IMPACT: WR Stephon Johnson Commits to Oregon
Oregon continued to make recruiting headlines Wednesday with the addition of Texas wide receiver Stephon Johnson. Johnson's commitment made him the first wideout to join the Ducks in 2022.
We know Mario Cristobal got another great player for his program, but what's the big-picture impact? I'm glad you asked.
For starters, it's worth mentioning that Johnson is immensely underrated as a 3-star (0.8739 on 247Sports Composite). He's got the potential to turn any play into a big gain and has some serious hops. He's also a multi-sport athlete, and you want to roster as many of those players as you can.
When we peel back the layers in Johnson's recruitment, he was no stranger to interest from major college football programs. Ole Miss, USC, and Maryland are just a few of the schools that came calling before he made his pledge to the Ducks.
Oregon offered him in early March and here we are less than a month later-- and he's committed. That's just how fast things can move in college football recruiting. A prospect like Johnson gets the offer and it's probably not a stretch to say the Ducks were immediately in the driver's seat.
With Johnson in the fold, Oregon now holds the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the Pac-12, passing USC. The Ducks' class sits just outside the top ten nationally at No. 11, with an average commit rating of 0.9025.
What do I take away from this commitment?
Well, for starters, I think it's important that we talk about Tanner Bailey, Oregon's 2022 quarterback commit. I don't think it's a coincidence that the Ducks got their first wideout after his commitment. If I'm Johnson, I see Oregon got a stud quarterback and I want to go play with him. Good players want to play with good players, simple as that.
Furthermore, Johnson's commitment strengthens the staff's pipeline to the state of Texas, which is one of the best producers of college football talent. The Ducks signed just one recruit from the Lone Star State last year in defensive end Terrell Tilmon, and now already have two Texans in the fold with Landon Hullaby and now Stephon Johnson. Those two give the Ducks peer recruiters on the ground in Texas, where Oregon is also pursuing 5-star OT Kelvin Banks Jr.
Mario Cristobal has signed great classes since coming to Eugene, but it's about more than simply bringing in elite talent. Perhaps equally, if not more important, is ensuring those players fill needs on your roster. We saw the 2021 class boast all-American offensive weapons like Troy Franklin and Dont'e Thornton.
As a result, the 2022 class has had an early emphasis on defense, starting off with players like LB Emar'rion Winston and more recently DE Gracen Halton and S Trejon Williams. Now we're starting to see a nice mix, with playmakers taking note of what the Ducks are producing on the field along with the elite talent they are attracting on the recruiting trail.
Don't be surprised if we see this create a domino effect and attract more stars to Eugene, especially with recruits locking in official visits to Oregon for early summer.
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