Oregon Ducks

BRADENTON, Fla. -- ESPN 150 wide receiver Artavis Scott (Tarpon Springs, Fla./East Lake), as expected, was one of the top wideouts in attendance at the IMG 7v7 Southeast regional championships over the weekend.

The four-star wide receiver visited Michigan recently and said he enjoyed his experience in Ann Arbor.

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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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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Watch List running back Tony James (Gainesville, Fla./Gainesville) picked up an offer from the Oregon Ducks on Tuesday afternoon.

The 5-foot-11, 165-pound speedster said he believes he would fit well in the Oregon offensive system.

"That offer means a lot to me, actually," James said. "This is one of those offers that I have kind of been waiting on. It shows my dedication and hard work have been paying off. Oregon is the type of offense where I know I would fit in. They spread the ball out a lot and I feel I could really do well in that offense."

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Sophomore athlete Jaylin Hayward is undecided, which is normal for a prospect with two years of high school left. He has plenty of time to choose a school from among his impressive offer list, which includes programs like Alabama, LSU, Florida State, Florida, Miami and Tennessee. But before he picks a college, he has to pick a position -- which could be trickier.

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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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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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Junior college quarterback Tanner McEvoy (Hillsdale, N.J./Arizona Western College) was one of the most sought-after uncommitted recruits at his position as signing day approached. A quarterback with three years to play three seasons, capable of stepping in and pushing for early playing time, McEvoy narrowed his choices to a final four that included Florida, Oregon, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

After official visits to Wisconsin and Florida last week, McEvoy announced his decision on Monday.

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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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One of the more remarkable things about the steady rise the Oregon football program is that its home state is never going to be the place from which they stock their roster with talented recruits.

The Ducks never have had the benefit of loading up on local players who grew up dreaming of playing for the them. The talent level just isn't there, and it likely never will be. The Ducks always have recruited California as well as they can be expected to. In recent years, they have done a great job of going into states such as Texas to secure commitments from top players.

Even though Chip Kelly is a native of the Northeast, the Ducks have had no luck recruiting the region. After Kelly took over as Oregon head coach, he hired another Northeast native, former Syracuse defensive line coach Jerry Azzinaro, to the same position in Eugene. Azzinaro coached Dwight Freeney at Syracuse and has had the Ducks in contention for a couple of elite prospects from New York during his tenure. But between them, Kelly and Azzarino have been able to convince only one recruit from the region to cross the country to the Great Northwest. The Ducks offered only 11 recruits from the region over the last decade, nine since Kelly took over.

To continue the series of Oregon's recruiting by state, DuckNation examines the success -- or lack thereof -- Oregon has experienced when recruiting New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont over the past decade. Below is a list of the offers extended to recruits from the region by the Oregon coaching staff.

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More than 150 of the top underclassmen prospects in the country were in attendance for the Under Armour All-America Combine. There is no shortage of talent set to come out of the Tar Heel State in the 2014 class, and it was well represented on Friday.

Coaches line up to see WR Thompson

The AFCA coaches convention is in Nashville, Ten. Jan. 6-9, but for ESPN 2014 Watch List wide receiver Trevion Thompson (Durham, N.C./Hillside), it might as well have taken place at his school over the past few months.

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