Oregon football recruiting has been on a roll in June with four commitments over a one-week span. Honolulu offensive tackle Faaope Laloulu got the ball rolling last Saturday followed by Narbonne safety Jared Greenfield on Monday.

The Ducks scored twice on Friday with a morning commitment from Mississippi running back Trey Benson followed in the afternoon by California defensive end Jake Shipley.

In this edition of Recruiting Impact we put this flurry of activity into perspective.

Size matters

Friday’s verbal duo brings the Duck class of 2020 to a total of twelve commitments. Current projections put the class size somewhere around 20 signees so from that perspective the class is more than half full.

Comparing the progress to a national perspective, the average number of commits for the top 25 classes is currently 12.6 putting the Ducks on track there also.

Nationally

With 12 prospects verbally committed the Ducks are ranked No. 11 in the current national recruiting rankings.

Oregon’s average stars of 3.50 is in line with other Top 25 classes whose average is 3.43.

Friday started big for the Ducks when Greenville (Miss.) St. Joseph star Trey Benson announced for the Ducks. Benson had visited Eugene on Monday with his mom and dad on an official visit, and as of Thursday told Duck Sports Authority he was down to Oregon and Mississippi State.

At 6-foot-1, 203-pounds he has the kind of size you just can’t teach yet his film shows great athleticism and acceleration. Though he is currently ranked as a high three-star, adding a fourth is well within his reach.

As a junior for St. Joseph he had 150 carries for 1,833 yards and 22 touchdowns in 12 games.

Benson is very likely the only running back the Ducks will sign this cycle.

On Thursday DSA ran a feature Where Things Stand: 2020 defense. In it we noted that on defense, the top remaining need for 2020 was along the front line. The next day the Oregon staff delivered with a commitment from one of the west coast’s top defensive end prospects Jake Shipley.

Shipley played defensive end and middle linebacker as a Junior for Shadow Hills. He led the team with 73 tackles, 13 for loss including four sacks. He also disrupted offenses with a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and a blocked punt. On offense he played tight end and caught 10 receptions for 192 yards and two touchdowns.

His final five were Washington, ASU, Oregon, UCLA and Cal. So if he did not pick the Ducks, they would have faced him several times on the field over the next few years.

The Ducks are still looking for another prospect or two along the defensive line for 2020 but with Shipley committed they can be even more selective.

The two Friday commitments are quite welcome for Cristobal and staff. For the rest of 2020 they can narrow their focus on offense to the line and a receiver or two. On defense they can focus more on interior linemen and linebackers.

Last year the Ducks had ten commits at mid-June then picked up three more over the last two weeks. Right now, they are on pace to meet or exceed that.

One of those late-June commits was Lance Wilhoite who made his announcement at the Rivals Five Challenge. That event is a week away and DSA will be on hand in Atlanta for it. Maybe lighting can strike twice?