Oregon Ducks

Holding more than 40 offers, running back Joe Mixon (Oakley, Calif./Freedom) is arguably the most sought-after recruit in the West region. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound, four-star back is the top running back in the West and the No. 135 player in the country. His offer sheet has seemingly grown by the minute this spring, but he isn't in any hurry to narrow it down.

Despite tweeting out a list of 16 programs several weeks ago, Mixon said Sunday that he only did that to highlight the schools recruiting him the hardest, not anything to be taken as a group of finalists.

"I'm still talking to a lot of people," Mixon said. "The recruiting thing has been crazy the past couple of weeks. I've pretty much been taking it well. I talk to them before school, during lunch and after school. I'm not to the stressful part yet, but the hard part has been staying in contact with everybody."

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After being committed to Clemson since signing day 2012, ESPN 150 quarterback Deshaun Watson (Gainesville, Ga./Gainesville) has made a change in his recruitment.

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Hinsdale (Ill.) Central tight end Ian Bunting listed a top three at the end of February, but that group dissipated nearly as quickly as it was created as several big offers over the next 72 hours made him open it back up.

After visits to several of those schools, the ESPN 150 tight end is closing in on naming a top group once again.

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BUFORD, Ga. – ESPN Watch List quarterback Deshaun Watson (Gainesville, Ga./Gainesville) has been committed to Clemson for more than 14 months, but that has not kept other programs from pursuing the record-setting passer, who earned an invite to the Elite 11 and The Opening following his performance at the Atlanta Elite 11 regional qualifier Friday.

For a few lucky schools, the interest seems to be mutual.

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A top 10 has emerged for touted running back Jonathan Hilliman (Jersey City, N.J./St. Peter’s Prep), and now some separation is starting to take place among those schools.

“The top five has definitely broken apart but not severely far,” Hilliman said. “I’m not counting out the other schools, depending on what they bring to the table -- if it's academics or great environment or great coaching staff.”

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This year’s NCAA tournament has been full of great stories, from Florida Gulf Coast’s Cinderella run to La Salle going from First Four to Sweet 16 to the Big Ten placing four teams in the final 16.

But what about the stories behind the stories -- the tales of how some of this year’s March Madness stars ended up at their eventual schools and helped shape this year’s tourney? To delve into those, this week’s top 10 looks at the 10 best recruiting stories from players and teams in the Sweet 16.

Top 10 Recruiting Stories From the Sweet 16

1. Trey Burke, Michigan
Mick Cronin is not going to want to hear this again, but it’s true. Burke was going to Cincinnati. It was nearly a done deal. But one last call to Michigan’s staff changed the fate of two programs. According to recruiting lore, Burke’s father called a final time asking Michigan if it was interested in Burke. If the answer was no, then Burke was going to Cincinnati. This was in late July of Burke’s pre-senior summer. Remember, it wasn’t like the now All-American was hot stuff then. He was good -- a late top-100 player -- but he wasn’t the player then that he has become. Ultimately, Michigan said it wanted Burke and the Wolverines landed him a few days later.

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With a top three set a few weeks ago, Ian Bunting (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) was setting up visits to his top three in hopes of closing in on a decision.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Watch List wide receiver Drake Harris (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) reopened his recruitment earlier this year, but didn’t officially decommit from Michigan State until Monday afternoon.

Despite the decommitment coming on the tails of three consecutive weekends visiting with Michigan coaches and players in Ann Arbor, Harris said the two aren’t related.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- Considering that running back Jacques Patrick (Orlando, Fla./Timber Creek) is only in his second year of high school but already has 25 scholarship offers, the case can be made that Patrick is one of the most coveted prospects in the Class of 2015.

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With more than 20 offers on the table, ESPN Watch List safety Jamal Adams (Carrollton, Texas/Hebron) ultimately will have to make a big decision.

That decision became even more complex on Wednesday when Adams picked up an offer from Oregon, his 21^st overall and fourth from the Pac-12. The 6-foot, 195-pound safety is taking his time with the process, but he said Oregon is a major pickup for him.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- ESPN Watch List wide receiver Demarre Kitt (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) recently cut his mammoth offer list down to a top-15 group of schools that he will consider.

“It got crazy at one point with almost everybody that offered me trying to talk to me,” Kitt said. “So I had to cut my list down to 15 schools. After spring practice I will cut it down to eight or 10. At the end of summer I will do five and then go from there.”

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The University of Florida had several prominent targets on campus Saturday, including one of the more coveted prospects from Georgia. Linebacker Raekwon McMillan (Hinesville, Ga./Liberty Co.) was in Gainesville, Fla., to check out the Gators, and it looks like they have made yet another solid impression on the ESPN Watch List prospect.

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Every recruiting cycle leaves programs and their fans wondering what happened to certain recruits who seemed destined for their school. While none of them were absolute "locks" to sign with Oregon, the Ducks had a long list of realistic targets who signed elsewhere.

The Ducks had plenty of opportunities to make a huge statement on the recruiting trail with the 2013 class. The coaching change from Chip Kelly to Mark Helfrich had an effect on many recruits, but a difference in scheme preference also led to a couple potential Ducks looking elsewhere. A couple former Oregon commits flipped to sign elsewhere and a couple others were just given up on. Notre Dame eventually signed three of the Ducks' top targets in the Class of 2013.

Here are a few players who could have easily been Ducks had one or two things gone differently.

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