Ducks Recruiting Tracker: Elite In-State Tight End Riley Williams Places Oregon in Top Schools
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Recruiting in Eugene has continued to improve on a steady pace in recent years, and with the new staff Dan Lanning has in place, don't expect it to slow down any time soon.
Lanning has fully bought into the recruiting process and knows how important it is to maximize the talent on the roster at Oregon. But it's a balancing act; the great coaches can do that while also landing elite prospects in future recruiting classes and building a complete roster from top to bottom.
April 6 11:00 AM Update
2023 tight end Riley Williams from Central Catholic (Portland, Ore.) has placed Oregon in his top eight schools.
The other schools in the running for the 4-star (0.9556 per 247 Sports Composite) Under Armour All-American include Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, Miami, LSU and Ole Miss.
Williams is the younger brother of former Oregon wide receiver Korbin Williams. He's been on campus for numerous visits throughout the recruiting process but was most recently in Eugene on March 12.
The 6-foot-6, 230-pound tight end has been on the Ducks' radar for a long time and is one of the top priorities for new coach Drew Mehringer. Big-time offers have been flooding in for Williams of late, and he's slated to become the state's most heavily-recruited prospect ever.
March 28 11:08 AM Update
2023 cornerback Tony Mitchell from Thompson (Alabaster, Ala.) has placed Oregon in his top five schools.
The other schools in the running for the 5-star (0.9907 on 247 Sports Composite) prospect include Florida, Texas A&M, Georgia and Alabama. He was most recently in Gainesville over the weekend for an unofficial visit to Florida. The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder has also taken recent trips to Texas A&M and Auburn in 2022.
Mitchell has visited all of his finalists except for Oregon. This would be a prime opportunity for the Ducks to get him on campus for the upcoming spring game, scheduled for April 23.
March 24 9:05 am Update
2023 4-star Selma (Ala.) safety DaKaari Nelson has placed Oregon in his top 11 schools, with the Ducks as the only program out west to make the cut.
The other schools to make the cut include Tennessee, Auburn, Arkansas, Clemson, Oklahoma, Penn State, UCF, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Florida State. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound defensive back was recently in Tallahassee to visit Florida State, and was also in Knoxville to visit Tennessee earlier this month.
The Ducks do not have a safety committed in 2023, but they are also recruiting Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, NV) prospect Kodi DeCambra and St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) prospect Ty Lee, who will be in Eugene in April.
Related: DaKaari Nelson talks Oregon offer and recruitment
March 23 2:00 pm update
2023 Lake Stevens (Wash.) running back Jayden Limar has placed Oregon in his top schools.
Other schools to make the 4-star's top nine include Arizona, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, UCLA and Washington State.
Limar has been to Eugene numerous times, with his recruitment picking up steam as early as his sophomore year. He was on campus most recently in January, when he got to meet new Running Backs Coach Carlos Locklyn.
"They’re all great people. Lot of young guys too, I love that," he said of the Oregon staff. "They can relate to me really well."
The picture is starting to get clearer for the Ducks at running back in the 2023 class. After flipping Jordan James from Georgia, they're focusing a majority of their recruiting efforts on Eric Young (Lehigh Acres, Fla.), Roderick Robinson (San Diego, Calif.) and Johnny Thompson Jr. (Westlake Village, Calif.), as well as Limar.
Since visits resumed in March, he's spent most of his time in the Pac-12 footprint, with trips to UCLA and Washington State.
Related: Jayden Limar Recaps Oregon Visit
March 21 9:05 AM Update:
Nico Iamaleava announces commitment to Tennessee. Arguably Oregon's top target in the 2023 recruiting class is officially off the board, announcing his decision to play ball at Tennessee Monday morning.
The Ducks had him on campus for a visit in January as part of a massive recruiting weekend, but Tennessee has hosted him on campus multiple times and built a long-standing relationship with him.
Attention now turns to Jaden Rashada, another 5-star quarterback out of Pittsburgh (Calif.) High School
March 18 7:44 AM Update:
Roderick Robinson is one of the top running backs in the country, and he placed the Ducks in his top nine schools, trimming his list on Friday. Oregon has a lot of competition to go up against, with Tennessee, Miami, Arizona, Texas A&M, Stanford, UCLA, USC and Cal also making the list.
Robinson is rated a three-star prospect (0.8889 on 247 Sports Composite), but his offer sheet now stands at 21 schools and reflects that of on elite prospect. Sources I've spoken with expect him to be a top-five running back in the country when it's all said and done.
Playing at Lincoln (San Diego, Calif.) High School, he's teammates with 2022 Oregon signees Jalil Tucker and Jahlil Florence which figures to give the Ducks a leg up in his recruitment. Former Oregon quarterback Akili Smith is also on the coaching staff at Lincoln.
Robinson has already been to Eugene multiple times and will take visits to USC on March 26, to UCLA on March 31, and to Stanford on April 1.
March 17 5:30 PM Update
5-Star QB Nico Iamaleava has placed Oregon in his top five schools along with Tennessee, Miami, Alabama and Georgia. The Southern California star has already visited each of his finalists at least once and was most recently in Knoxville for another visit.
The Ducks got him on campus in January and by all accounts the trip went very well. Marcus Mariota's success as a Polynesian quarterback obviously factors into this recruitment, so that could help Oregon quite a bit. There is a lot of smoke around Tennessee as a major contender after a story from the Athletic reported a 5-star 2023 prospect signed an agreement with an unnamed school's NIL collective that could pay as much as $8 million.
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