Oregon National Signing Day 2015: 5 Takeaways from Ducks' Class

The Oregon Ducks, coming off perhaps their most successful season in school history, have landed one of their best recruiting classes in 2015. 

The Ducks, with 22 commitments, finished the recruiting season with the No. 3 recruiting class in the Pac-12 and the No. 16 class in the country, according to 247Sports.

Oregon’s 2015 class is filled with talent, including six players who have or will eventually enroll early at the school. The early enrollees may end up being some of the Ducks’ best players from this class.

5-star defensive end Canton Kaumatule, 4-star running back Taj Griffin, 4-star receiver Alex Ofodile are among the five players already on campus, while 4-star quarterback Travis Waller will join them in the spring.

Oregon’s 2014 season may have finished in disappointment, but the 2015 season and beyond are looking about as bright as the team's colorful uniforms.

That being said, national signing day wasn’t a complete success. The Ducks lost 3-star safety PJ Locke to Texas, and the coaching staff failed to land a couple of offensive linemen and linebackers it desperately coveted.

Overall, it was another strong recruiting campaign for the Ducks. Here are the five takeaways from Oregon’s 2015 recruiting class:

Need for Speed

Credit: 247Sports

If there’s anything Oregon’s 2015 recruiting class proves it’s that the “blur” offense is ridiculously attractive to skill-position players, especially running backs.

Despite the fact that the Ducks return Royce Freeman, Thomas Tyner and Byron Marshall—who likely will be a full-time wide receiver next season—Oregon is bringing in three of the top four all-purpose backs in the nation. 

247Sports' No. 1 all-purpose back, Taj Griffin, has already enrolled at Oregon and should have a leg up on his fellow classmates. No. 3 all-purpose back Malik Lovette will compete with Griffin for snaps this season, and the winner will likely be Oregon’s third running back heading into the 2015 season. 

Meanwhile, Kirk Merritt, the No. 5 all-purpose back, may have the most immediate impact. Merritt, who won the Nike SPARQ national championship last year, will likely play wide receiver for the Ducks.

It is expected that Merritt will be asked to play a hybrid role similar to that of Byron Marshall and De’Anthony Thomas. If Marshall can show Merritt the ropes and help him understand his hybrid role, Merritt may be one of Oregon’s best offensive weapons come 2016.

The combination of Griffin, Lovette and Merritt is game-changing for the Ducks, even though the program may be returning the best group of skill-position players in the entire country. 

If one of Oregon’s goals year in and year out is to recruit speed, it succeeded wildly in 2015.

Offensive Juggernaut

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Oregon may be losing its Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback next season, but the Ducks sure won’t be short on offensive firepower in 2015 and beyond.

Not only did the Ducks land three of the four best all-purpose backs in the country, but they also landed their quarterback of the future, a top-notch wide receiver and a plethora of talented offensive linemen.

Travis Waller, a 4-star QB from Anaheim, California, is the No. 4 dual-threat QB in the 2015 class, according to 247Sports. While he likely won’t see the field next season, he is clearly the quarterback of the future for the Ducks.

Oregon has made a big splash on the offensive line in the 2015 class. Not only has it brought in the No. 14 guard in Zach Okun, who has enrolled early, but it also brought in other talented players such as Brady Aiello, Shane Lemieux and Calvin Throckmorton among others.

The addition of 4-star wide receiver Alex Ofodile, who has already enrolled at Oregon, is huge for the Ducks. Ofodile may not have an immediate impact, as he’ll be playing behind Darren Carrington, Devon Allen , Dwayne Stanford and others, but there’s no doubt he has the speed and size (6'2", 185 lbs) to be a threat down the line for the Ducks.

Oregon’s ability to land players will unique skill sets and athleticism to play multiple positions is one of the reasons it's become one of the best football programs in the nation.

This year's recruiting class is no different, as the Ducks have landed players such as Lovette and Merritt who will likely find playing time at multiple positions.

With this year’s class, the Ducks have once again set themselves up to be one of the finest offenses in the nation.

The Next Big Thing

The best NFL prospect Oregon has produced in the last 15 years is Baltimore Ravens defensive lineman Haloti Ngata. His heir-apparent may be 5-star Canton Kaumatule from Honolulu.

Kaumatule, who is already on campus in Eugene, is the No. 16 player and No. 3 defensive end in the country, according to 247Sports.

At 6’7”, 290 pounds, Kaumatule should be able to come in and start from Day 1 for the Ducks. Oregon’s defensive line took a hit when junior Arik Armstead decided to jump to the NFL after this past season. However, Kaumatule is just the player to take his place.

