What's Next for Oregon at Cornerback in the 2024 Recruiting Class
On Monday the Ducks saw one of their top cornerback targets in the 2024 class commit elsewhere, as Gardena (Calif.) Serra cornerback Dakoda Fields pledged to the USC Trojans.
Fields was the cornerback I felt most confident about with Oregon, but I always knew USC was lurking and I tried to convey that in my reporting and on the podcast.
Oregon has one cornerback committed in Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances Academy's Ify Obiedgwu. One would think they can afford to be selective moving forward after signing five cornerbacks in the 2023 class and even adding two more from the transfer portal to shore up their depth.
The Ducks will likely still recruit Fields until signing day, but let's take a look at some of the big names to track for Oregon at cornerback.
Chris Johnson Jr.
Johnson is a newer name that's popped up on Oregon's radar in recent months. The Ducks offered in April and landed in his top 6 last month.
I'm told that he'll be on campus for an unofficial visit starting on Tuesday. Fortunately for Oregon he'll be back for another visit later this month, which speaks to how serious his interest is.
He's a bit under the radar as a three-star (0.8927) recruit on the 247Sports Composite, so my guess is the staff probably wants to evaluate him a bit in person if they haven't already.
Zabien Brown
With Fields headed to USC, the Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei star is the main defensive back Oregon is recruiting out of Southern California. He's working from a top four of Oregon, Ohio State, Alabama and USC and was in Los Angeles for his official visit over the weekend.
There was buzz that his Oregon official visit will come in July, but after doing some digging it looks like he's going to be on campus sooner than that--whether that's for an unofficial or official I'm not entirely sure.
Either way that leads me to believe the coaching staff is turning up the heat here.
Aaron Scott Jr.
Scott recently placed Oregon in his top five along with Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, and Tennessee.
Scott plays at Springfield High School in Ohio which should make one thing very clear. If the Ducks really want Scott he's going to be a hard pull away from the in-state Buckeyes.
That doesn't mean they can't do it, but it suggests Ryan Day and company will make him a priority. Scott was on campus in Eugene towards the end of spring football and with Oregon in his top five I would think he'll be back on campus this summer for an official before making his final decision.
Bryce West
Like Scott, West is another top talent out of Ohio. He took visits to Oregon, USC and Ohio State this spring and will be another big name to watch at corner. It doesn't appear that he's closing in on a decision.
Kobe Black
Black will be on campus this month and the Ducks have some work to do in this one. He's got Oregon in his top 11, but there are some big schools to compete with like Alabama, LSU and Ohio State.
Distance will be a factor and is something Oregon will need to overcome.
Selman Bridges
Bridges trimmed his list of suitors to nine last month and the Ducks made the cut. He's another big name out of Texas and this coaching staff is going to do everything they can to tap into their connections in the Lone Star State--one of the most talent-rich states in the entire country.
Things usually get harder the further east you push, but having success in Texas will only help the Ducks as they pursue talent closer to the Southeast.
Miles Lockhart
Lockhart is working on setting up an official visit to Oregon, but my feel is that the Ducks have cooled off a bit here. Ohio State, Texas A&M and Wisconsin are also pushing hard with a decision expected next month.
Final notes
I've thought for a while that the Ducks are going to take two corners, but I think it's looking like they might over recruit this spot and figure out the numbers later. Demetrice Martin is going to continue swinging with all the big recruits that will consider Oregon and I would think they can add at least one more at this position during the summer months.
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