The spotlight game nationally in high school football last week was the Southern California showdown between perennial powerhouse program Mater Dei and St. John Bosco.

And one of the matchups within the matchup was 2024 four-star offensive tackle Brandon Baker vs. 2023 four-star edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei. Both are major Oregon targets.

Uiagalelei made a couple of plays that game, but Baker shut him down for the most part while helping Mater Dei to a 17-7 win while making a statement about his standing in the 2024 recruiting class.

“[I'm] still waiting on the No. 1 offensive tackle position spot. You know, you see me, what I was doing to go against [a] five-star edge rusher," Baker said. "So I feel like I should definitely be up there, No. 1. That's definitely what I'm striving for.”

While local USC is making a strong push to keep Baker in SoCal, Oregon has made a major impression on him, including a recent visit to Eugene and some valuable face time with head coach Dan Lanning, OL coach Adrian Klemm and grad assistant Viane Talamaivao.