A whirlwind past several days for Duck fans is finally – and perhaps mercifully for some – winding to a close. Indeed, the start of the early signing period Wednesday served up an equal share of exciting gifts and anticipated disappointments, as recruits from across the country made official their commitments to the college football programs that won them over during the 2020 recruiting cycle.
And while the early signing period (Dec. 18-20) doesn’t mark the end of the current recruiting cycle, it does more or less solidify the recruiting classes for most programs nationally, as it’s the first time prospective student athletes can officially sign a letter of intent with a school. Programs will have another opportunity to officially add to their classes during the traditional signing period in February, but in most cases, where your favorite team resides in the conference and national recruiting rankings after the early signing period is more or less where they’ll reside when the cycle comes to a close in roughly six weeks time.
For now though, WFOD takes a closer look at Oregon’s signed, sealed, and delivered 2020 recruiting haul and offers up some of its prevailing thoughts and biggest takeaways from a class that currently ranks second in the Pac-12 and 16th nationally, per 247Sports’ Composite Team Rankings.
1. This class is led by linebackers
Six months ago, if you would have told any recruiting savvy Oregon fan that the Ducks would land the nation’s top two inside linebackers in Justin Flowe and Noah Sewell, they likely would have looked at you like you had an arm growing out of your head. At that time, while the Ducks were considered legitimate contenders for each player’s signing day signatures, it certainly would have been a stretch to consider either player a lock to come to Eugene. Fast forward to today, and that dream is a remarkable reality.
Of the two, Sewell was undoubtedly the most likely to make a pledge to the Ducks, especially considering the transcendent level of success his older brother Penei has enjoyed in just two seasons as the Ducks’ starting left tackle. Flowe, however, was another story altogether. Long believed to be a Clemson lean, it wasn’t until relatively recently that Oregon began to seriously establish itself as a viable option for the nation’s no. 4 overall prospect. A home run official visit to Eugene during the Ducks’ annual Civil War matchup with Oregon State, coupled with some reluctance about going to college 3,000 miles away from home, only helped elevate Oregon’s position in Flowe’s mind. The only real hurdle that was left for the Ducks to clear was an official visit Flowe would take this past weekend to hometown USC. Yet, despite the family ties to the Trojan program and a strong recruiting pitch from USC’s coaching staff, Flowe instead made the decision to follow in the footsteps of former no. 2 overall prospect and fellow L.A. native Kayvon Thibodeaux by becoming the second top prospect from the state of California to commit to Oregon in consecutive recruiting cycles.
“I feel like I’ll thrive in that program.”
– @justin_flowe on why he picked the Ducks.#20regon | #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/iOdV5vTkUb
— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) December 19, 2019
In Flowe and Sewell, the Ducks not only claim the nation’s top two inside linebackers in the 2020 class, but the duo also serves as two of the highest-rated recruits to ever sign with Oregon (Flowe no. 2, Sewell no. 10). Combined, the two will help spearhead – along with sophomore-to-be Mase Funa – what may very well be the best collection of young linebacking talent in the country, full stop. It’s not hyperbole to say that both players qualify as generational talents at the linebacker position, and when teamed with fellow 2020 commits at the position in four-star Jaden Navarrette and three-star Jackson LaDuke, the Ducks can comfortably say they secured the nation’s top linebacker class this cycle.
2. Notable de-commitments prevent Oregon from landing a top 10 class…for now
Impressively, the Ducks made it all the way to December without suffering a single de-commitment from their 2020 class. Unfortunately that streak came to emphatic end over the past week, ultimately preventing Oregon, for the time being, from solidifying a top 10 class for a second straight season.
Avantae Williams, one of the longest standing verbal commitments in Oregon’s 2020 class, officially got the de-commitment ball rolling when he tweeted that he would be withdrawing from the Ducks’ class with the hope of signing a letter of intent elsewhere in February. Ranked as the nation’s no. 2 overall safety and rated as a four-star prospect, Williams’ decision single-handedly dropped Oregon from 11th in 247Sports’ Composite Team Rankings to 16th. The Ducks wouldn’t fare much better as the week wore on, as fellow four-star prospects Johnny Wilson and Myles Slusher confirmed weeks of speculation surrounding the strength of their verbal commitments by flipping to Arizona State and Arkansas, respectively, on Wednesday.
