The Recruiting Wars: What are Oregon’s 2020 remaining needs?

The Ducks have mostly filled out their 2020 recruiting class. What are their remaining needs and where do they stand for some of the top recruits in the nation? Also do they have a shot at retaining the top class in the Pac-12?

If you missed the first two parts of the series, you can find them here and here.

Oregon is currently ranked first overall in the Pac-12 with 19 commitments and 14th nationally on 247 Sports rankings.

What does the 2020 committed class currently look like?

Of the 19 commitments, there’s one quarterback, one running back, three receivers, five offensive linemen, two defensive linemen, two linebackers, four defensive backs, and one athlete.

Furthermore, eight are four stars and the remaining eleven are three stars.

What’s the current scholarship composition of the Ducks?

The Ducks have 18 seniors, 14 juniors, 15 sophomores, 12 redshirt freshmen, 23 freshmen.

How many juniors are likely to go pro?

Three that have a realistic shot at the NFL. They are Thomas Graham, Jr, Deommodore Lenoir, and Jordon Scott. There maybe others on the team that are “encouraged” to test the waters due to academics, family situations, scholarship needs, etc.

What are the remaining needs?

• A tight end in case Cam McCormick can’t stay healthy and/or the others aren’t what the Ducks expected.
• The offensive line recruiting is largely done with tight space and five commitments already pledged. If there’s a four star like Marcus Dumervil that wants to commit, I’m sure the staff will make room.
• Another quarterback could be beneficial as the loser of the Shough / Millen battle in 2020 will likely transfer from the program. That would leave only two scholarship quarterbacks (Shough / Millen + Jay Butterfield if he stands with his commitment) on the roster plus walk-on Bradley Yaffe. As Duck fans know entirely too well, having only two QBs is playing a dangerous game.
• Oregon is reportedly in it for two linebackers , five star inside linebackers Noah Sewell and Justin Flowe. The depth at each linebacker spot is pretty solid but there could be more added to inside linebacker. The ILB next to Troy Dye has been a point of contention for several years running and some talent infusion there is necessary. Dye is also leaving after 2019 so there’s that to consider too.
• Running back is more of a 2021 need but it would be wise for the staff to prepare for any NFL departures (Verdell?) early on if possible. Also, I’m not convinced that freshman Jayvaun Wilson stays at RB given his size (6’2 211).
• I’m somewhat surprised that the Ducks aren’t going harder after any more defensive linemen given that three key seniors are departing. Granted, the backups are very young with five true freshmen.

How many signees can the Ducks take in 2020?

18 for sure. They will have to “massage” the numbers a bit to fit in the 19 commitments (plus more) by “moving” players around via transfers (encouraged or not), grayshirts, draft declarations, and switching scholarships to walk-on (if the player can afford it).

How does the Pac-12 compare to the other conferences?

Using the top 25 of the 247 Rankings, here’s how the conferences rank thus far:

SEC: 10

ACC: 5

Big Ten: 4

Pac-12: 3

Big 12: 2

Independent: 1 (Notre Dame)

• The SEC and ACC dominate the rankings with 60% of the top 25, including six of the top ten classes.
• It’s so thoroughly dominant that the other three power conferences put together won’t touch both the SEC and ACC.
• Oregon has an outside shot at landing another top ten class if certain things break their way.
• How crazy is Clemson’s class? They have just as many five stars (6) as the next three programs combined.

How is the Pac-12 race going?

Oregon and Washington are running away with it, going toe to toe with Stanford a distant third (196.19). Oregon leads the Huskies by a 18.31 point margin (240.18 to 221.87). Arizona State leads the South division at this time.