North Carolina LB Jabril McNeill picks Oregon

If you follow Oregon recruiting, you would not know there was a pandemic shutting down the Pac-12. Since March and the NCAA mandated ‘dead period’, the Ducks have been on a roll and on Monday added their 17th commitment since March when Raleigh (NC) Sanderson star athlete Jabril McNeill made his announcement.

McNeill had over 20 Power Five offers in total and had a final group which included North Carolina State and Auburn before selecting the Ducks.

Oregon Class of 2021:

The Ducks now have 20 commitments to the Class which is currently ranked as the No. 3 group in the country. Nine of the 20 committed prospects are on defense, 11 on offense.

Oregon has somewhere around three more scholarships available for the class of 2021 with three months to go before the early signing period.

Linebacker:

The commitment of McNeill probably wraps things up for 2021 linebacker as he joins Chandler (Ariz.) LB/DE Brandon Buckner and Lebanon (Ore.) Keith Brown in the unit. The Ducks graduate Dru Mathis and Sampson Niu after the season so signing three LB prospects will keep the overall unit number for OLB + ILB at 13 which is just about right.

Junior Film:

Watching McNeill’s junior film at Sanderson it is apparent why the Duck coaches were so hot after him. He is extremely quick to read and react to plays and has very good timing. His ability to range sideline-to-sideline is excellent.

With his frame, speed and athleticism, he can easily become an asset in pass defense although his forte in high school has been as a middle linebacker run stopper.

Reminds me of:

Class of 2009 signee Boseko Lokombo was a very athletic linebacker who was quick to the ball and had the speed to cover running backs out of the backfield. British Columbia native who started both his junior and senior years for the Ducks after being the primary OLB backup as a sophomore.

Prognosis:

Though rated as a three-star ATH, the Oregon coaching staff has been after him for months as if he were a five-star. McNeil projects at OLB joining the depth chart with sophomores Adrian Jackson, Andrew Faoliu, Andrew Johnson and RFr Treven Ma’ae. He could possibly bulk up a bit and join the STUD LB depth chart as well.

As with most freshmen, his quickest path to playing time will be special teams and with the four game redshirt rule in which he can get some experience and still maintain four years, he is an ideal candidate to use his first year at Oregon as a RS.