God wrote the story I’m just living it…. #WPS 🐗🔴 pic.twitter.com/D4WOleXVmk
— Myles Slusher (@mylesslusher) December 18, 2019
Though these defections were widely expected for weeks, if not months, in advance, the loss of these talented prospects still stings nonetheless and likely leaves some Duck fans wondering what could have been. The good news, however, is that the Ducks have as much of an opportunity as any team in the country to rebound from those losses by potentially picking up impact commitments from a pair of highly-touted prospects between now and February.
3. Kelee Ringo and Dontae Manning offer room for improvement
Though some Duck fans are understandably dismayed by Oregon’s relatively modest national recruiting ranking thanks in large part to the de-commitments of marquee names such as Williams, Wilson, and Slusher, the opportunity still remains for the Ducks to make a significant move up the ranks of the nation’s top recruiting classes.
Chiefly, Oregon’s hopes hinge on Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro five-star cornerback Kelee Ringo and borderline five-star cornerback Dontae Manning, who hails from Raytown High School in Kansas City. As it stands right now, both players are believed to have already signed with the school of their choice, though neither plans to publicly reveal their decision until January during the various high school All-American games that will be taking place. Though it’s believed that both players will be making decisions independent of one another, it is somewhat ironic that both players will be publicly deciding between Georgia and Oregon.
Somewhat unsettling for Duck fans is the fact that both Ringo and Manning were in Athens this past weekend for their final official visits before the early signing period, affording the Bulldogs the opportunity to make a final impression on both players. Yet, in spite of that, the Ducks are still considered to be neck and neck with Georgia for both players. As of this publication, the Ducks are generally believed to be in a better position for Manning than they are for Ringo, though Ringo was seen Wednesday wearing an Oregon T-shirt during signing day festivities at Saguaro High School. Read into that what you will.
Kelee Ringo hasn’t announced where he’s signing, but he came to Saguaro’s signing ceremony to support his teammates. pic.twitter.com/ngLRNgY9dy
— Ralph Amsden (@ralphamsden) December 18, 2019
4. Oregon inks two quarterbacks
With Wednesday’s signings of four-star prospects Jay Butterfield and Robby Ashford, it marks the first time since 2016 – when the Ducks signed Justin Herbert and Terry Wilson – that Oregon has inked two quarterbacks to a recruiting class. And with Herbert off to the NFL next season, it’s a good thing, as the Ducks’ depth in the quarterback room should finally be in a stable place entering 2020.
Verbally committed to Oregon since May, Butterfield was Option 1B for the Ducks after they failed to win the DJ Uiagalelei sweepstakes earlier this spring. At 6-foot-6 and 202 pounds, Butterfield is rail thin, but possesses the arm talent and savvy from the pocket to emerge as a serious contender for QB1 or QB2 on the Oregon depth chart should projected starter Tyler Shough or redshirt freshman Cale Millen falter this offseason. The good news for Butterfield is that he’ll be on campus for winter conditioning beginning in January, providing an opportunity to immerse himself in the playbook while simultaneously improving his physical strength and stature. Though not as tall as Butterfield, Ashford, the former Ole Miss verbal commit, is blessed with comparable arm strength and is a far better all-around athlete compared to his fellow freshman counterpart. A true dual threat quarterback, Ashford offers a level of athleticism that cannot be matched by any other quarterback on the Ducks’ depth chart, which could provide him with more paths to playing time compared to the competition.
5. Ducks add serious beef to the offensive and defensive lines
With the Ducks set to lose six seniors along the offensive line and four seniors along the defensive line, head coach Mario Cristobal knew there needed to be an emphasis placed on re-stocking the trenches in Eugene this cycle. In fact, five of the nine signees on the offensive side of the ball Wednesday came from offensive linemen. Honolulu (Hawaii) Farrington three-star prospect Faaope Laloulu is the player who has grabbed the most headlines thanks in large part (no pun intended) to his gargantuan 6-foot-7, 390-pound frame. He joins Homestead (Fla.) South Dade four-star commit Jonathan Denis, along with three-star signees Jaylan Jeffers, T.J. Bass, and Marcus Harper, to give the Ducks critical depth heading into next season.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Ducks lack some of the star power that came in the 2019 recruiting class, but landed four very versatile, athletic three-star prospects in Jake Shipley, Maceal Afaese, Bradyn Swinson, and Jaylen Smith who should be major beneficiaries of growth and development under the guidance of Oregon defensive line coach Joe Salave’a.
Top Photo: Orem (Utah) LB Noah Sewell (Tim Dye)