Oregon Ducks: Oklahoma State Cowboys
Earlier this month, ESPN 150 wide receiver Cameron Sims (Monroe, La./Ouachita Parish) had what he called a quiet spring game, reeling in only four catches. But what Sims fails to mention is that he took those four completions for more than 160 yards and three touchdowns in front of several college coaches, including University of Georgia receivers’ coach Tony Ball, Billy Napier from Alabama and Cam Cameron from LSU.
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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 21st 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.
That decision became even more complex on Wednesday when Adams picked up an offer from Oregon, his 21st 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.”
“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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After losing long-time commit Dontre Wilson (DeSoto, Texas/DeSoto) to Ohio State on Monday, the Oregon Ducks enter signing day looking for a couple of surprises to go their way. Fortunately the Ducks have gotten the better end of the deal with signing day surprises in recent years.
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The final countdown: Oregon's outlook 
January, 30, 2013
Jan 30
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Brandon P. Oliver | ESPN.com
Recruits, their families, coaches and football programs from around the country are holding their breath in hopes the right decision is made on national signing day. The truth is, no one knows what will happen between now and the time the pen hits the paper at high schools nationwide next Wednesday. What we do know is that both publicly and privately, the biggest decisions of recruits' lives are about to be made official.
For the Oregon Ducks, it appears as if their current commits are locked into the decisions they already have made. Now, the Ducks hope that their latest recruiting efforts provide a boost to an already strong class.
Here is where things stand for the Ducks and what their class might look like by the end of the day on Feb. 6.
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Ducks visit Wilson, but he still plans visits
January, 23, 2013
Jan 23
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By
Damon Sayles | ESPN.com
In an effort to keep ESPN 150 athlete Dontre Wilson (DeSoto, Texas/DeSoto) committed, Oregon decided to make its trip to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex count.
To quote Wilson’s father Don, “They sent in the army.”
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Oregon recruiting: Quick hitters
January, 23, 2013
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Brandon P. Oliver | ESPN.com
With news flying around faster than a Mark Helfrich-led offense, DuckNation has gathered the latest developments from the recruiting trail. Coaching changes, official visitors, canceled visits, rescheduled visits and commitments taking trips elsewhere are just some of the developments in the past few days.
ESPN 300 members Cameron Hunt (Corona, Calif./Centennial), Torrodney Prevot (Houston, Texas/Alief Taylor) and Zach Cunningham (Pinson, Ala./Pinson Valley) were all in Eugene over the weekend and all three liked what they saw. Prevot, the No. 235 player in the ESPN 300 -- who could play defensive end or linebacker -- remains committed to USC, but visits to Texas A&M and Notre Dame await. He will make a final decision on signing day.
Hunt -- No. 275 in the ESPN 300 -- remains committed to California, but the offensive lineman will wait until signing day to decide. He will be in Berkeley this weekend and then return home to examine his options. Cal, Ohio State and Oregon, are the three programs he will likely choose from, as Michigan appears to be out of spots on the OL.
ESPN 300 members Cameron Hunt (Corona, Calif./Centennial), Torrodney Prevot (Houston, Texas/Alief Taylor) and Zach Cunningham (Pinson, Ala./Pinson Valley) were all in Eugene over the weekend and all three liked what they saw. Prevot, the No. 235 player in the ESPN 300 -- who could play defensive end or linebacker -- remains committed to USC, but visits to Texas A&M and Notre Dame await. He will make a final decision on signing day.
Hunt -- No. 275 in the ESPN 300 -- remains committed to California, but the offensive lineman will wait until signing day to decide. He will be in Berkeley this weekend and then return home to examine his options. Cal, Ohio State and Oregon, are the three programs he will likely choose from, as Michigan appears to be out of spots on the OL.
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Dontre Wilson monitoring Ducks' staff
January, 20, 2013
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By
Damon Sayles | ESPN.com
Sunday’s news of offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich being named Oregon’s new head coach was good news to ESPN 150 athlete and Ducks commit Dontre Wilson (DeSoto, Texas/DeSoto). However, according to his father, more needs to happen for Wilson to be totally sold -- or resold, in the eyes of some -- on the Ducks.
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Time for deep breath on Ducks recruiting
January, 19, 2013
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Brandon P. Oliver | ESPN.com
There is a silver lining in most situations -- sometimes you just have to take a step back and look around. For the Oregon Ducks and their fans, it has been hard to find that since head coach Chip Kelly and assistant coach Jerry Azzinaro left for the Philadelphia Eagles.
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Big visit, maybe two for Oregon commit
January, 17, 2013
Jan 17
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By
Damon Sayles | ESPN.com
ESPN 150 athlete and Oregon commit Dontre Wilson (DeSoto, Texas/DeSoto) is apparently ready to hit the road.
