Oregon Football: 2015 Recruits the Oregon Ducks Need to Land

The 2014 version of the Oregon Ducks are succeeding wildly on the field and have a chance to advance to the inaugural College Football Playoff. The Ducks are ranked No. 4 by the College Football Playoff committee and are in first place in the Pac-12 North. There’s no doubt that the success of the Ducks on the field has helped them in recruiting this season.

Oregon’s average recruiting class over the past 10 seasons has ranked No. 22 nationally, per Scout.com (h/t FishDuck.com). However, the Ducks are on a roll this season in terms of recruiting and have already had 15 student-athletes commit to the program, per 247Sports.

According to 247 Sports, the Ducks’ 2015 class is ranked No. 17 in the country and have gotten commitments from six 4-star recruits and nine 3-star recruits.

Oregon has signed four consecutive top-25 recruiting classes and is on pace to tack on another year to that streak. But there is a long way to go, and the Ducks need to add a few more prized recruits.

247sports.com

Recruits Ducks Need to Land 

The Ducks currently have the second-best recruiting class in the Pac-12, according to 247 Sports. But there are still positions that need to be filled, and the Ducks have a few star student-athletes that are interested in the program.

The two main targets remaining for Oregon are defensive ends Josh Sweat and Keisean Lucier-South.

Sweat, who is the No. 1 recruit in the entire country, is a 6’5”, 240-pound defensive end from Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, Virginia. Currently, Sweat is down to his final five schools—Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Georgia, Florida State and Oregon, according to Scout.com's Michael Clark.

While the Ducks certainly aren’t the favorites to land Sweat, likely due to location concerns, they still have a shot to land the best defensive lineman in the country. Sweat is currently out for the year due to injury, but he’s still considered the most prized recruit of the 2014 recruiting class.

There were concerns that Sweat would not be making a visit to Oregon due to his injury; however, Sweat tweeted in early October that he would be paying a visit to the Ducks at some point before his recruitment is over.

"

I'll be at Oregon soon! Jus wait on it.. where my #Duck fans at???

— Josh Sweat (@JoshSweat9) October 14, 2014"

The Ducks would be absolutely over the moon if they were able to get a commitment from Sweat; however, Lucier-South, another defensive end, would also be a welcomed addition to a defense that is ranked No. 105 in the country in total defense this season.

Lucier-South, who goes to high school at Orange Lutheran in Southern California, is the No. 24-ranked player in the country and is the second-ranked defensive end in the nation.

He has also nailed down his list to five schools and is considering UCLA, Michigan, Oklahoma, Florida and Oregon.

Lucier-Smith visited Oregon last weekend against Stanford and raved about his visit."They are in the mix. I have no leader, but they are doing a great job," said Lucier-South, according to Andrew Nemec of The Oregonian. "For that visit, I'd give it an A-plus. I think Oregon will probably be there in the end, because it's a good fit for me."

The Ducks are currently recruiting Lucier-South as an outside linebacker and would likely play him in a role similar to that of current outside linebacker Tony Washington.

There are a couple of other recruits on the Ducks' radar that would be huge grabs for Oregon this season, and they mostly reside on the defensive side of the ball. Marvell Tell, a 4-star safety from Crespi High School in Encino, California, visited Oregon during the weekend of Michigan State and is the No. 4-ranked safety in the country.

When asked by Aaron Kasinitz of The Oregonian in July why he’s considering the Ducks, Tell said: "It's probably the same thing with everybody. It's the uniforms."

Two other defensive recruits the Ducks are keying in on are Malik Jefferson, an outside linebacker from Mesquite, Texas, and John Houston, an inside linebacker from Gardena, California.

247sports.com

Ducks' 2014-15 Class Looks Strong

Last weekend the Ducks picked up perhaps their strongest recruit so far this season. Canton Kaumatule, a 4-star defensive end from Honolulu, Hawaii, committed to the Ducks during his official visit against Stanford.

Kaumatule, who is 6’7”, 290 pounds, is the No. 53-ranked recruit in the nation and No. 4 defensive end, according to 247 Sports. Kaumatule "was blown away by his treatment from Oregon fans" last weekend while his flight was delayed in Portland on his way to Eugene, according to The Oregonian’s Nemec.

"We had a little delay in the flight, so we had to fly to Portland first, then to Eugene," said Kaumatule. "The people were so nice. I was already like, 'Oh my goodness, this is awesome.'"

Here is an analysis of Kaumatule from Scout.com national recruiting analyst Greg Biggins:

"

Kaumatule already has an NFL body at 6-7, (295) pounds and a non-stop motor. He's an improving athlete, very strong at the point of attack and one of the most physical linemen in the nation. He already looked like a college player when he was just a freshman and he just keeps getting better. He's relentless in pursuit and plays like his hair is on fire.

"

Kaumatule represents one of Oregon’s four biggest recruits this season. The Ducks had already landed Taj Griffin, an all-purpose back from Powder Springs, Georgia, Travis Waller, a dual-threat quarterback from Anaheim, California, and Alex Ofodile, a wide receiver from Columbia, Missouri.

All four players should have an immediate impact on the Ducks program, and it would not be a surprise to see all four of them on the field for the Ducks in 2015.

The Ducks are well positioned to grab another top-25 recruiting class and could even grab a top-10 or top-15 class if they are able to sign Sweat or Lucien-South.

Statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise stated. Recruiting rankings and information courtesy of 247Sports unless otherwise stated. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated.

Jason Gold is Bleacher Report’s lead Oregon writer. Follow Jason on Twitter @TheSportsGuy33.