Oregon beats out USC to land huge commitment from 5-star OT Josh Conerly
It wasn’t long after his official visit to USC a couple weeks ago that it felt like five-star offensive lineman Josh Conerly was a lock for the Trojans. In recruiting, however, things can change quickly.
Friday evening the third-ranked offensive tackle in the 2022 class decided against that option in favor of committing to Oregon in a surprising decision.
The Ducks made a late charge for the 6-foot-6 offensive tackle and will now keep the Seattle-Rainier Beach prospect close to home for college. It is a major win for head coach Dan Lanning whose program beat out a final group that included Washington, Miami, Michigan and Oklahoma in addition to USC.
Oregon was able to bring in Conerly for a quiet unofficial visit last weekend, and in recent days the momentum began to swing in favor of the Ducks. Ultimately, the conversation came down to the two schools he visited last and pitted the new coaching staffs at USC and Oregon against one another.
Lanning and his staff making a successful late push shouldn’t take away from how improbable it once seemed that the job could be done. The Ducks were at one point not among the top schools in consideration, but offensive line coach Adrian Klemm and the rest of the Oregon staff proved to be the right group to pull off such a stunning commitment.
“The new staff are definitely filling the shoes, they’re doing a great job,” Conerly previously told DSA’s Scott Reed about the new Oregon coaches. “Coach Lanning and Coach Klemm; I know most of the offensive staff and I mean, they are doing a great job in the way that they are recruiting me and constantly stay in communication; they’re just doing a great job.”
The addition of Conerly bolsters a strong first recruiting group for Lanning, who inherited a class that had some departures after the coaching change in Eugene.
The Ducks were able to close out the 2022 cycle with a strong push that included signing four-star recruits Jahlil Florence, Dave Iuli and Jordan Bryant-James in the days leading up to National Signing Day in February.
Conerly is now the crown jewel of the class, however, as he is rated as the 31st-ranked prospect in the class and the top recruit in Washington.
Lanning and the Oregon coaches have already started to establish themselves as a force on the West Coast with Conerly’s commitment being the latest sign of that. Friday the Ducks also added their second 2023 commitment as Utah defensive tackle Tevita Pome’e gave Oregon his pledge over offers from USC, Utah, Washington, Colorado and Arizona among others.
The Ducks also hold a commitment from four-star 2023 corner back Cole Martin as well.
Conerly’s commitment means the Ducks have had at least one five-star commitment in each of the last four recruiting classes. He is the highest rated commitment to join the program since lineman Kingsley Suamataia, now at BYU, picked the Ducks back in the fall of 2020 as a member of the 2021 class.