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October 9, 2012
Top Trio: Recent visitors
Scott Reed
Duck Sports Authority After opening conference play with three wins, the Oregon football team gets a well needed bye week after dismantling the Washington Huskies. As the Ducks have reached the halfway point of the football season, recruiting continues to pick up more and more steam.
With the most difficult stretch of the season approaching and more prospective student athletes visiting campuses around the nation, talk about the top recruits is also sure to pick up steam.
Today we continue our weekly series intended to rank some of the most talked about players on Oregon's recruiting board. During each week of the season we will look at a different position and the "Top Trio" at the position. The main factors for choosing which players we discuss will be need, buzz and interest; but not necessarily in that order.
Any and all opinions of these articles are purely that of Duck Sports Authority and do not reflect the opinions or thoughts of the Oregon coaching staff
This week, we step away from a pure positional approach and look at the top trio of visitors over the past two home games. The positions vary, but the individual interest of each of the profiled players is indeed genuine. These are all very good players with good offer lists; their eventual commitment is going to make some fans (and coaches) very happy. Will they be Ducks? Only time will tell.
| # | NAME | POS. | STARS | HT/WT/40 | HOMETOWN | VIDEO | | 1 | Juwaan Williams | ATH | | 6'1"/180/4.65 | Tucker, GA | | WHO: Williams is ranked as the 25th best player at the "athlete" position. He plays mostly quarterback for his high school team, but projects as a wide receiver at the next level. Williams has strong hands and runs well. He will need some work on the position specifics, but has all the necessary tools to develop into a good wide receiver.
SAY WHAT: Williams has been talking to Chip Kelly about his visit. "From the couple of times we've talked it seems like we have a common idea of what I would do when I get up there for an official," said Williams. "We get along really well." This was, of course, before his most recent visit over this past weekend. WHERE: Williams is from Georgia and the rest of his top five are considerably closer in proximity. Nonetheless, Williams has had Oregon in his top group througout the recruiting process and likes the offense the Ducks run. Oregon stands a decent chance of landing a commitment from Williams. At this point, the odds of Williams becoming a Duck are in the 12-20% range. |
| | 2 | Thomas Oser | OL | | 6'4"/270/-- | North Hollywood, CA | | WHO: Oser is rated as the 39th best offensive guard prospect in the nation and the 68th best player in the state of California. Oser has a great frame for adding positive weight with strength.
SAY WHAT: After his visit to Oregon for the Arizona game, Rivcals spoke with Oser about his trip. "It was awesome," Oser said. "I had a great time being out on that field when the team comes out and the crowd roaring. It was the first game back when school was in session. All the students were there and all the fans and it was just an outstanding atmosphere to be in."
"The facilities are incredible and them building new facilities is even more incredible," Oser continued. "They're creating this huge building just for football, that's kind of unheard of. It was pretty awesome.
"They're on my short list. Just going up there and being able to see it first-hand, that made an impression on me and my dad got to come up with me and that was his first time up there and it made a big impression on him, too. They're still up there definitely." WHERE: Oser still has plans to visit Stanford and Vanderbilt but the Ducks chances for landing this talented offensive lineman look good at this point. Duck Sports Authority rates the chances Oser commits to the Ducks in the 15-25% range. |
| 3 | Victor Egu | LB | | 6'3"/217/-- | Concord, CA | | WHO: Egu is a three star prospect ranked as the 43rd best outside linebacker prospect in the nation and the 76th overall player in the state of California. A raw prospect with intriguing play making ability from his linebacker position, Egu also has the kind of frame that can make him versatile on the defensive side of the ball.
SAY WHAT: "Oregon, man ... I love Coach Pellum and Coach Aliotti. Those are great coaches and they really like me a lot, too. Also, I love the fan base over there. I have teammates over there that went to the school and they say it's a great atmosphere and a lot of great people."-Victor Egu to Duck Sports Authority. After his visit for the Washington game, Egu got a chance to see, first hand, the kind of atmosphere that surrounds the Ducks at Autzen. Will it be enough to get Egu to choose the Ducks? Stay tuned to Duck Sports Authority to find out what Egu thought of his trip. WHERE: Egu has a top three of Oregon, Washington and Notre Dame in no particular order. He is still planning on visiting the other two schools, so it is difficult to say just where he will choose to play. However, given that the Ducks appear to be in his top three, Duck Sports Authority places the odds of Egu choosing the Ducks in the 15-25% range. |
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SUMMARY
The Ducks have hosted several visitors over the last two home games. Some of them were expected, some were surprise visitors. The fact that Juwaan Williams all the way from Georgia holds some positives. It is also helpful that Williams primary recruiter has been southeast recruiter extraordinairre for Oregon, John Neal.
Thomas Oser has the grades to go to any school in the nation as evidenced by the interest of prestigious academic institutions like Stanford and Vanderbilt. Oregon impressed him, though, during his visit and the Ducks stand a very good chance of securing his commitment.
Victor Egu has always had the Ducks near the top of his list of favorites and a visit to Autzen Stadium for a rivalry game did not hurt his impression of the Oregon experience. The Ducks are still looking to fill at least one more linebacker spot during this recruiting cycle and Egu may just be the top guy left on the coaches recruiting board.
Keep checking back with Duck Sports Authority to follow the progress of this top trio of recent visitors.
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