After reaching into sunny San Diego on Monday to add four-star running back Byron Cardwell to its 2021 recruiting class, Oregon and head coach Mario Cristobal returned to America’s Finest City to earn an early, yet key, recruiting victory for the Ducks’ 2022 recruiting class.

That victory came in the form of four-star defensive end/outside linebacker Gracen Halton, a former teammate of Cardwell’s at St. Augustine High School, who announced Wednesday his verbal commitment to Oregon.

Highest rated DL in California🦆🦆🦆🦆 pic.twitter.com/FAXKdPjMdz

— ☘️LegalizeQuack☘️ (@Legalize_Quack) January 28, 2021

Ranked as the 12th-best weakside defensive end in the country, and 15th-best overall prospect in the talent rich state of California for the 2022 recruiting cycle, per 247Sports’ Composite Rankings, Halton is the third addition to the Ducks’ 2022 recruiting class. He joins four-star recruits Emar’rion Winston and Andre Dollar, who committed to Oregon in July and September of last year, respectively.

With close to 20 offers from programs coast-to-coast such as Tennessee, Texas, Penn State, and Michigan, the 6-foot-4, 250-pound Halton chose Oregon as his future collegiate home, providing the Ducks with their first known commitment from Southern California during the 2022 recruiting cycle.

Below we take a closer look at Halton’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:

• Lacks elite quickness, get-off: With the most recent available tape on Halton coming from his sophomore year, it’s difficult to say how much he has improved in this regard. However, based on his sophomore film, Halton isn’t necessarily the type of edge defender that’s going to overwhelm you with tremendous speed or quickness off the snap. Good, but not great twitch.
• Doesn’t excel as a defender in space: Halton is certainly a well-rounded athlete, but it’s hard to imagine he’ll be asked to do too much with regard to playing in coverage. With suspect change of direction skills and a lack of proven ability in coverage, Halton isn’t the player you want lined up on a running back or slot receiver.

Notable strengths:

• Versatile edge defender: Whether he’s got his hand in the dirt, or is standing up, Gracen Halton is a problem storming off the edge. He’s a player with great multi-positional versatility who should emerge as a valuable chess piece for the Oregon defense in their efforts to find advantageous matchups to exploit.
• Plays with power, physicality: In a lot of ways, Halton reminds us of current Duck STUD linebacker Mase Funa. Not only does he possess Funa’s versatility, but he also plays with outstanding power and physicality. Even as a sophomore, Halton looks like a man amongst boys, both in his stature and the way he dominates the man across from him.
• Disruptive playmaker: What should have Duck fans really excited about Halton is his knack for making game-changing plays. Whether he’s collapsing the pocket, chasing down a ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage, or leaping in the air to knock down or intercept a pass, Halton is a disruptive force who should have no problem translating those skills to the next level.

Overall outlook:

Each and every recruiting cycle of late for Oregon seems to feature at least one player in the front seven who is capable of making impact plays look routine. And in Gracen Halton, head coach Mario Cristobal and the Ducks have continued that hopeful trend.

With the ability to play either defensive end, or STUD in Oregon’s defense, Halton is the quintessential edge player the Ducks have coveted since Cristobal was named head coach prior to the 2018 season. Though it would be a stretch to equate him to a Kayvon Thibodeaux or Mase Funa at this stage in his development, Halton steals a bit from each player’s style of game. Halton’s length in the upper body and knack for disruption is somewhat reminiscent of Thibodeaux, while his versatility, strength, and power offers shades of Funa.

The big question will be how much has Halton improved and developed both physically and technically after essentially having a year off due to COVID-19. Halton’s mature build and grown man game already put him head and shoulders above the vast majority of the competition he’ll face on Friday nights, but if he’s to be ready to play entering the 2022 season, he’ll need to prove that the absence of football this past fall wasn’t a hinderance to his development.

Regardless, Halton’s commitment to Oregon’s 2022 class provides the group with an early headliner that should serve as a key piece towards putting together another dominant recruiting haul built around top tier talent on the West Coast, and in California in particular.

Top Photo: San Diego (Calif.) St. Augustine DE/OLB Gracen Halton (247Sports)