The Top Oregon Football Recruiting Storylines Ahead of National Signing Day
In this story:
Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks currently boast the No. 10 recruiting class for 2023 according to 247Sports. That lands them at No. 2 in the Pac-12 behind the USC Trojans at No. 8.
With National Signing Day approaching on Wednesday Feb. 1, the Ducks are still in the running for a few elite prospects.
Let's take a look at some of the top storylines we're tracking ahead of the big day.
Will it be Oregon for Nation's No. 1 ATH Nyckoles Harbor?
The buzz has been building for the Ducks to land the nation's top athlete in 2023 for about a month now. The Washington D.C. native out of Archbishop Carroll has had the spotlight on him after shining at the Under Armour All-American Bowl in Orlando last month and following that up by showcasing his speed at a national track meet in Lubbock, Texas.
Oregon is one of five schools still in the running for the five-star prospect, accompanied by Michigan, Maryland, South Carolina and Miami. It feels like Miami is on the outside looking in, as Harbor took official visits to every other school in that group, with the Ducks getting the final impression over the weekend.
Maryland, Michigan and South Carolina have all continued pushing, also visiting Harbor in-home, but it looks like this one could be trending Oregon's way.
There's no doubt that Dan Lanning and the Oregon staff rolled out the red carpet and pulled out all the stops on that official visit. Track is expected to play a big role in his commitment and no other school can offer what the Ducks can in that regard.
Harbor is expected to make his college commitment at 10 a.m. PT on Wednesday. His announcement will be aired on ESPN.
Two track stars in the 2023 class?
The other big track name Oregon is recruiting is 2023 Gardena (Calif.) Junipero Serra cornerback Rodrick Pleasant.
He released a top five earlier this month of Oregon, USC, UCLA, Cal and Boston College. After taking his final official visit to USC earlier this month and playing in the Polynesian Bowl in Hawaii, it feels like Lincoln Riley and the Trojans could be pulling ahead. There was some buzz that he'd visit Oregon this weekend, but he didn't make it out to campus.
This absolutely has the feel of an Oregon vs. USC battle and Dan Lanning went in-home last week, showing that he's not willing to go down without a fight. As is the case with Harbor, the Ducks have some pull here with their track program in their recruitment of the fastest sprinter in California.
Demetrice Martin and the rest of the Southern California natives on the staff have been working overtime in this one, but it remains to be seen if that will be enough. Lincoln Riley prioritizing Southern California recruits, coupled with the Serra to USC pipeline (Adoree Jackson '14 and Robert Woods '10), make this a tough one for Oregon to pull out at the eleventh hour. But it isn't over until it's over.
Pleasant will announce at around 10:15 a.m. PT on Wednesday
Can the Ducks sneak in late for Duce Robinson?
Robinson is one of the other biggest names left on the board in 2023. Ranked the No. 1 tight end in his class, he's another prospect the Ducks would love to sign.
Oregon has been surging in Arizona of late, landing 2024 edge rusher Jaxson Jones on Sunday, but it hasn't really felt like they were serious players in this recruitment.
Robinson spoke in December about possibly getting out to Eugene for a last-minute official visit, but his busy baseball schedule and playing in the Polynesian Bowl have made visits hard to come by.
Schools like, Texas, USC and Georgia all feel like they have more momentum here. The Ducks signed Kenyon Sadiq, one of the top athletes this cycle who's expected to play tight end, but they're probably in the market for another tight end after Moliki Matavao (UCLA) and Cam McCormick (Miami) transferred this offseason.
Robinson has yet to announce a commitment date and time.
READ MORE: 2024 EDGE Jaxson Jones commits to Oregon
Join the Community
Follow Max on Twitter: @mtorressports