Oregon Ducks strike out on trio of 2027 blue-chip recruits
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Not long ago, the Oregon Ducks were flying high on the recruiting trail. Earlier in the month, the Ducks stacked commitments from four-star offensive linemen Gus Corsair and Cameron Wagner and appeared to be unstoppable. Now, some of the momentum has slowed.
On Tuesday, the Ducks missed out on three recruits they were pursuing heavily. Four-star defensive lineman Tevita Nonu committed to the Ducks’ rival, Washington. The big 6-foot-4, 270-pound defender chose the Huskies over Notre Dame, Michigan, Arizona and Oregon. The Ducks made a big push for Nonu, but the ability to stay close to home was too much to pass up for the Seattle recruit. Nonu is the top defensive recruit from Washington.
Four-star running back Javian Jones-Priest from Texas was the next domino to fall, opting to commit to Virginia Tech. Jones-Priest took an early official visit to the Hokies and the momentum quickly swung in their direction. He chose the Hokies over Oregon, which pushed hard by getting him on campus twice in the offseason, and TCU, where both of his parents graduated from. Jones-Priest ran for 1,154 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior in high school.
Lastly, the Ducks fell victim to another recruit opting to stay close to home, as four-star offensive tackle Jake Hildebrand chose to join former Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham in the Valley by committing to Arizona State. Hildebrand is the No. 92 overall player and No. 8 offensive tackle in the 2027 class, per the Rivals Industry Ranking. He chose the Sun Devils over Oregon, Utah and Texas A&M.
The Ducks were contenders for all three highly sought-after targets. After catching fire in April, Oregon’s momentum on the recruiting trail has fallen off. The Ducks recently lost top-100 corner Ai’King Hall, who flipped from Oregon to Miami. The Ducks also missed out on Georgia commit Donte Wright, who was long expected to flip to Oregon but eventually jumped ship to Miami as well.
All hope is not lost, however. Oregon is still preparing for the official visit season to begin, and plenty of high-profile recruits are scheduled to make their way to Eugene in the summer. The Ducks are hosting several blue-chippers at the end of the month, with four-star linebacker Toa Satele being the most notable target.
In June, the Ducks will have three consecutive busy recruiting weekends on campus. Among those visiting are four-star wide receiver Dakota Guerrant (June 5), five-star defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou and five-star corner Hayden Stepp (June 12), and four-star offensive lineman Ismael Camara (June 19).
There are plenty of recruits coming to visit, and the Ducks are expecting a few commitments to help offset these tough losses. Oregon currently has the No. 10 class in the nation, per Rivals.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon misses out on trio of 2027 recruiting targets
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