Oregon Ducks’ 2021 football recruiting class surges to top-10 national ranking
Whatever momentum the Oregon football program lost with the cancellation of spring practice and the separation of the team during the COVID-19 pandemic has not impacted the coaching staff’s ability to recruit.
The Ducks’ 2021 class, bolstered by a string of recent verbal commitments, is currently ranked 10th nationally by the recruiting services.
After tight end Moliki Matavao of Henderson, Nev., committed last week, linebacker Brandon Buckner of Chandler, Ariz., and cornerback Jadarrius Perkins of Perkinston, Miss., followed suit on Saturday with cornerback Darren Barkins of Chula Vista, Calif., announcing his intentions to play for the Ducks on Sunday.
Oregon has 12 known verbal commitments. The average player rating by 247Sports of 91.57 is higher than six of the teams ranked ahead of the Ducks with overall rankings boosted by quantity.
For example, Tennessee is second in the team rankings, but 14 of its 24 commitments are three-star prospects.
The Ducks have eight four-star prospects. Perkins, who is at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, doesn’t have a rating yet.
“The guys that Oregon is getting are high quality players,” Matt Prehm from 247Sports said.
Players from eight different states have committed to Oregon during this cycle, including four of the top nine recruits from Arizona.
Offensive lineman Bram Walden of Scottsdale, Ariz., and quarterback Ty Thompson of Gilbert, Ariz., are the top two prospects from their state. Offensive lineman Jonah Miller of Tucson, Arizona, is ranked as the No. 5 prospect from his state, and Buckner is No. 9.
Tyler Shough, the No. 1 recruit in Arizona during the 2018 cycle, is the favorite to replace Justin Herbert as the Ducks’ starting quarterback this season.
“We want to be a part of something special, and just going up there with the top players from Arizona is gonna be even better," Buckner told the Arizona Republic. "We all feel like we can bring a natty (national championship) back to Eugene."
Oregon signed the Pac-12’s highest ranked recruiting class in 2019 (No. 7) and 2020 (No. 12) after signing the top overall prospect in California — defensive lineman Kayvon Thibodeaux (2019) and linebacker Justin Flowe (2020) — both years.
USC, which has compiled a 13-12 overall record on the field over the past two seasons, has experienced a resurgence on the recruiting trail in 2021.
The Trojans’ 2021 class is currently ranked fourth nationally with an average player rating of 91.86. Ten of USC’s 14 commitments are four-star prospects.
Embattled USC coach Clay Helton lured assistant coach Donte Williams away from Oregon after the Ducks won the Pac-12 title and the Rose Bowl last season.
“Last year there was a huge cloud over that program of, ‘When is Clay Helton going to get fired?’ And then he never did,” Prehm said. “So now there's kind of that feeling of maybe he survived. Recruits are much more open to that because of the tone around Clay Helton and USC isn't nearly as bad as it was this time last year and especially during the season.
“Once the games start playing we'll see what happens with USC in their class. I still believe, if they a lose a couple games, the voices and anger from the fan base will build back up again.”
Oregon will be the favorite to repeat as Pac-12 champions, but USC is the favorite to win the South Division after winning five of its final six games to close out the 2019 regular season.
The makeup of Mario Cristobal’s staff has changed since the Ducks finished No. 5 in the final Associated Press poll for the 2019 season. Joe Moorhead has replaced Marcus Arroyo as offensive coordinator, Rod Chance replaced Williams as cornerbacks coach and Bryan McClendon replaced Jovon Bouknight as wide receivers coach.
“Moorhead is a pretty big upgrade from a recruiting standpoint from what we're seeing and hearing from guys,” Prehm said. “McClendon has done a really good job of getting out there and speaking with all the 2021 recruits and with the 2022 recruits is where you really hear his name come up a lot.”
Jonathan Krause, one of Oregon’s graduate assistants, helped the staff stay connected with some high-profile wide receiver prospects while the athletic department requested and was eventually granted an exception to hire McClendon during UO’s hiring freeze.
Last week the NCAA extended the current recruiting dead period through July 31, but the majority of the prospects verbally committed to Oregon had made visits prior to the campus being shutdown due to the coronavirus.
“That is a challenge we are all facing,” Cristobal said of not being able to host recruiting visits. “In the meantime, it puts into perspective how important it is to take advantage of every opportunity, whether a Zoom call, getting to know a family member or coach, taking a deeper dive into game film and seeing how a guy responds in all kinds of situations.
“It’s a test we are all going through and we accept the challenge.”
Contact reporter Ryan Thorburn at rthorburn@registerguard.com or 541-338-2330, and follow him on Twitter @By_RyanThorburn and Instagram @rg_ducksports. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.