Oregon Ducks

TEXAS CITY, Texas -- These days, it's all smiles for ESPN 150 receiver Armanti Foreman.

Life is good for the Texas City (Texas) High School star. Offers are coming left and right. He's preparing for a banner senior season with his twin brother, 2014 running back D'Onta Foreman. He's enjoying the final weeks of his junior year of high school. On Tuesday, Armanti was sprinting past defensive backs and juking defenders out of their shorts, showing the playmaking ability that has so many colleges at his doorstep.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

For ESPN Watch List athlete Christian McCaffrey (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Valor Christian), there’s literally no such thing as an off day. Spring break is included.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

LOS ANGELES -- When thinking of West Coast running backs in the Class of 2013, the conversation usually starts and ends with Joe Mixon (Oakley, Calif./Freedom). While Mixon has the offers and the reputation to back it up, another elite back in the Golden State is gaining momentum on the recruiting trail.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

Under Chip Kelly, the Oregon Ducks made it a priority to lock up the top in-state players as early as possible. Among the nation's top programs, the Ducks have perhaps the thinnest crop of in-state talent every year, but in recent years the talent level has improved slightly. The Ducks have been able to keep most of the few top recruits inside of the border in the past couple of years. The Class of 2014 doesn't have any players the caliber of Thomas Tyner or Evan Voeller, but there are a few locals who could earn an Oregon offer:

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

Hailing from a school that has produced three U.S. Army All-Americans along the defensive line since the 2008 class, DE Connor Humphreys (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) is looking to make a name for himself as he follows in the path of former Rams' defensive linemen Myles Wade, Brennan Scarlett and current Duck Alex Balducci.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

The Oregon Ducks added their fourth ESPN 300 member and their fifth offensive lineman when former Cal commit Cameron Hunt (Corona, Calif./Centennial) confirmedthat he had flipped to the Ducks.

The No. 276 player in the ESPN 300 joins OL Evan Voeller (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) as the second Under Armour All-American in the Ducks' 2013 class. Hunt officially visited Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon and Cal after former Bears' head coach Jeff Tedford was fired and former Bears' OL coach Jim Mahalczik left for Arizona.

What is the impact of Hunt's decision?

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

Over the past decade, Oregon and California have gone back and forth, on and off the field. While the Ducks have dominated the Bears on the field of late, that hasn't stopped Cal from winning a number of high-profile recruiting battles.

The programs haven't gone head-to-head often in the Class of 2013, but the Ducks are looking to take make a big impact on their class by putting a dent in Sonny Dykes' first recruiting class at Cal.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

As one of the best players on what will presumably be among the top high school football teams in the country next season, ESPN Watch List LB Dwight Williams (Gardena, Calif./Serra) has received plenty of attention from college coaches in recent weeks. Last week, the 6-foot, 200-pound LB received two new scholarship offers from two tradition-rich programs.

The latest schools to be in touch with Williams both pulled the trigger and offered Williams a scholarhsip.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

Four-star tight end Durham Smythe (Belton, Texas/Belton) visited Stanford last February, but he didn’t get a chance to see much of anything. Smythe was able to get a full description of what the campus and Palo Alto, Calif., had to offer during his official visit over the weekend.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

With the stretch run of the 2013 recruiting cycle playing out right before our eyes, transfers, commitments and some seemingly innocuous events could put some programs in prime position to finish with a bang. Things that wouldn't be a blip on the radar of most fans could wind up turning the tide of a school's recruiting class.

For the Oregon Ducks, a couple of things that happened thousands of miles away in recent days could help them with two of their remaining targets.

Junior college quarterback Tanner McEvoy (Yuma, Ariz/Arizona Western) is in Eugene on an official visit this weekend. He has said publicly that the Ducks, along with West Virginia, are the two programs he will choose from.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

SAN ANTONIO -- ESPN 150 outside linebacker Mike Mitchell (Plano, Texas/Prestonwood Christian) isn’t big on speaking publicly. He’d rather let his game do the talking -- and it speaks volumes.

On Monday, the 6-foot-5, 222-pound linebacker officially confirmed that he will announce his college plans during Saturday’s U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Oregon, Texas A&M and Ohio State are his three finalists.

Mitchell said all three schools -- and even a fourth, Oklahoma -- had their positive qualities throughout his recruiting process. It was a feeling of comfort, however, that seemed to win him over.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

In an effort to extend holiday gift-giving for a little bit longer, DuckNation has decided to take a look back at the best recruiting gifts the Oregon Ducks have received during the Chip Kelly era. There have been almost too many to count, but we have narrowed it down to five of the most noteworthy gifts that have exceeded expectations over the past few years.

The culture that Chip Kelly has created around the program has attracted some elite players, but the Ducks have built their program by going out and find the best hidden gems on the market. Some of the best recruiting gifts over the years have come in the form of players that no one else seemed to want.

We all get a gift or two that initially doesn't do much for us, but turns out to be quite valuable. It was tough to narrow this list to just five, but the first one should come as no surprise.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

HOUSTON -- The decision to decommit from Texas wasn't an easy one for Belton (Texas) High School tight end Durham Smythe. But for him, it was the right decision.

Now, as the weeks pass and national signing day approaches, Smythe is weighing all the options in front of him. He has plenty, but he's still in the process of trying to decide where he'll take his remaining official visits. After checking in for the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl -- set for Sunday at Reliant Stadium -- on Wednesday, he discussed all that has been going on since he made his decision.

"The week that I decommitted it was pretty crazy because the dead period was about to start at that point, so toward the end of that week, a lot of coaches and a lot of schools tried to get in contact with me to schedule home visits and stuff like that," Smythe said. "Over the dead period I've been in contact with coaches once a week on Facebook and stuff like that. It's been busy and right now I'm just in a period where I'm evaluating things and I'm trying to pick a couple favorites so I can take official visits there and have a base to compare."

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider