Oregon Duck football coach Mario Cristobal landed yet another commitment today with the verbal commitment of Marcus Harper. Harper visited Oregon earlier in the spring and had a trip that would not soon be forgotten. That trip led to his eventual commitment as the Ducks look to continue building along the offensive line.
This is where Cristobal made his reputation and there were moments of trepidation along the way with Harper, but when all was said and done, Oregon was the place he felt was the right fit and he made the decision.
COMMIT IMPACT:
The addition of Harper takes the number of known commitments to 15 for the class of 2020 and continues to establish Oregon as the premier team in the Pac-12 in the Rivals recruiting rankings. Oregon has the top ranked class in the Pac-12 conference and one of the top ten ranked classes in the nation.
Harper is a three-star offensive lineman with excellent size (6-4, 290) and looks like a prototypical interior offensive lineman for the Oregon offense. Cristobal has mentioned previously that he is looking to build a bully offensive line and Harper fits that mold for the Oregon football team.
Harper chose Oregon over his other finalists of Purdue and Iowa State.
POSITION IMPACT:
The Ducks are still looking to add another offensive lineman or two to the 2020 class with a tremendous number of talented players still looking at Oregon.
One of the names that we were told over the weekend is that Saguaro offensive lineman Jaylan Jeffers is very high on Oregon and that the Ducks might be in the lead at this moment for the Scottsdale area standout..
Josh Fryar visited Oregon last month with Roger Rosengarten and there was some early thought that Fryar might want to join the flock, but over the last several weeks, Ohio State has started to emerge and looks to be the team to beat for Fryar.
One other option that is still on the table for Oregon is JUCO offensive lineman Brenden Coffey who looks like he would need to redshirt a season and then come in and make his impact in the 2021 season.
COMMITMENT THOUGHTS:
In a season where there are not many elite west coast talents along the offensive line – and where the best west coast lineman seems headed elsewhere, it was critical for Cristobal to reach around the nation and find the best available offensive linemen.
Harper is the kind of Midwest lineman that teams covet; he is big, physical and strong and can be the kind of road grading offensive lineman typically reserved for Big 10 play. He should be able to compete for playing time by his second year on campus and is a string – and crucial – addition to the class of 2020 for Cristobal and the offense led by coordinator Marcus Arroyo.
Losing Rosengarten to Washington hurt some as the Ducks really liked his game, but this is a nice win for the staff.
We really like Harper’s game and his film does not lie. He should be a very strong addition to the team and I know Cristobal really likes this addition.
