What are the Ducks getting in Jackson LaDuke?

Recruiting / Monday, June 24th, 2019

With a little less than a week to go before June comes to an end, the Ducks have officially matched the number of commits they received during this month last year en route to a top 10 recruiting class for the 2019 cycle.

On Monday, Sparks (Nev.) Spanish Springs three-star linebacker Jackson LaDuke became the sixth recruit to verbally commit to Oregon’s 2020 recruiting class in the month of June, continuing what has been a scintillating stretch for Mario Cristobal and company on the recruiting trail.

With his commitment, LaDuke becomes the 14th member of the Ducks’ 2020 class and the third linebacker to make the pledge, joining three-star recruit Peter Latu and four-star recruit Jaden Navarrette, as Oregon now boasts the nation’s 11th-best recruiting class per 247Sports’ Composite Team Rankings.

After picking up 20 scholarship offers from programs across the country, LaDuke will head to Eugene after narrowing his focus to the Ducks, UCLA, and Arizona State.

Below we take a closer look at LaDuke’s game, examining his weaknesses and strengths, as well as projecting how he may make an impact for the Ducks when he ultimately arrives on campus.

Notable weaknesses:

  • Lack of proven ability in coverage: As impressive as LaDuke is on film, there isn’t a ton of evidence that he excels in pass coverage. Though he certainly has the athletic traits to be competent in this department, LaDuke will need to prove himself in this regard if he’s to see the field early on as a freshman.
  • Lacks bulk: Listed at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, LaDuke is right where you’d expect him to be as a highly-touted linebacker entering his final year of high school ball. However, there is a wiry-ness to his frame that will likely require additional bulk before he’s able to make his impact on the field. It should be an easy, but necessary fix for LaDuke.

Notable strengths:

  • Great speed, linebacking instincts: LaDuke’s tremendous speed and quickness makes him virtually unblockable in the Nevada high school ranks, as evidenced by his 101 tackles and 22 tackles for loss (including seven sacks) that he racked up as a junior last season. His ability to quickly diagnose a play and fly to the football is outstanding.
  • Relentless competitor: There’s a real ferocity to LaDuke’s game when you evaluate him on film. And while he’s not necessarily overwhelming from a size/strength standpoint, he’s relentless in pursuit of quarterbacks and ball carriers, at large. He’s a natural-born disruptor who plays with a contagious competitive fire.
  • Versatile athlete: Not only is LaDuke multi-dimensional as a defender, but he also excels on offense for his high school team. With such a wide array of skills at his disposal, LaDuke’s football-playing ability translates very favorably to the next level.

Overall outlook:

For a second straight recruiting cycle the Ducks have prioritized the linebacker position, which was in a truly desperate state at the end of Mark Helfrich’s tenure in Eugene. After signing five linebackers to the 2019 recruiting class, head coach Mario Cristobal and defensive coordinator Andy Avalos appear primed to duplicate that total in 2020 with LaDuke, Latu, and Navarrette already in the fold and high-profile targets such as Noah Sewell and Sav’ell Smalls still uncommitted as of this publish date. With that, it could be difficult for LaDuke to see the field early in his collegiate career, as the Ducks are only expected to lose Troy Dye, La’Mar Winston, and Bryson Young to graduation at the end of the season. Certainly, other attrition at the position could occur which could allow LaDuke to step in much sooner, but should those seniors be the unit’s only losses, it would be no surprise to see LaDuke turn out to be a redshirt candidate despite being arguably the most polished linebacker of the Ducks’ three commits.

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