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Ducks seek out new recruiting options
January, 16, 2013
Jan 16
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By
Brandon P. Oliver | ESPN.com
Since the "modern era" of Oregon football began in 1994, the Ducks have done as good of a job as any other program in the country at identifying and developing under-the-radar talent. In recent years, the Ducks have also done a great job of finding the right fit with certain recruits late in the process. The Ducks have been able to host several official visitors late in the recruiting process and turn them into Ducks. Can they do it again in 2013?
With three weeks to go until signing day, the Ducks are targeting a number of prospects that are either committed elsewhere or are new to the Ducks' recruiting board. Some of them are big names and some are new names all together. We'll take a look at who the Ducks have recently made a push for and where things stand.
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Ducks make habit of closing strong
January, 14, 2013
Jan 14
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By
Brandon P. Oliver | ESPN.com
For those Oregon fans who worry about how many commitments the Ducks have at this point in the recruiting cycle, all they need to do is take a look back over the past decade or so, starting with the 2002 recruiting class, when the Ducks landed some guy named Haloti Ngata on signing day.
With a handful of spots to fill in the class of 2013, DuckNation decided to take a look back at who the Ducks have added in the final weeks of the recruiting cycle in each year since 2003.
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Ducks No. 2 in Way-Too-Early Top 25
January, 8, 2013
Jan 8
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By RecruitingNation staff | ESPN.com
Streeter Lecka/Getty ImagesAlabama, with three of the past four national titles, is No. 1 in the Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2013.There are still seven months before the start of the 2013 season, and the teams and their order figure to change frequently, but it's never too early to take a look at the Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2013.
And with three national championships in the past four years, there's no reason to change the team that's on top. Oregon, which finished the season No. 2 in the polls, starts there in 2013 as well.
Also see:
A closer look: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
December, 27, 2012
12/27/12
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By
David Ubben | ESPN.com
As the bowl season approaches, we're going to be looking a little closer at each game. We'll go down the Big 12 bowl schedule in chronological order.
TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL
No. 5 Kansas State (11-1) vs. No. 4 Oregon (11-1)
Where: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
When: Thursday, Jan. 3, 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
About Kansas State: Bill Snyder's boys proved they could get over a painful Baylor loss. With the Big 12 title in the balance, K-State thrashed Texas with a second-half surge to win the Big 12 title on its home field. K-State made the first 10 games of the season look pretty easy, even with close wins over Oklahoma and Iowa State on the road. The Wildcats largely controlled both games but blew out a whole bunch of 7-5 Big 12 teams like West Virginia, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. The Wildcats have a great case as the best K-State team ever, even though a painful loss to Baylor cost them what looked like a really likely shot at a national title after reaching No. 1 in the BCS for the first time ever after a win at TCU. This was K-State's first Big 12 title since 2003 but the first time it's truly been the Big 12's best team throughout the regular season since 1998.
About Oregon: The Ducks are all about go, go, go and this season's been no exception. The run-heavy offense didn't miss a beat without LaMichael James and Darron Thomas. We'll talk about the Ducks trio more a little later, but Oregon nearly reached the national title game for the second time in three years before a painful overtime loss to Oregon's super offense's kryptonite: Stanford. The Ducks hadn't scored fewer than 42 points all season. Stanford held them to just 14 in an overtime loss the same night K-State lost to Baylor. The teams were No. 1 and No. 2 in the BCS on Nov. 17, poised to block the SEC from playing for a seventh straight national title, but the loss also cost Oregon a bid to the Pac-12 championship and a second consecutive Rose Bowl berth. Instead, the Ducks are headed to the desert where they lost to Auburn in the title game two years ago. The Ducks are 4-1 against top 25 teams, but haven't played anyone ranked higher than No. 13, which was Stanford. Those four wins, though, came by an average of almost 29 points.
Wildcats to watch: In case you missed the second half of the Wildcats' win over Oklahoma State, Heisman finalist Collin Klein is K-State's offense. Receiver Chris Harper and running back John Hubert are fine talents in their own right, but Klein is the man who makes it all go. When he's out or plays poorly like he did against TCU and Baylor (performances that ultimately cost him the Heisman Trophy), K-State can look very, very average offensively. Linebacker and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Arthur Brown has led one of the Big 12's best defenses along with cornerback Nigel Malone and big-time pass-rusher Meshak Williams.
Ducks to watch: How many players on any team ever have had three different players earn legitimate Heisman hype at some point during the season? Scatback De'Anthony Thomas was an early-season splash before slowing with limited touches as the season moved forward, though Kenjon Barner emerged as the team's best back throughout the season. In the middle of the season, though, quarterback Marcus Mariota landed on a few ballots with some big games, too. Barner is the team's best player, ranking fifth nationally with 1,624 rushing yards, but Mariota's passer rating of 165.36 is higher than every Big 12 quarterback but J.W. Walsh. Linebacker Michael Clay racked up 92 tackles and fellow backer Kiko Alonso led the team with 12 tackles for loss (two defensive linemen, Dion Jordan and Taylor Hart, combined for 20.5), but let's be honest: It's all about the offense on this squad.
