College football has seen a lot of change in the past five years. Notably and recently, we’ve seen massive conference realignment, the impacts of which remain to be seen. Another impactful change to the game is the re-worked transfer portal. Not so long ago, players had to sit out the season following their transfer, and it also cost them a year of eligibility.
Since the changes to the transfer rules were made, the way teams approach recruiting has totally shifted. Often, coaches have to focus just as much of their efforts on recruiting transfers as they do high school stars. On Thursday, The Athletic listed their picks for the top 100 players that switched teams this offseason, several of whom were Oregon Ducks.
The highest Duck on the list was DE Jordan Burch who was ranked at No. 4. Burch transferred from South Carolina after a career year in 2022, which is something he can hopefully build upon for 2023. The Athletic had this to say about Burch:
“The Ducks have a lot of speed in their front seven, and Burch and Brandon Dorlus are going to be a ferocious tandem. Last year, the former five-star recruit had a breakthrough season for the Gamecocks with 60 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss. The 6-foot-6, 290-pound Burch has turned heads inside his new program with his athleticism, clocking 20.85 mph on the GPS, vertical jumping 34 inches and squatting almost 700 pounds.”
The idea of Dorlus and Burch being a dynamic duo is an exciting prospect, and also something I see as realistic. Last year, the Ducks struggled to pressure the QB on defense, which is something Dorlus usually excels at. With Burch now opposite Dorlus on the line of scrimmage, opposing offensive lines will likely shift their scheme to counter both Dorlus and Burch, which is much more difficult than just blocking Dorlus, which is why they hopefully will be a “ferocious tandem,” as The Athletic suggested.
The other two Oregon players featured on the list were S Evan Williams and OT Ajani Cornelius. Cornelius made headlines last year when he was one of the most sought-after transfers available, despite not being recruited by any Division I schools out of high school a few years before. Evan Willaims is entering his fifth season in college to cap off his already impressive career. He was also graded by PFF as the 4th best returning safety in the Pac-12.
Regardless of whether they live up to this hype, all three of these players will be key for the Ducks. Williams and Burch fill holes that were major struggle areas for the Ducks last year — struggles that ended up costing the Ducks late in the season. Cornelius will also be a key piece in rebuilding the offensive line that looks totally different than the one we saw a year ago. Hopefully, they can be the difference the Ducks need to take a step forward this year.
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