The past couple months have been rather charmed for those directly associated with, and/or have a rooting interest in, the Oregon football program.
A Pac-12 Championship, a Rose Bowl victory, another wildly impressive recruiting class, and a home run hire at offensive coordinator have been just a few of the notable highlights that have occurred in recent weeks, propelling the Ducks and their dedicated fan base into an upcoming 2020 season filled with undeniable promise.
But the overwhelmingly positive momentum inevitably comes to a stop, and particularly in the world of college football, it often comes rather abruptly.
On Monday, the Ducks got a taste of the yang to their recent yin, as college football reporter Bruce Feldman of The Athletic tweeted that Oregon cornerbacks coach Donte Williams would be leaving his post in Eugene to take an upgraded title, and presumably upgraded pay, to join the coaching staff at USC.
SOURCES: #Oregon CB coach Donte Williams is expected to become the new corners coach & Pass Game Coordinator at #USC, sources tell me and @AntonioCMorales. Williams was 247Sports’ No. 7 ranked recruiter in the country this year. Big move by the Trojans staff and their new brass.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 10, 2020
Additional color was provided by Williams Monday night, as the Los Angeles native posted to Twitter that his decision to head to USC was motivated in large part by family.
— Donte Williams (@CoachD_UofO) February 11, 2020
While the loss of a position coach isn’t often the cause for widespread concern, the loss of a coach the caliber of Williams for Oregon is far from insignificant.
On the field, Williams was instrumental in aiding in the development of Oregon’s cornerbacks, specifically Thomas Graham and Deommodore Lenoir, who elevated their respective games each of the past two seasons under the tutelage of Williams.
Off the field, however, is where Williams is perhaps at his best.
Known as one of the best recruiters both in the Pac-12 and nationally, Williams was largely responsible for the hand he played in helping Oregon land blue chip recruits such as Dontae Manning, Luke Hill, Mykael Wright, and Justin Flowe. Williams was also a major reason for why the Ducks were so deeply involved with other big name recruits nationally, as his connections both on the West Coast, and across the country, will be difficult to replace.
Couple all of that with the fact that Williams not only leaves Oregon for another conference foe, but for USC in particular, and it becomes clear that the recruiting victories the Ducks have earned in Southern California in recent recruiting cycles will become that much harder to come by moving forward.
Of course, the addition of Williams to the Trojans’ coaching staff is far from a death knell to Oregon’s recruiting hopes in one of the most talent-rich areas of the country. Given the tenuous, almost week-to-week nature of Clay Helton’s job status as USC’s head coach, it remains to be seen just how much of a lift the addition of Williams will be. For a storied program who has historically owned the recruiting scene in Southern California, USC has become listless in recent years, as the rampant speculation surrounding Helton’s viability as the Trojans’ head coach has dramatically reduced the program’s allure in the eyes of area recruits and their families, if only temporarily.
Regardless, Williams’ defection from the reigning Pac-12 Champs to the program traditionally viewed as the gold standard on the West Coast effectively signifies the throwing down of the proverbial gauntlet, adding serious spice to a budding rivalry that has been mostly confined to the recruiting trail but appears primed to spill over onto the field of play.