Class Impact: What Trent Ferguson's Commitment Means for Oregon Football
On Wednesday Oregon Football added another new pledge, with Salem (Ore.) West Salem offensive tackle Trent Ferguson committing to the Ducks.
His addition brings Oregon's class to seven verbal commitments, now featuring two offensive linemen.
We're breaking down this commitment from every angle.
Recruiting Impact
Ferguson's commitment is the first offensive line commit for Oregon since A'lique Terry returned to Eugene from the NFL ranks to join Dan Lanning's staff. You'll recall he was on staff during the Mario Cristobal era before being hired by Hawaii in 2021.
Oregon's newest commit may not be a flashy five-star, but even so it's still some important momentum at a key position. I have no doubts that Terry will be a great recruiter for the Ducks--in fact he already has been. He played a big role in Oregon landing Jackson Powers-Johnson in the 2021 class. But it might take some time for him to get to closer to Adrian Klemm levels.
This commitment shows the Ducks are continuing to value the talent in their own backyard. Ferguson was offered by a couple of Pac-12 schools and now he'll be lining up for the Ducks rather than across from them. That's always a plus.
The timing of this addition is also notable, as it's the second commitment in less than a week for Oregon after landing Aaron Flowers on Friday. Their recruiting pitch for a quarterback gets a little bit sweeter with two offensive linemen, two wide receivers and a tight end already in the fold.
It's looking more and more like Arizona passer Luke Moga could be their guy, but only time will tell.
Evaluation
This evaluation should be taken with a grain of salt because Ferguson doesn't have a ton of tape to work with.
He only played four games during the 2022 season and it was his first year playing football. However, there are still some traits we can take away from watching his film.
Ferguson has a background in basketball, and he moves around pretty well for someone that's 6'7", 300 pounds. He's stronger in run blocking than pass blocking, routinely driving his defender into the dirt whether he's working solo or with another lineman on a double team.
There aren't a ton of pass-blocking reps to use, but there were a couple of instances where he got stood up by smaller defenders. That's probably because he can get caught playing with a higher pad level than you'd like.
There's both potential and obvious room for growth, both with his feel for the game, technique and carving his body in the weight room so he feels more comfortable with his massive frame. As he gets more comfortable in the game his technique will improve and we'll likely see improved speed and agility as well.
Roster Impact
Ferguson isn't a guy that I see playing a lot of snaps early on for the Ducks. His lack of experience plays a part in that but the staff clearly sees the upside if they're bringing him on in this class.
The 2023 offensive line will be a mixture of returners and some new additions, but we won't have a feel for how good that group really is until they play teams like Texas Tech and some of their stronger opponents in the Pac-12.
With that being the case, A'lique Terry and the rest of the staff are hitting the offensive line hard this cycle to ensure they have plenty of quality options to work with, even if some of those players take some time to develop as I anticipate will be the case with Ferguson.
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