The Oregon football team signed 22 student-athletes on December 19th, landing them what is currently ranked as the No. 7 class in the nation. If this stands or improves, it will be the Ducks’ top-rated recruiting class in school history. The class will add several more members before national signing day on February 6th.

This nationally-ranked class would not be possible without the hard work of the work of a large staff of people, primary amongst them the assistant coaches who logged countless miles in pursuit of the nation’s top talent, regardless of location.

In recognition of their efforts, Duck Sports Authority begins its countdown of the top Oregon recruiters of the early recruiting period with No. 5: Co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Keith Heyward.

It is a testimony to the whole staff that number five coach had an amazingly successful early recruiting period. Kayvon Thibodeaux was obviously the headliner of the group Heyward landed but even without him the others on his list were impressive on their own.

For the recruitment of Thibodeaux, Heyward worked primarily with Coach Salave’a. For Dollars it was Coach Mastro, and the recruitment of Mykael Wright he mostly handled the recruiting by himself. With Trikweze Bridges, Coach Bobby Williams was the primary recruiter and Heyward secondary.

Most of Heyward’s recruiting success comes from a place he knows well, California, with three of his four players hailing from the Golden State. Having coached at OSU, Cal Poly, Washington and USC, he knows the West Coast very well.

For Trikweze Bridges he reached into his 2016 year as secondary coach at Louisville where he first became aware of the southern standout safety.

Congratulations to Coach Keith Heyward for and extremely successful early recruiting period in his second year in Eugene.