Oregon Debuts at No. 16 in SI All-American 2022 Recruiting Team Rankings

The Ducks are poised to make another strong run at defending the Pac-12 recruiting title.

Author:
Max Torres
Publish date:
Jun 2, 2021 12:57 AM EDT

As the recruiting dead period is lifted this week, SI All-American released its initial rankings of the top 25 recruiting classes in the country. Oregon came in at No. 16 with the highest-ranked class in the Pac-12.

USC was the only other Pac-12 team to land in the rankings, coming in at 24. The Trojans' class is headlined by elite cornerbacks in Domani Jackson (Mater Dei) and Fabian Ross (Bishop Gorman).

Clay Helton has made it clear that he is putting more of an effort into recruiting and utilizing his resources to make Los Angeles an attractive destination for recruits (as if it wasn't already?) and try to keep the area's ridiculous crop of college-level talent at home.

As for the Ducks, their class is headlined by in-state safety Trejon Williams from Jefferson High School in Portland. The staff also has defensive end Emar'rion Winston (Brother of Lamar Winston) in the fold from Central Catholic High School, also from the Portland area.

Mario Cristobal has continued to build on his previous blueprint with this class, expanding his reach to find the best talent in the country and utilizing Oregon's national brand to get recruits' attention. This class already holds commitments from California, Oregon, Texas, Alabama and Oklahoma, with tons of progress being made with players from Southeastern states such as Florida and Georgia.

Cristobal has historically built his classes from the inside out, stressing trench play and then moving onto other positions. He probably isn't as far along as he'd like to be, but the class already holds a commitment from one of the West Coast's best defensive linemen in San Diego's Gracen Halton and a hulking JUCO offensive lineman in Percy Lewis from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

The summer is poised to be incredibly busy for the Ducks, as many top-tier prospects take their official visits to Oregon and other schools before locking in their spots with college commitments. Cristobal has made it a priority to do the heavy lifting in the spring and summer so that he can focus on winning games when the season comes around.

Then when the signing periods roll around, most of the class is already set in place and the staff can take shots at the five-star, elite prospects that sometimes tend to drag out the recruiting process.

Expect the floodgates to open with commitments this summer once kids get on campus. There will however, be commits that the staff needs to turn away, as roster management continues to be a crucial part of pursuing and ultimately winning a national championship.

Expect USC to follow closely on Oregon's heels throughout the cycle, with the occasional push from Washington up north as the three schools consistently go toe-to-toe for talent.

Stay connected with Ducks Digest on Social Media