Don't tell that hype machine OregonLive/Oregonian and the Duck beat reporter, Andrew Nemec:
The naysayers were out in full force after the Oregon Ducks suffered a 41-38 upset loss to the in-state rival Oregon State Beavers.
But Oregon fans shouldn’t worry about the historic 2021 recruiting class, ranked No. 1 in the Pac-12 Conference and No. 4 nationally.
After losing an NFL star quarterback (Justin Herbert), its entire offensive line, the heart-and-soul of the defense (Troy Dye) and three NFL opt-outs in the defensive backfield (Jevon Holland, Thomas Graham Jr. and Brady Breeze), Oregon has one of the youngest contributing rosters in the country.
Oregon has signed the top class in the Pac-12 Conference for the past two years and is poised for a three-peat with the 2021 recruiting class.
That means the Ducks’ elite recruiting classes are true sophomores/redshirt freshmen (2019 class), true freshmen (2020 class) and still-in-high-school seniors (2021 class).
-- Andrew Nemec |
anemec@oregonian.com |
@AndrewNemec