PREDICTION: Oregon Ducks to Land 2024 Linebacker
Oregon is off to a hot start on the recruiting trail in July, landing commitments from linebackers Dylan Williams and Kamar Mothudi in addition to offensive tackle JacQawn McRoy.
Today I'm logging a prediction for 2024 Yelm (Wash.) linebacker Brayden Platt to commit to Oregon.
Confidence level: 6.5/10
Explaining the pick
For starters, Oregon has been in on Platt for a long time, which carries some weight. Platt narrowed his top schools to two this week and will announce his commitment on September 4 between Oregon and Oklahoma.
Like I said, the Ducks have been in on Platt for a very long time, much longer than the Sooners. Dan Lanning made it a priority to recruit the state of Washington right after he was hired and so far that's paid off.
Linebacker is a need for the Ducks this cycle, and they'd love to add Platt to the mix in addition to Justin Williams. Right now I'm feeling more confident that they can beat out Oklahoma for Platt than they can Georgia for Williams--who I think will have a spot for as long as he wants it.
I know I'm not the first one to make this pick, but Platt has spoken very highly of the Oregon program throughout his recruitment and him recently including them in his top two only further strengthens their standing.
The reason for the 6.5 on the confidence meter is that we've seen Oklahoma close strong with top recruits in the past, even flipping former Oregon defensive line commit Gracen Halton in the 2022 class.
The Sooners have shown that they compete with just about anyone on the trail and it'll be important for Duck fans to monitor what Brent Venables and company can do in the time between now and September 4.
To close, Oregon should be viewed as the favorite now due to development, coaching staff, relationships and proximity to home, but Oklahoma is very respectable competition that shouldn't be overlooked.