A couple more of these and I'm gonna nickname him "snatchemup". Willie "snatchemup" Taggart. Snatchemup Willie. Graham discusses Oregon commitment It didn't take long for Willie Taggart to make a splash on the recruiting trail. Friday afternoon Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) defensive back Thomas Graham committed to Oregon over Notre Dame, UCLA, USC and others. Graham is the nation's No. 61 ranked player, according to the 247Sports Composite. He is now Oregon's highest ranked commit of the 2017 class. The four-star details why Oregon was the right choice. "It's going to be a great coaching staff and I love Willie Taggart," Graham said. "I know it's an even playing field up there and I have a chance to compete right away. They also have a great academic staff to help me get my degree. And best of all I know I'm going to go up there and play with some dogs." Coach Taggart has talked about getting 'the juice' and changing the culture at Oregon. Graham could be a key catalyst to start that movement. Despite only being on the job at Oregon a little over a week, Graham said the hire of Taggart played a big part in his decision. "Coach Taggart was a big part of this decision. He was definitely a real big plus." http://oregon.247sports.com/Bolt/Graham-discusses-Oregon-commitment-49854416
Now you're bustin' out music from my youth! As an OSU Beaver fan I am happy they went with Taggart and might actually give Beaver Nation a chance to rise above the Ducks. As a fan of Oregon sports I think this is an underwhelming hire. However, there's time for him to prove me wrong.
Jim Leavitt is gonna have a few new toys on defense: Jaylon Redd, nation's No. 4 athlete, commits to Oregon Ducks After a rough week, culminating in a 41-38 loss to Colorado, the Oregon Ducks football program is looking to turn the page both on the practice field and on the recruiting trail. On Monday, Oregon took a step forward in that venture, landing Rivals four-star athlete Jaylon Redd, the nation's No. 4 athlete, as he chose Oregon over fellow finalists UCLA, USC, Notre Dame, Michigan, Nebraska, Arizona and Arizona State. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound defensive back, out of Rancho Cucamonga High School (California), made his announcement through a video on Twitter: Redd is the second top-100 commit (No. 98) in the class of 2017 for the Ducks, and just misses being rated the top recruit overall (Deommodore Lenoir, No. 83). The duo connected in Redd's Twitter video, together making the "O" before saying, "S'go Ducks." For some time, Oregon has appeared to be the leader, stemming from an unofficial visit the dynamic defender took earlier this year. "We were both equally shocked and impressed. I feel like me and him were wanted a lot. The fans walked up to us, 'You should come to Oregon.' I was impressed," Redd told The Oregonian in May. "It was weird, because it was new to me, but it made me feel really wanted. Fans at USC and UCLA don't walk up to you like that. For people to walk up to you and talk to you out of nowhere, it was just... dang. I enjoyed it." Since that time, Redd has established himself as one of the top defensive backs in the country, earning an Under Armour All-American Game invitation last week. Oregon needs help in the secondary, and with the commitment of Redd, it's clear that help is on the way.
The 2017 Recruiting class is shaping up nicely CB Deommodore Lenoir is supposed to be a great pickup. They also got the Jesuit kid #2 CB in OR, Demetrius Douglas. The future looks bright for the Oregon secondary.
I think Taggart is best coach we could have hoped for really. I've talked to people on the East Coast and those who see USF regularly. I guess he knows the spread offense like nobody else but will change the game plan to suit his talent. And let's face it, Oregon has been getting their asses kicked in recruiting for the last few years. General things like not using social media, prioritizing big time recruits over more landable ones and overvaluing official visits in general was helping to erode the talent base. I think that where Taggart probably is going to make the biggest difference. But shit, Helfrich landed only what two (?) 4 star recruits during this recruiting cycle. Taggart has already landed one in 1 week! If we'd have had him sooner we might of not have lost Alex Molden to the Fuskies or Tua Tagovailoa to Bama. But that's Helfrich for you, the modern equivalent of the Peter Principle.
