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2017 Oregon Ducks Recruiting Roundup

Still no commitments, but Oregon's staff has been hard at work

The past month has been a busy one for Oregon. There have been offers, visits, lists being cut, anything you could ever imagine….except commitments. Oregon’s last commitment was the top quarterback in the nation, Ryan Kelley. He committed about five months ago. The Oregon staff has been doing the best they can when recruiting, but there just hasn’t been any big results. It isn’t time to panic just yet, summer is a huge time for recruits to commit. But if these next few months are as barren as these past few have been, there might be some reason to panic. On a more positive note, here are the major points in the Oregon recruiting sphere.

Andrew Vorhees – 3* OL (CA): On an unofficial visit earlier this month, big offensive lineman, Andrew Vorhees, was offered by the Ducks. Other teams who have offered are: UCLA, Arizona, and Arizona State. 247sports ranks him higher than other recruiting sites by giving him a 4* ranking and they also rank him as a top 50 OL.

Nick Brahms – 4* OT (FL): Many of you have known about Brahms for awhile now. He has been the hottest recruit over the last two weeks. Well Oregon offered Brahms before every other single FBS program offered him, well not everyone but you understand the hyperbole. The Oregon offer was special to Braham, as now they are co-leaders with Tennessee in his recruitment.

Aaron Banks – 4* OT (CA): Big Aaron Banks, 6-6 305lbs, visited Oregon on April 7th and 8th. Back when Banks was offered he told me Oregon has always been one of his favorite schools, so it is no surprise Oregon and USC are the top two teams to beat. By the looks of it he had an "EXTREMELY" great time at Oregon.

Kary Vincent – 4* CB (TX): Vincent is a highly touted recruit from Texas. He was offered by the Ducks only a few days after Brahms and Vorhees. Even though Vincent is listed as a cornerback, he has played some running back in high school. His recruitment is pretty wide open, so I expect the Ducks to be in the mix, but plucking kids from Texas is hard.

Trey Sermon – 4* RB (GA): Oregon received some good news on the 12th of April. Oregon was one of six teams on Sermon’s top six list, but here is more information.

Chase Newman – 3* LB (CA): Oregon hosted Newman and his dad on the weekend of the 14th. Newman boasts a few early offers from Oregon State, Fresno State, and Washington State. Oregon has not yet offered, but be on the lookout if they do.

Elijah Hicks – 3* CB (CA): Hicks is a teammate of Newman and received an offer from the Ducks during his visit in Eugene. Hicks told me he "loved the environment" of the program and got a "good feeling" of what it means to be a Duck. Oregon is one of a few schools Hicks likes a lot, but he does have over 20 offers.

Sire Woods – 3* TE (CA): The third member of the La Miranda trifecta who visited Oregon is an under the radar recruit. Woods has offers from three Ivy league schools (Dartmouth, Harvard, and Yale), but his biggest offers are from Oregon State and Iowa State. Although Woods doesn’t have an offer yet, the visit to Oregon is a good first step.

Josh Falo – 4* TE (CA)

TraJon Cotton – 3* CB (CA):

These two Inderkum products visited Eugene last weekend. There have been hints of maybe them two being a package deal. Cotton and Falo have also visited Colorado together so that might feed into the package deal rumor as well. I talked to Cotton after his visit and he told me: "We can definitely be a package" when I broached the subject of a package deal. He also said this about Oregon: "It was nice, I liked it" and he "liked all of the facilities, staff, and players." As for Falo, the teams to beat are once again Oregon and USC.

Bo Melton – 4* RB (NJ): Although this is some bad news; I should update you on his recruitment. Melton recently committed to play football for his hometown team, Rutgers. Melton is a legacy at Rutgers and a lot of east coast recruits are buying into what new head coach Chris Ash is selling.

Marlon Tuipulotu – 4* DT (OR): Another bad news bit; the #2 recruit in Oregon committed to Washington earlier last week. This one stings for the Ducks because there aren’t many good defensive tackles in this class (especially out west) and Tuipulotu was literally in their backyard. There have been reports of Tuipulotu being close friends with Langi Tuifua, the WDE Oregon commit, so maybe he could sway Tuipulotu later on in the recruiting process.

Elijah Molden – 4* CB (OR): Molden is a legacy, Alex Molden is his dad, so Oregon has been the favorites to land him. ever since they offered back in 2014. The tides may have changed because of some insider information from Justin Hopkins. He recently switched his 247sport Crystal Ball pick to Stanford saying, "I’m hearing much mojo Stanford has with the four-star defensive back." ($$).

Thomas Graham Jr. – 4* CB (CA): The former USC commit received an Oregon offer just a few days ago. I caught up with Graham after his offer and he told me his initial reaction was "excitement" and he was "shocked". One aspect of Oregon that stuck out to Garaham was Oregon’s lineage of great corners; Ifo was one of the players he mentioned. He said he definitely wants to visit Oregon sometime soon as well as Washington, and also the former USC commit hasn’t ruled out USC. He is still hoping for some other offers, but I believe Oregon is one of the schools Graham will heavily consider.

Jaylen Kelly-Powell – 4* CB (MI): Oregon offers star corner all the way in Michigan, about a few days ago. Kelly-Powell has an extensive offer sheet; Ohio State, Michigan State, and Michigan just to name a few. It seems, as of late, Oregon has been focused on offering cornerbacks. I have not heard of any interest Kelly-Powell has in the Ducks, but I will be vigilant if something comes up or if he plans to visit Eugene.

Moses Robinson-Carr – 3* TE (CA): This weekend Robinson-Carr and three of his teammates will be making the trip to the Oregon schools. Oregon is the first stop for them. Robinson-Carr has been trending towards Tennessee over the past few weeks, but the trip to Eugene might change his mind.

Jaylon Johnson – 3* CB (CA): On Saturday, Oregon again offers another cornerback prospect. Johnson is from Fresno, CA and attends Central East High School. The California product has other offers from USC, Cal, and Oklahoma.

Thomas Johnston – 3* OLB (AL): Oregon offers an outside linebacker from SEC territory around the same time they offered Johnson. Thomas Johnston has other offers from Auburn, Iowa, LSU, and Virginia Tech. The Alabama product has heavy interest in Auburn, LSU, and Iowa, but the Oregon offer has some weight with him as well.

Well there you have it. This is everything Oregon's coaching staff has been working on the past few weeks. I know this article is really long, so here is a brief summary: Oregon offers, visits, offers, visits, offers, and still no commitments. Here is a little reward for making through the article (I mean who doesn't like a laughing duck):