The Ducks were able to get their revenge on Nebraska after all.
Among the five junior college transfers and 16 high school seniors to sign with the Ducks on Tuesday was defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, whom Oregon head coach Bellotti said is “the biggest signing in the history of Oregon football.”
In December, Ngata made a verbal agreement with Nebraska — the team that was chosen over Oregon to play Miami in the national championship game in January — but changed his mind twice before choosing Oregon. Ngata, a Salt Lake City native who also made a verbal commitment to Brigham Young, is ranked by many publications as the nation’s best defensive recruit.
“I had written him down on my list two weeks ago and most of my coaches thought I was crazy,” Bellotti said. “I felt a kinship with him and his parents, and I felt very good about our relationship. I think we were honest with him and his family.”
Bellotti said the 6-foot-4, 324-pound Ngata will battle for a starting spot as a true freshman.
“He possesses the physical tools to play right now,” Bellotti said. “He’s a great young man, and I sense a maturity and a leadership that will put him in position to play very early on in his career.”
After his freshman year, Bellotti said that Ngata is considering taking a two-year Mormon mission, and Bellotti said he is “very comfortable with that.”
However, after two years, an athlete becomes a “free agent and can go anywhere,” Bellotti said.
Ngata will be joined on the defensive line by three other signees next year, including Chris Solomona, a transfer from El Camino College in San Pedro, Calif., who was ranked as the No. 3 junior college lineman in the country.
“I’m not sure where Chris will play (on the line), but we’re obviously very excited to have him. He’s a quality football player who will make an immediate impact,” Bellotti said.
With the loss of both starting defensive backs from last year’s Fiesta Bowl championship squad, Bellotti signed five corners this year, including David Dixon, a 5-foot-9, 166-pound transfer from Palomar College (Compton, Calif.), which played for the junior college national championship last season.
Bellotti described this year’s signing class as an athletic group, with several players able to play on both offense and defense.
In particular, Darius Sanders, a senior at Lynwood High (Calif.), could end up as a tight end, where he recorded 25 catches and six touchdowns last year, or on the defensive line, where he had 10.5 quarterback sacks.
“Obviously, tight end has been integral to our success, and we’re always looking for people that can play that position,” Bellotti said. “I told (Sanders), ‘If you can catch, why waste that?’”
Overall, Bellotti said he was pleased with this year’s recruiting class. But despite the team’s success in recent years — the Ducks are the winning-est Pacific-10 Conference program in the last eight years and have consecutive top-10 finishes — Bellotti has had some trouble landing top recruits. ESPN.com didn’t even rate Oregon’s recruiting class in the Pac-10’s top-5 this year.
“It’s always harder than I thought it would be after what we’ve accomplished here,” he said. “We don’t have a large, captive local population, so we are going outside our state for approximately 80 percent of the student athletes.”
Just two recruits from Oregon signed with the Ducks.
Of the 13 recruits who attended the muggy, rainy Civil War game on Dec. 1, Bellotti said he might be able to sign three.
“I think the weather on that day scared the kids,” he said.
Two to four more recruits may still sign with the Ducks, Bellotti said. Albert Toeaina, a top offensive line prospect, may be one of them. Toeaina originally committed to Washington, then changed his mind and agreed to Oregon State, but Oregon is still a possibility. His cousin, fullback Matt Toeaina, has signed with the Ducks.
Hershel Dennis, one of the top running back recruits in the country, signed with USC on Tuesday. He had narrowed his decision down to the Trojans, Oregon and Washington.