Crootin’ With Cyril

The 2017 recruiting class for the Oregon Ducks is ranked 38^th according to ESPN. With just ten days until National Signing Day, let’s take a look at our current commits. By position, The Ducks have three Cornerbacks, four Defensive Tackles, two Athletes, two Linebackers, one Offensive Tackle, one Running Back, one Wide Receiver, one Kicker and one Quarterback. Broken down by location, that’s eight from California, two from Florida, two from Oregon, one from Arizona, two from Hawaii and one from Tennessee. Since many of you are likely to be more familiar with the players who have been committed through the fall, here is some information on the three of the recent commits: Darrian McNeal, Thomas Graham and Jordon Scott.

Darrian McNeal is a three star Athlete that primarily played WR and handled punt returns in high school and held offers from multiple schools including Louisville, Virginia Tech and Tennessee. He shows tremendous vision and speed; however, his size at 5’9” and 160lbs dripping wet is concerning. With time in the weight room, McNeal is a player that could fill a role similar to Charles Nelson as an agile receiver and return man.

Of all the current commits, Thomas Graham has the highest grade and is a four star Cornerback from Rancho Cucamonga. Graham held offers from every Pac-12 school except for the tree and also had offers from Nebraska, Notre Dame, LSU, Oklahoma and some middling program you may have heard of that calls themselves The Crimson Tide. The 6^th ranked player at his position is 5’11” 177lbs and runs a 4.52 40. Graham could very well develop into the type of lockdown corner that we have sorely missed the past couple seasons. Seeing our secondary take a step in the right direction will be very welcome change.

The last player listed has been a big topic of discussion. And when I say big, I mean BIG. Jordon Scott is our incoming 6’1” 350lb Defensive Tackle that we all can’t wait to see obliterating opposing Centers and Guards. Rumors have circulated that Scott’s weight may be even higher that where it is listed so priority number one for him and the new S&C coach will be to shed a few pounds and build a foundation of muscle. Scott held offers from the likes of Ole Miss, Tennessee, Florida State and Florida. Yes, he committed to us over Florida and no, Oklahoma was not on his list.

As for players The Ducks are targeting that have not yet declared; here are some recruits to keep an eye on as signing day draws near.

Deommodore Lenoir: The four star Corner was previously committed to the Ducks and reopened his recruitment process in the wake of Helf being fired. Coach Taggart sees the value in this 5’11” 180lb prospect who would give a huge boost to this year’s class. Lenoir recently had an unofficial visit in Eugene and all signs are pointing to him recommitting.

Bruce Judson Jr: At 5’9” and 184lbs, Judson is currently a verbal commit with Taggart’s previous team who has offers from a wide array of power five programs. With his close relationship to Coach Tag, it would not be a surprise to see Judson flip to the Ducks.

Isaac Slade-Matautia: The number two prospect from the state of Hawaii is a four-star Outside Linebacker standing at 6’1” 206lbs. He played at Saint Louis (the same high school as Saint Marcus) and visited Eugene on 1/13. Let’s hope our newly assembled staff makes a solid impression on Slade-Matautia as he would be an excellent addition to a position that has been fairly thin as of late.

As my first recruiting write-up, please feel free to drop suggestions or anything you would like to see in future recruiting pieces. The next ten days should provide some fireworks. Go Ducks.

Update: Three-star Defensive Tackle Austin Faoliu and four-star Outside Linebacker Isaac Slade-Matautia have both committed to the Ducks! Faoliu hails from Santa Ana, California and has a solid frame at 6’4” and 295lbs. Faoliu was another recruit who was previously committed to the Arizona Wildcats and ultimately chose Oregon over Arizona and Oklahoma. A brief profile on Slade-Matautia is listed above.

The addition of these two recruits should have Oregon climbing the rankings in the 2017 class. With a little over a week to go, lets all hope the good news continues and overcomes things like Rhabdo and DUI’s.