Torres' Take: Recruiting Takeaways from Oregon's Opening Weekend

We've gathered a TON of intel from this past weekend, so let's take a look at where Oregon stands with a number of recruits and commits.

Author:
Max Torres
Publish date:
Jun 10, 2021 5:38 PM EDT

Welcome to the debut of Torres' Take on Ducks Digest. I'm very excited to get this going again as recruiting ramps up across the country and some of the best talent comes here to Eugene to check out the Ducks.

I'm hoping to make this a weekly feature on the site that will be your one stop shop for the latest intel I'm hearing on Oregon recruits.

It was a MASSIVE weekend for Mario Cristobal and his staff to open June, so without further ado, let's hop right in.

LB Jaylen Sneed (Hilton Head Island, South Carolina)

Jaylen Sneed dons a yellow Oregon uniform on his official visit in Eugene.
Jaylen Sneed on Twitter (@sneed_jaylen)/Oregon Athletics

It looks like this one is shaping up to be a battle between Oregon and Notre Dame. The Ducks did a great job impressing his parents, which is a huge box you need to check with any recruit.

It's also worth noting that this was one of the first recruits we've heard specifically mention Tim DeRuyter. There may have been some "concerns", if you want to call them that, about his recruiting abilities when he got hired, but here he is showing one of the nation's best why Oregon is the place for him.

Oregon did a phenomenal job drilling home NFL development and the program's aspirations for a national championship. It could come down to whether he wants to join a program that is repeatedly contending for a championship and HAS gotten the job done, or a program that is still looking for its first, but has all the pieces in place.

Sneed's next visit is to Notre Dame, so we should keep a close eye on how that pans out. The Ducks have a bit of time here before he makes a decision later this summer, but his trip to Eugene clearly gave him something to think about.

LB TJ Dudley (Montgomery, Alabama)

TJ Dudley (6) throws up an O with Oregon wide receiver commit Stephon Johnson Jr. (1) on his official visit.
Stephon Johnson Jr.

The second big linebacker from the South that was in Eugene this past weekend, Dudley had glowing remarks on his visit. The opportunity to play alongside players like Noah Sewell and Justin Flowe sticks out to him in a major way.

We shouldn't be too surprised to hear this. Good players want to play with good players. Robby Ashford did a great job taking Dudley "under his wing" and will no doubt help answer any questions about making the trip across the country to play his college football.

Mario Cristobal made Dudley a priority over the weekend and he very well may have been the recruit he spent the most time with. And when the head man had to step away, more members of the staff were there at every turn.

This was by all means a home run visit for the Ducks, but they will need to keep in constant communication with him as Dudley hits the road to check out UCF and Alabama in the coming weeks.

Seeing that he plans to announce his decision before football season, the Ducks will do all they can to make sure Dudley's name is on the list of recruits coming to Eugene for Oregon's Saturday Night Live camp at the end of July.

WR Stephon Johnson Jr. (Dallas, Texas)

Stephon Johnson Jr. poses with Oregon Wide Receivers Coach Bryan McClendon on his official visit.
Stephon Johnson Sr.

Johnson is undecided about visiting other schools as well as signing and enrolling early, but I don't think fans should be concerned. He has repeatedly said Oregon is his dream school since he was eight years old and has been a vocal recruiter for the Ducks since he committed.

Just this weekend he was working on Cameron Williams and has been in Kelvin Banks' ear, seeing that they grew up playing together. It's notable that he's the first wide receiver in the fold, since the staff will be able to pitch teaming up with Johnson to their other receiver targets in 2022.

Texas is one of the most talent-rich states in the country and you really can't overstate the value he will have for Oregon as he attends camps and talks to other recruits.

He was the first player to congratulate Sir Mells on his commitment and hype him up after he made the call during his visit. He will be in Eugene next month for the Saturday Night Live camp.

DL Sir Mells (Henderson, Nevada)

Sir Mells during his photo shoot on his official visit.
Sir Mells

Mells was the headline story coming out of of the weekend, making the decision to commit to Oregon. I thought there was a good chance he was going to commit to Oregon heading into his visit and he did.

In fact, I literally asked him if he would commit if the visit went well.

He told me he had no intention of committing, but that he wanted to commit before August and see how he liked other schools on his visits.

It just goes to show you how the floodgates are WIDE open for Oregon with recruits taking visits once again. Mells also told me he has a good relationship with fellow Nevada native Cyrus Moss, one of the top prospects on Oregon's big board that was also on his official visit this weekend.

Expect him to turn into one of the Ducks' main recruiters.

S Landon Hullaby (Dallas, Texas)

Landon Hullaby rocks a Duck hat and all-white uniforms during his official visit to Oregon.
Reginald Hullaby

Like Johnson, Hullaby made his first trip to Eugene after committing to Oregon sight unseen. And the trip was everything he wanted it to be.

He doesn't plan on taking any visits to other schools and plans on coming back for a game in the fall. He got to meet Ducks safety commit Trejon Williams in person, as Williams was back in town for an unofficial visit after attending Oregon's spring practice that was open to the public last month.

Hullaby got to meet new Secondary Coach Marcel Yates and had a ton of good things to say about him. Yates recruited Hullaby when he was at Cal and the safety called it "perfect timing" when he got the job at Oregon.

Hullaby also heavily recruited OL Cameron Williams during the visit and is confident the Ducks are going to be able to land him to solidify their invasion of Texas in the 2022 cycle.

"We definitely trying to get him," Hullaby said. "Another Dallas dude, we’re working on that. We’re gonna get him."

OL Cameron Williams (Duncanville, Texas)

Cameron Williams poses for a photo with Ducks WR commit Stephon Johnson Jr. at Autzen Stadium on his official visit.
Stephon Johnson Sr.

No matter how you put it, Williams would be a massive addition for Oregon. He's an absolute mauler at 6-foot-7, 350 pounds and the Ducks did a great job with him on his visit.

He told our Reid Tingley that the Ducks left a great impression on him following the visit.

"It moved them up. For sure," Williams told Ducks Digest

He spent time on his visit with Marcus Harper and his family enjoyed the trip. Oregon will have its work cut out for them competing against other schools, as he takes trips to Oklahoma, Miami and Texas before making his commitment on July 1.

LB Robby Snelling (Reno, Nevada)

Robby Snelling is hoping to play both baseball and football at the college he chooses.
Robby Snelling

The Ducks likely lead for Snelling following a great visit. He spoke with our Dylan Reubenking and spoke about a strong relationship his dad has with Ken Wilson. Wilson coached Snelling's dad at UNR, which is huge for the Ducks.

Snelling's father Jim is also his head coach at McQueen High School.

It looks like he got to visit the baseball facilities as well and the Ducks had a strong baseball season. They're only going to improve under Mark Wasikowski.

Snelling may not have the star power of other recruits from this weekend, but he is a very versatile athlete that would be a big get for any program. He said his visit to Oregon "Set the bar up there" and will head to Arizona for a visit.