National Signing Day 2012: Oregon Ducks Land Huge Commit Arik Armstead

Arik Armstead has decided to take his talents to Eugene, Oregon and play his college career for the Oregon Ducks.

For the Oregon Ducks, this is the biggest defensive recruit that they have landed since Haloti Ngata in 2002. At 6’8” and 280 pounds, Armstead is a force to be reckoned with on either side of the ball. Oregon will hope to start him off as a defensive lineman, and he will eventually offer a future as an elite offensive lineman when he grows into the position.

The 5-star recruit is seen as the No. 1 rated recruit at offensive line in the nation, and is touted for his extreme explosiveness, inhuman size and impressive arm size.

Armstead, the top-rated player in the West Coast, is the kind of player that requires attention for an offensive line if he’s on defense and merits the same respect if he were on the offensive side of the ball.

For a defensive line taking a bit of a beating to the NFL, if Armstead does not redshirt he can offer immediate help to the core nucleus of an already-impressive Oregon Ducks defensive unit. If Armstead impresses coaches in spring workouts, he could start where Terrell Turner left a vacant spot. He will be fully enrolled by March, and immediately bolsters the Ducks biggest recruiting need: defensive line.

By committing to Oregon, Armstead joins an already strong recruiting class of defensive linemen that includes the likes of DeForest Buckner and Alex Balducci. This will likely help the Oregon Ducks recruit local friend and highly touted Oregon target Shaq Thompson, as well as raising the Oregon Ducks recruit ranking when the next list comes out.

Oregon got the nod from Armstead over Cal, Washington, Auburn, Notre Dame, USC and UCLA.

Of Oregon, Armstead spoke highly of the “sports business program and Nike connection”.

These are two things that the Oregon Ducks are incredibly proud of, and two of the biggest draws to the program as a whole. Citing two academic reasons, as well as an implicit chance to play for the National Title if the Oregon Ducks can continue their Pac-12 dominance, Armstead finds solace in the U of O family.

The Oregon Ducks community, who found themselves devastated by a potential loss of Chip Kelly this time last week, can now once again sing his praises after landing such a high-profile recruit.

“He was honest,” said Armstead. “They never talked bad about any other program. They recruited me without recruiting.”

These, of course, are fantastic words for the Oregon Ducks fans to hear surrounding recent talk of potential recruiting violations surrounding the program re: a certain Willie Lyles.

B.J. Kelley was quick to take to twitter to announce his approval of the commit. “Oregon is stacked. This is where the best come to win with the best.”

Oregon took an immediate leap in the recruiting rankings on 247sports.com, going from No. 22 to No. 15 in a matter of minutes.

The Armstead family was in attendance for their son’s big decision, and looked happy to see their son in the University of Oregon hat.

Per Barton Simmons, seven of the 19 recruits for the Oregon Ducks are over 6'6" in height.

This is hardly a coincidence, as Oregon Coach Azzinaro has a thing for tall defensive linemen: the current heights of DL to Oregon this class are 6’8”, 6’8”, 6’7”, 6’6”, and 6’4”.

Wherever Armstead decided to attend, he also announced that he would play basketball in college. The folks over at Matt Court just shared a friendly smile in the Pit Crew.

The remaining top targets for the Oregon Ducks include Shaq Thompson, Thomas Johnson, Chance Allen, Bralon Addison, and Bryan Harper.

It is, of course, with great pleasure the University of Oregon community welcomes Arik Armstead to become a Duck. This is great news for the football program, and the team looks to be incredibly excited to have him aboard.

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