Big recruiting weekend for UA game

The Oregon Ducks have obviously been scorching hot on the football field. Sitting atop the Pac-10 conference and BCS standings with a perfect 10-0 season record, Oregon has wowed the football world with its offense, defense and special teams in 2010. It has not hurt their recruiting efforts.

The game atmosphere at Autzen is well-known throughout the country, and under Chip Kelly, the Ducks have worked hard to schedule official visits for game days to take advantage of this. For the Arizona game this Friday, the Ducks are bringing in four high quality student athletes to check out what the football program and University have to offer.

Two of the players in this weekend's visit group would start their Oregon careers on the defensive side of the ball. One of the defenders is Iowa Western CC defensive tackle Jared Ebert. Ebert is one of the most highly-sought junior college defensive tackles in the nation, and is rated as a four-star prospect. Ebert, ranked as the #10 junior college player in the nation by Rivals, will graduate from Iowa Western in time for Oregon's spring camp 2011. The schools Ebert is considering aside from Oregon are Oklahoma State and Penn State.

The other defender planning to celebrate the Thanksgiving weekend in Eugene is Auburn (WA) defensive tackle Danny Shelton. Shelton is rated as the #2 player in the State of Washington, and the #12 defensive tackle in the country. Most recently Shelton has had a top two of Oregon and home-state Washington, with USC trying their hardest to get his attention.

Don't let the number two fool you. Given that both defensive visitors are at a position coveted by all defensive coordinators and both are highly sought by the Ducks, these two recruits are hugely important to the future stiffness of the Oregon line of scrimmage.

Ah, beautiful balance; here it is again. Two offensive players will be in Eugene for the Arizona game, both heading up from California. The first is running back Brendon Bigelow. Bigelow made a verbal commitment to Washington months ago, and has since decided to take official visits to other schools. The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder from Fresno is ranked as the 11th best running back in the nation and the third best player in the State of California despite suffering a season ending ACL injury this year. Besides obviously Washington and Oregon, Bigelow is considering Tennessee, Cal and Utah.

The final player on this week's visit list is College of San Mateo wide receiver Rahsaan Vaughn. Vaughn is rated as the top JC wide receiver in the country by JCGridiron.com. Rivals.com rates him as the #35 junior college player in the nation. In addition to Oregon, the 6-foot-2, 190 pound speedster is considering Utah, Arizona and Georgia.

While the Oregon Ducks face a tough foe on the field Friday, they simultaneously will be trying to win the commitments from four of the country's top recruits who will be watching from the stands. A victory over the Wildcats will assure the Ducks a BCS bowl. Commitments from these four athletes would help secure more in the future.