[UPDATE - 9:51 AM] Ricky Heimuli has committed to Oregon! Rivals is reporting that he's signed his LOI, though as always, nothing is official until the athletic department releases the names in a few hours. In other news regarding Oregon targets, Duck Territory is reporting that Josh Huff is going to be a Duck. Also, Chris McCain is going to Cal.
National Signing Day is finally upon us! Unfortunately, it looks like the wait will continue longer than it has in previous years. While the athletic department used to release each name as each signed letter of intent was received, this year, all names will be released at the same time, once all letters are in.
In the meantime, we're looking at one of the best classes we've ever had at Oregon. The only class that's in the same ballpark is the class of 2007. While this class will likely not have as many 4-star players, but it should be much more balanced and complete from top to bottom.
A few things to keep our eyes on today: Ricky Heimuli, who still has Oregon even if a commitment is not likely, will be announcing at 9:30AM on ESPNU. Christian Thomas, another unlikely but still possible commitment, will be announcing at 12:00PM on FSN West. Anthony Jefferson, thought to be all UCLA but still with Oregon on his list, will be announcing with Thomas. Also, the only Duck commit that may provide a surprise to the Ducks is Chris McCain, who may follow Gabe King to Cal, though I can't find an announcement time right now. Also, while no official announcement time is set, we'll want to keep our eyes and ears open for Josh Huff and Erick Dargan, who have both been thought to be Oregon leans for some time. And who knows, maybe we'll be lucky enough to have a surprise or two.
So, the wait continues. In the meantime, here are a few important links and a couple articles to pass the time.
- The various Oregon Athletics sites should have some good stuff all day long.At 8AM, Jerry Allen will be hosting Go Ducks Live. There's sure to be a lot of recruiting talk, so that should be a good way to pass the morning until the LOIs are released. Chip Kelly will be having a signing day press conference at 1PM. Unfortunately, this is a GoDucks.com premium event, so if you don't have an account, you're out of luck. I'll be refreshing OregonGridiron.com often. Sounds like they're gonna have some cool features on the newest Ducks. The Oregon Football twitter feed will also likely have a lot of good info.
- The Oregonian has a good piece on the Ducks recruiting class and the rise of the Oregon schools.
- Matt Hinton continues his yearly argument that recruiting rankings matter, and matter a lot. Recruiting is how a program can really take that next step. It's exciting to see the Ducks really stepping up in this area, especially in Chip Kelly's first year.
- SBNation.com will have all the national recruiting news updates, which will have to keep us busy until the Athletic Department decides to release the signed letters of intent.
It's an exciting day to be a Duck! Stick around to discuss, and share any news or gossip. We'll keep the main page updated with breaking news, but make sure to check out the comments as well. GO DUCKS!