WFOD's 2019 Recruiting Big Board 1.0

Making odds and ends of Oregon’s recruiting efforts at linebacker

Recruiting / Sunday, July 8th, 2018

If you’re a Duck fan who follows recruiting, there is very little worth quibbling over at this present moment.

In fact, if you find yourself quibbling, you’re likely a professional quibbler who is rarely – if ever – satisfied with anything.

The truth is Oregon currently has the nation’s 7th-ranked recruiting class for 2019 – per 247Sports’ Team Composite Rankings – and they are on pace to finish with their highest national recruiting ranking in program history.

Any calories burned worrying about whether Oregon coaching staff is putting in the leg work on the recruiting trail are 100 percent better off being burnt elsewhere.

However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some curiosities that exist regarding how some of those efforts are playing out to date, specifically at linebacker.

As of July 8, the Ducks have two verbal commitments at the position in four-star Mase Funa, and three-star Isaac Townsend. Beyond those two players though, there isn’t really an obvious target, or group of targets, that the Ducks currently lead for. That can’t really be said for any other position save for quarterback or running back, though those are two positions Oregon is believed to be through recruiting – at least to a significant degree – this cycle.

That’s not the case at linebacker, as it’s widely believed that the Ducks still have work to do at that position.

Projecting ahead, and for the sake of argument, let’s presume that Funa and Townsend are the two players slated to replace seniors Justin Hollins and Kaulana Apelu at season’s end. Let’s also assume that junior Troy Dye decides to forego his senior year at Oregon and enter the 2019 NFL Draft. In that instance, that leaves one open spot for the Ducks to fill if we’re operating under the assumption that the Ducks are replacing players one for one.

As we evaluate the uncommitted prospects that currently hold offers from Oregon, let’s identify the players who we believe the Ducks more or less have a shot at landing. And to filter things down even more, let’s separate this group of prospects into two tiers: Players who we believe the Ducks have a decent shot at closing on, and those who we believe the Ducks are behind the 8-ball for.

Note that these projections aren’t based on any sort of inside information. These are our own educated guesses and inferences based simply on what’s been reported. It should also be noted that we’ve taken some liberties projecting where some of these prospects will wind up playing at the collegiate level based on their measurables and what they’ve demonstrated on film.

Players we believe the Ducks have a decent shot closing on:

Of the players in this group, Johnson, Trice, and Tufono have seemed to generate the most buzz in terms of mutual interest, and of those three, only Johnson and Tufono have taken unofficial visits to Eugene. Johnson announced Sunday on Twitter that he was closing in on a decision, though no specific date was mentioned. The most recent visit Johnson has taken was to Eugene for an unofficial visit, however Georgia holds 86 percent of his seven Crystal Ball predictions on 247Sports. Liufau has also unofficially visited Oregon, but feels like a lower priority target target compared to some of the other names on this list at this time. One name to perhaps keep an eye on from this group is Casey. The Louisville (Ky.) native currently has all six of his Crystal Ball predictions on his 247Sports profile in favor of Louisville, but the Ducks have shown a ton of recent interest in the three-star prospect who missed his entire junior season due to injury.

Players we believe the Ducks are currently behind the 8-ball for:

It may be pessimistic, but it’s hard to imagine Oregon edging out the competition for a member of this group of five at this time. Thibodeaux recently announced a top five that included the Ducks, Florida State, Alabama, USC, and Florida, but it feels like the Ducks may be running third or fourth for him behind the Tide, ‘Noles, and perhaps even the Trojans should they increase their recruiting efforts. Heimuli, Latu, and To’oto’o all recently cut down their lists to a top eight – and each player has included the Ducks in that group – but there hasn’t been a ton of chatter to suggest Oregon is on the inside track for any of the three. With regard to Tafuna, the Ducks have been one of the schools in hot pursuit for his services, but it’s believed Utah has the current edge in his recruitment. The Utes hold all three of the Crystal Ball predictions submitted for Tafuna.

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