Did you know? Because of expansion quirks, there have been six Big 12 teams to play in this game in the past five years. No Big 12 team won the game from 2001-08, but the league is 3-1 in the game in the past four seasons, including huge wins over No. 10 Ohio State and No. 4 Stanford over that stretch. (There were also rumors of a win over a five-loss team from somewhere in the Northeast, but I don't know anything about that.)
More on the Big 12 Bowls:
TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL
No. 5 Kansas State (11-1) vs. No. 4 Oregon (11-1)
Where: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
When: Thursday, Jan. 3, 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
About Kansas State: Bill Snyder's boys proved they could get over a painful Baylor loss. With the Big 12 title in the balance, K-State thrashed Texas with a second-half surge to win the Big 12 title on its home field. K-State made the first 10 games of the season look pretty easy, even with close wins over Oklahoma and Iowa State on the road. The Wildcats largely controlled both games but blew out a whole bunch of 7-5 Big 12 teams like West Virginia, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. The Wildcats have a great case as the best K-State team ever, even though a painful loss to Baylor cost them what looked like a really likely shot at a national title after reaching No. 1 in the BCS for the first time ever after a win at TCU. This was K-State's first Big 12 title since 2003 but the first time it's truly been the Big 12's best team throughout the regular season since 1998.
About Oregon: The Ducks are all about go, go, go and this season's been no exception. The run-heavy offense didn't miss a beat without LaMichael James and Darron Thomas. We'll talk about the Ducks trio more a little later, but Oregon nearly reached the national title game for the second time in three years before a painful overtime loss to Oregon's super offense's kryptonite: Stanford. The Ducks hadn't scored fewer than 42 points all season. Stanford held them to just 14 in an overtime loss the same night K-State lost to Baylor. The teams were No. 1 and No. 2 in the BCS on Nov. 17, poised to block the SEC from playing for a seventh straight national title, but the loss also cost Oregon a bid to the Pac-12 championship and a second consecutive Rose Bowl berth. Instead, the Ducks are headed to the desert where they lost to Auburn in the title game two years ago. The Ducks are 4-1 against top 25 teams, but haven't played anyone ranked higher than No. 13, which was Stanford. Those four wins, though, came by an average of almost 29 points.
Wildcats to watch: In case you missed the second half of the Wildcats' win over Oklahoma State, Heisman finalist Collin Klein is K-State's offense. Receiver Chris Harper and running back John Hubert are fine talents in their own right, but Klein is the man who makes it all go. When he's out or plays poorly like he did against TCU and Baylor (performances that ultimately cost him the Heisman Trophy), K-State can look very, very average offensively. Linebacker and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Arthur Brown has led one of the Big 12's best defenses along with cornerback Nigel Malone and big-time pass-rusher Meshak Williams.
Ducks to watch: How many players on any team ever have had three different players earn legitimate Heisman hype at some point during the season? Scatback De'Anthony Thomas was an early-season splash before slowing with limited touches as the season moved forward, though Kenjon Barner emerged as the team's best back throughout the season. In the middle of the season, though, quarterback Marcus Mariota landed on a few ballots with some big games, too. Barner is the team's best player, ranking fifth nationally with 1,624 rushing yards, but Mariota's passer rating of 165.36 is higher than every Big 12 quarterback but J.W. Walsh. Linebacker Michael Clay racked up 92 tackles and fellow backer Kiko Alonso led the team with 12 tackles for loss (two defensive linemen, Dion Jordan and Taylor Hart, combined for 20.5), but let's be honest: It's all about the offense on this squad.
Did you know? Because of expansion quirks, there have been six Big 12 teams to play in this game in the past five years. No Big 12 team won the game from 2001-08, but the league is 3-1 in the game in the past four seasons, including huge wins over No. 10 Ohio State and No. 4 Stanford over that stretch. (There were also rumors of a win over a five-loss team from somewhere in the Northeast, but I don't know anything about that.)
More on the Big 12 Bowls:
#BlueChipBattles: Dec. 21
December, 21, 2012
12/21/12
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By RecruitingNation staff | ESPN.com
ESPN.comReuben Foster (center) is torn between good friends Dee Liner (left) and Tray Matthews (right).No. 1 ILB Reuben Foster has voiced his desire to play with at least one of his SEC-bound friends next season. But will he follow Tray Matthews to Georgia or hook up with Dee Liner wherever the ESPN 150 DL settles? It remains to be seen, but the mystery surrounding his recruitment keeps Foster at the top of our #BlueChipBattles.
Each week, RecruitingNation summons its writers from around the country to compile a list of the top 10 battles for elite football recruits leading up to February's signing day.
Here are this week's top battles
, and you can take a shot at ranking the top 10 recruiting battles on SportsNation.