and Co. in Eugene.

Silva is rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 JUCO OT in the 2023 class, and the No. 3 JUCO player overall. While he may be rarely talked about in the recruiting world, it’s clear that there are few linemen with as high of a ceiling as someone like Silva.

Standing at 6-foot-7, 295 pounds, Silva is a big body that OL coach Adrian Klemm can work with to potentially get into the starting lineup in 2023 and beyond.

George Silva’s Signing Day Profile

SIGNED: 4-star defensive end Blake Purchase is officially a Duck

Oregon believes it may have signed the next great Duck linebacker with the No. 1 recruit in Colorado Blake Purchase.

Oregon is quickly making it a habit of signing the No. 1 recruit out of Colorado. First, it was tight end Terrence Ferguson. Now it’s linebacker Blake Purchase.

The Ducks will definitely have a need at linebacker in 2023 and definitely in 2024. Noah Sewell might be gone after this season, Justin Flowe transferred, Iowa transfer Jestin Jacobs has just one year of eligibility left as does Mase Funa.

So there is a spot that could be ripe for the taking for Purchase. In his three seasons on the varsity level, Purchase has been credited with 158 tackles and 38 sacks. With a little more weight, he could turn into an edge rusher for the Oregon defense.

Dan Lanning and the Ducks were named the big winners of early signing day

Everyone agrees Oregon was a huge winner on Signing Day.

The world seemed to be ending when Dante Moore flipped his commitment from Oregon to UCLA earlier this week. But after what the Ducks were able to accomplish on Wednesday during the early signing period, Oregon fans didn’t seem to care about Moore going to Pasadena as much as they used to.

Instead, Dan Lanning pulled up his bootstraps and orchestrated the best single day of recruiting in Oregon history, and he is seemingly not quite finished.

But until more sign on, many of the recruiting services consider Oregon one of the big winners on signing day. According to writer Andrew Ivins of 247Sports:

Shortly after 8 a.m. on the East Coast, news broke that Top247 quarterback Austin Novosad was flipping from Baylor to Oregon. Most Ducks fans on the West Coast were probably asleep, but that’s OK because that Novosad flip was really just a preview for what was to come next.

In the span of roughly six hours, Oregon went from holding the nation’s No. 14-ranked recruiting class to the No. 7 class in the land as they beat out USC and Ohio State for five-star edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei before flipping both Top247 safety Peyton Bowen and four-star running back Jayden Limar from Notre Dame. Oregon is still waiting on Bowen’s LOI at time of this article. The Ducks were also able to pry Top247 cornerback Daylen Austin away from LSU.

Not a bad day at the office for Dan Lanning, who has Oregon in prime position to sign just its third top 10-ranked recruiting class in the past 10 years.

While the Ducks are riding high, in the famous words of Ace Ventura, “In every contest, there must be a loser.” According to Ivins, one of those losers is former Oregon coach Mario Cristobal.

“No program entered Wednesday hotter than the Miami Hurricanes; you could practically see the steam coming off Mario Cristobal,” Ivins writes. “This is a phenomenal class that includes two franchise offensive tackles and offers some much-needed momentum to those in the 305. However, what is currently the nation’s No. 4 recruiting class hangs in the balance — at least a little bit. The big headline of the day is that five-star cornerback Cormani McClain (the No. 9 recruit nationally) delayed signing his LOI.”

The Hurricanes still brought in a great class. It’s what you do with that class and classes after that is where it matters. The same goes for the Ducks and Lanning. Bringing in high-rated recruits is one thing, but if that doesn’t equal wins on the field, it won’t mean a whole lot.

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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

‘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

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.

Solomon Davis’ Recruiting Profile

SIGNED: 3-star DL Tevita Pome’e is officially a Duck

3-star DL Tevita Pome’e made it official on Wednesday. Welcome to Eugene, Tevita.

The Oregon Ducks got another big body on the defensive line to make it official on Wednesday, getting 3-star defensive lineman Tevita Pome’e to sign his nation letter of intent with the Ducks.

Pome’e committed to the Ducks all the way back in April and has stuck to that commitment, finally becoming an official member of the team.

“I felt really good when I went up there with my family and just seeing how everything works within the team and getting to experience their new staff was awesome,” Pome’e told 247Sports upon his commitment. “They told me about their defensive scheme and shared where they would put me as a big defensive tackle and nose guard. The coaches ran some plays for me and they broke things down with my movements.”

With a lot of depth on the defensive line, it’s unclear how likely Pome’e is to see a lot of playing time, but he is a great depth piece for the team going forward.

Tevita Pome’e’s Signing Day Profile

SIGNED: 4-star cornerback Cole Martin is officially an Oregon Duck

Oregon may have solved its kick returner problem with the signing of 4-star cornerback Cole Martin.

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning and his staff have spent a lot of time in the town of Chandler, Ariz. They were recruiting defensive lineman A’Mauri Washington and now they signed 4-star corner Cole Martin. The two players went to different schools, however.

At 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, Martin is a good candidate for a free safety spot and more importantly, he’s a very good possibility at either as a kickoff returner, punt returner, or both.

The Ducks have had a hard time finding an explosive returner for a couple of years now and the first two highlights of Martin’s video show him as a returner who can hit the hole at full speed and outrun the coverage.

Tag: Oregon Signing Day