FanPost

My Take on Recruiting Thus Far, Part 2

This is the second installment in an ongoing series that briefly provides information and links regarding current Oregon commits. My first write-up can be found here.

Tyler Johnstone, 6'-6" 260lbs, Chandler AZ (South of Tempe)

Johnstone projects as an offensive tackle at the collegiate level, and possesses all of the intangibles to become Coach Greatwood's next NFL ready player. So far, he has good size, and has a frame that can accomodate added bulk, which he will need in college. He is very quick coming off of the ball, which helps him create a strong push against the defensive line. Johnstone is regarded by many (myself included) as an underrated recruit so far in this recruiting cycle. Shortly after committing to Oregon, he received an offer from USC, which speaks to the caliber of player he is. As of now, every recruiting service views Johnstone as a 3-star talent, however there is a chance that he will be upgraded to four star territory, even though it means next to nothing. 

Interestingly enough, he and fellow Oregon offensive line commit Andre Yruretagoyena were childhood friends growing up in Vancouver Washington. 

Guesstimated probability of commitment holding, 85%. It is very possible that more high profile suitors come calling for Johnstone's services, and give Coach Kelly's staff a run for their money. However, it is always a safe bet to fall back on Coach Greatwood and his work with offensive linemen. 

Rivals profile, and highlight reel

 

Johnny Manziel, 6'-1" 190lbs, Kerrville TX (Greater San Antonio area)

Manziel is one of the most surprising commitments so far this season for Oregon, as nearly all fans expected the coaching staff to be in full court press to land Brett Hundley. So, when the third quarterback commit of this season popped up without a first name of Brett and without a ton of stars next to his name, frankly we were all surprised, scared, confused, and many of us felt vulnerable. TQA8 hid inside his closet shaking, for days. Did this mean we would take FOUR quarterbacks in one season? Apparently not. At least for now, that is. 

Manziel was an absolute nightmare for coaches in San Antonio the past few seasons. He was pressed into QB duty from the runningback position, so he has quick feet and pretty good speed. In one game last season against the unfortunate team of Pflu(grad)erville Hendrickson, he rolled up 246 yards and 4 scores through the air, 203 yards and three scores on the ground, and to top it off with the trifecta, he caught a touchdown receiving and tallied 39 yards. This, more so than his baseball scholarship offer from Texas, proves that he is an all around athlete. He has the ability to play receiver in college, but after throwing in front of coach Kelly he received an offer at QB, so dont look for Manziel to make any position moves just yet. A team can never have enough athletes that provide depth seemingly everywhere, so he is a great pick up. 

He was named the San Antonio boys offensive player of the year, after piling up absurd stats. 

Rivals profilehighlight video from his sophomore season (so it is unfortunately impossible to take too much out of this)

Guesstimated probability of commitment holding, 90%. Manziel is another under the radar commit, and the offer from Oregon should be his finest by far. Oregon's offense is suited for an accurate pass first, run fast as hell second type QB. 

 

Jamal Prater, 6'-4" 290lbs, Etiwanda CA (San Bernadino area)

By many accounts, Prater is considered an Oregon commit. He is somewhat like Jerrard Randall in that he intends to commit once he can visit Eugene, but has not yet been able to do so and satisfy Coach Kelly's mandatory visit requirement. 

Prater is a massive offensive tackle recruit, but will surely utilize a redshirt year and take additional time to allow Coach Greatwood time to coach him up. He may need to improve a touch on his athleticism to suit an offense such as Oregon's. He also needs to work on his playing strength, and utilizing his size advantage to the fullest. He is however very explosive out of his stance. Coupled with his size, he has the potential to stuff defensive tackles at the line of scrimmage, but he needs to work on refining and polishing the finer points of his game. 

Rivals profile, and highlight film

Guesstimated probability of commitment holding, 90%. I feel like a broken record, however, again in this case Oregon is the finest offer that Prater will receive, and Coach Greatwood has proven himself as one of the premier offensive line coaches in college football. 

 

James Euscher, 6'-7" 278lbs, Aloha OR (West of Portland)

Euscher is a mammoth prospect that plays both offensive tackle and defensive tackle. It is unclear as of now which side of the ball he will be asked to play, but he has the size for either of them and even has the potentate to be a prototypical 3-4 DE. Beyond his stellar size, he lacks a quick step off of the ball, which hurts him on both sides of the ball. He also needs to work on refining his use of hands as leverage in the blocking game. All in all, he is a sleeper that with time to progress, could surprise on either side of the ball. 

Rivals profile, and a highlight video

Guesstimated probability of commitment holding, 95%. (May as well copy and paste, lol)  I feel like a broken record, however, again in this case Oregon is the finest offer that Prater Euscher will receive, and Coach Greatwood has proven himself as one of the premier offensive line coaches in college football. Not to mention, Azzinaro is one heck of a DL coach if he were to be moved there. 

 

Tacoi Sumler, 5'-8" 158lbs, Miami FL (Pretty close to Miami FL)

Our newest and most prized recruit thus far in this recruiting cycle, Sumler is a straight up burner on the field and on the track. with documented 4.24 electronically timed 40 speed that jtlight linked to earlier, he is the fastest recruit in this year's class. He currently plays both corner and receiver, but he definitively projects as a receiver in the next level. The painfully obvious knock on Sumler is his small size. He will never realistically get over 175 pounds in college. However, he is able to overcome some disadvantage posed due to his small size, with a massive 38 inch vertical jump. He possesses return great skills, and took two kickoffs to the house for scores last season. I can only imagine that Vin Lananna will hope that Sumler will be interested in track. He is small, but that is irrelevant because nobody will be able to catch him in the open field. Coach Kelly has got to be ecstatic that he has (another) one of the fastest players in college football to work with. Once Jeff Demps graduates from Florida, Sumler may be the fastest player in college football. 

Rivals profile that includes a brief evaluation, and an awesome highlight video (And to think that Coach Radcliffe may be able to make him a little bit faster...)

Guesstimated probability of commitment holding, 75%. It is near impossible to predict if players from the East Coast will stay committed, last year FL RB Ethan Grant decommitted even though he seemed like a sure thing. However, Sumler does have deep praise for Jerrard Randall (They played against each other a few times in High School before Sumler transfered to another high school). Sumler is also very interested in a sports related business program, and Oregon sure has that to offer. 

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or the Addicted To Quack Moderators. FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable Oregon fans.

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