With signing day now in the books, it’s time to wrap up the class of 2015 and look ahead to 2016. The Emerald caught up with Scout.com’s National Director of Recruiting Brandon Huffman to go over some of the key recruiting storylines on the Oregon trail.
What was your initial impression on Oregon’s recruiting class?
It’s a solid class, typical Oregon, a couple of highly-ranked guys, a slew of guys that fit their system to a T, and a couple of sleepers that Oregon typically gets the most out of. Overall, I’d rate it an A-. They missed on some prep linebackers, but across the board, it’s a solid class.
After watching UCLA and USC clean up on NSD, how big of a gap is there between those schools and Oregon’s recruiting class?
Basing it on stars and rankings, there is a gap, but again, no one in the Pac-12 does a better job developing their guys than Oregon. So fits in their system are the key, not the highly-ranked guys. Plus, UCLA and USC sit on a better recruiting base. So while the gap is there, the evaluations and development close that gap.
Have you heard of any differences between Mark Helfrich and Chip Kelly on the recruiting trail?
Helfrich is a little more liberal in giving out offers (key words- a little more). They still go through the whole background process like Kelly did, but they’re more willing to give offers early on. They still don’t bring in a lot of guys for visits unless its a legitimate and sincere interest in Oregon.
How have Oregon’s younger position coaches impacted the team’s recruiting compared to some of the team’s longer tenured coaches?
I still think the biggest impact of recruiters comes from their older coaches like Don Pellum, John Neal and Steve Greatwood. Those guys have a longstanding rep in certain parts of the country, and Oregon wisely capitalizes on that. The younger coaches don’t have as big a group to recruit from, particularly Scott Frost, though Matt Lubick does to a larger extent.
Who are the biggest prospects on Oregon’s board in 2016?
Aside from their commits like Brady Breeze, Dillon Mitchell and Seth Green, their top prospects include Portland LB Lamar Winston from Central Catholic, Bend Summit TE Cam McCormick and Westlake WR Theo Howard.
Outside of the L.A. schools, which Pac-12 schools have made the biggest strides with recruits for future classes?
Oregon definitely has- their class right now has two Top 300 guys and another, Breeze, just outside. Only UCLA and USC have a better early class in the Pac-12.
Follow Brandon Huffman on Twitter @brandonhuffman
Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter