It’s crunch time in the football recruiting cycle, and Oregon is responding well to the pressure.
With only nine days remaining before National Signing Day, the Ducks continue to be in excellent shape to sign a highly rated 2011 class.
After picking up a number of verbal commitments from highly touted recruits in All-Star games earlier this month, the Ducks received a pair of commitments from players last week.
On Thursday, Oregon received an oral commitment from linebacker/defensive back Lake Koa-Ka’ai. Rated three stars by the recruiting website Rivals.com (and four stars by Scout.com, a competing site), Koa-Ka’ai picked Oregon over reported offers from Nebraska, Stanford, Colorado, Washington and USC, among many others. Koa-Ka’ai made his decision the day after defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti paid him an in-home visit.
Then, on Saturday, California wide receiver B.J. Kelley gave the Ducks their second commitment of the week. A three star recruit by Rivals.com, Kelley claimed offers from Arizona State and Utah, among others. Kelley made his commitment while on an official visit to Eugene.
With the commitments of Kelley and Koa-Ka’ai, 22 recruits have now made public verbal commitments to the Ducks. While it’s uncertain how many more recruits Oregon will take for the 2011 class, several highly ranked prospects are still uncommitted and reportedly hold interest in the Ducks.
They include defensive tackles Delvin Simmons (McKeesport High School, McKeesport, Penn.), Roderick Byers (Northwestern High School, Rock Hill, S.C), Christian Heyward (Point Loma High School, San Diego, Calif.), as well as offensive tackle Jake Fisher (Traverse City West Senior High School, Traverse City, Mich.) and linebacker Branden Jackson (McKeesport High School, McKeesport, Penn.).
The annual national signing day is set for Thursday, Feb. 3.
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