QUAAACK: Oregon picks up commitment from 2023 DL My'Keil Gardner

My’Keil Gardner did a good job of keeping his recruitment under wraps for the most part. He never quite led on which schools were in the best position, but his official visits in May and June helped tell the story. Oregon, Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin and Cal all hosted him for visits but deciphering which program would eventually earn his commitment became a bit difficult.

However, Oregon remained consistent through the process and Wednesday the Ducks finally learned the news that the big defensive tackle from Arizona will be headed to Eugene.

Schools tend to battle it out for the final official visit for recruits they are pursuing, and Oregon was the last school to host Gardner on campus before his decision. That late-June trip to Eugene helped in eventually securing his pledge.

"The Oregon visit was great,” he previously told Duck Sports Authority. “Got to see everyone kind of be comfortable, as in coaches, and see personalities.”

The 6-foot-2, 285-pound rising senior is the latest Arizona-based recruit to give the Ducks his commitment joining fellow 2023 commit Cole Martin. Oregon landed big-time receiver Kyler Kasper Gilbert, Arizona (Williams Field HS) earlier in the year as a late addition to the 2022 class and remain in strong position for recently-offered wideout Ja’Kobi Lane and Chandler, Arizona defensive lineman A’Mauri Washington.

Offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham has strong ties to Arizona, and he is not the only member of the Ducks’ staff who has connections back to The Copper State. Those connections helped play a part in getting Gardner to Oregon.

"I already liked Oregon so all the visit did was help them even more," he said. "I spent the most time with Kam (defensive analyst Kamran Araghi) and I loved it because he's an Arizona guy and he's just good people to be around -- nice and open."

Gardner is now the second commitment of the week for the Ducks after another defensive lineman, Terrance Green, gave his pledge to the program on Monday. Oregon now has 13 commitments in the class with four of them being defensive linemen. Defensive end Teitum Tuioti and defensive tackle Tevita Pome’e both committed to Dan Lanning’s program earlier in the cycle.

Nine of Oregon’s current 2023 commits are set to play on the defensive side of the ball.