California running back Johnny Thompson Jr. committed to hometown USC in the midst of a coaching transition. At the time, Donte Williams was the acting head coach and a decision on who would next lead the Trojans hadn’t yet been decided. Since that commitment in October, there have been continued changes in Los Angeles with Lincoln Riley stepping in as the new head coach with a new staff.

Williams pledge to the Trojans remains in place, but as Thompson continues to evaluate his options one school made it clear that it wanted to get him on campus for a visit as soon as the dead period came to an end last week.

So, up to Eugene Thompson went last weekend with new Oregon running backs coach Carlos Locklyn and the three-star recruit already having an existing relationship. Thompson and Locklyn have had conversations in the past, so that helped give the junior all the confidence he needed to check out the Ducks despite still being committed to another Pac-12 program.

By the time the visit came to an end, Thompson was happy he made the trip to see Dan Lanning’s program firsthand.

“Man, I don’t regret going up there at all,” he said. “The unity and way coach Lanning tries to build a relationship between not only the coach and player but also the coach and the family of the player. I feel like coach Lanning also tries to reassure the family that their child is in good hands with the man that he is.