According to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Crabtree, Kaumatule was one of the most impressive players at the Under Armour All-America Game:

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That’s exactly what Kaumatule was at Tuesday’s second practice at the nation’s most prestigious high school all-star game. After a strong Monday performance, he backed it up with an even more dominating effort Tuesday. 

Kaumatule wowed during one-on-ones with a combination of pass-rush moves, but what impressed so much was his quickness and his agility. He moved like a power forward on the basketball court, instead of a 6-foot-7, 290-pound defensive end. 

“Just like everybody else out here, I’m just trying to make things happen,” Kaumatule said. “I think I’ve been executing and hustling, and I’ve kept my composure. I was kind of shaky before I got here, but I’m proud of how I’ve done so far. I’ve got to just stay hungry and be humble, while doing what I can on the field.” 

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Despite Oregon’s massive success on the field over the past decade, it's had some trouble against very physical opponents. While the Ducks powered through the likes of Michigan State, Stanford and Florida State this past season, a tougher Ohio State team in the national title game ultimately upended them.

Kaumatule is the type of physical player who will make Oregon just a bit tougher along the defensive line. He’s a perfect fit for the Ducks and a player Oregon desperately needed.

Late Misses

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While the Ducks did a great job of recruiting offensive talent and landed one of the best defensive players in the country, they failed to make any noise on national signing day. 

On the eve of national signing day, the Ducks lost 3-star safety and longtime commit PJ Locke to Texas. While it wasn’t a huge blow to Oregon’s recruiting class, Locke would have added much-needed depth to Oregon’s thin defensive backfield. The Ducks only ended up getting three defensive backs in the 2015 class.

On the heels of the Locke flip, Oregon missed out on six recruits who could have vaulted their 2015 recruiting class into another stratosphere.

No. 1 inside linebacker John Houston Jr. and No. 5 defensive tackle Rasheem Green, both of Serra High School, both had Oregon as a finalist, and both chose to attend USC next year. Losing Houston to USC, though not unexpected, was a blow to Oregon.

With Derrick Malone and Tony Washington gone, the Ducks really could have used a big splash at linebacker. Houston was at the top of their list, as was 4-star linebacker Josh Smith, who ultimately stuck with his commitment to Vanderbilt.

The Ducks also struck out on Mika Tafua, a 4-star defensive end who committed to BYU, Semisi Uluave, a 4-star offensive lineman who signed with California, and Darrin Paulo, a mammoth 6'7", 330-pound offensive lineman who signed with Utah.

Not only did Oregon lose out on six big recruits on national signing day, but also four of those six players will be playing against the Ducks in the Pac-12. While Oregon wasn’t favored to bring in any of the six guys, striking out on all of them is still a little bit of a blow.

All in all it was a very quiet day in Eugene, probably a little too quiet to be honest.

Most of Oregon’s top prospects had already enrolled at the university, so it’s not as though Wednesday was expected to be earth-shattering. That being said, Oregon lost out on two incredible talented linebackers and two sizable offensive linemen, something the Ducks could have used.

There’s no doubt the Oregon coaches are going to be happy about this class, as they should be. However, with one or two late commitments, the Ducks could have ensured themselves one of the best classes in school history.

Reloading, Not Rebuilding

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The Ducks came up just a bit short of winning the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 12 and will lose their Heisman-winning QB, Marcus Mariota, to the NFL.

The Ducks also lost numerous starters and leaders along the offensive line, including Jake Fisher and Hroniss Grasu, and on the defensive side of the ball, where they lost six starters from the 2014 team.

However, Ducks fans should not fear that the program is going to take a tumble. Oregon’s 2015 recruiting class is chock-full of players who will replenish the talent that has been lost to the NFL and graduations.

Some players will have an immediate impact on the program—Canton Kaumatule, Kirk Merritt and Zach Okun come to mind. Meanwhile, players like Travis Waller, Taj Griffin, Alex Ofodile and Malik Lovette represent the future and will play an integral part in Oregon’s success down the line.

Oregon’s class is ranked No. 16 in the country, which is on par with past rankings the Ducks have received.

As Andrew Nemec of The Oregonian points out, Oregon has only managed one top-10 recruiting class:

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Oregon has only had a top ten recruiting class once. In 2011, the Ducks put together a collection that featured De'Anthony Thomas, Colt Lyerla, Ifo Ekpre-Olomu and little-known three-star prospects Jake Fisher and Marcus Mariota. That nucleus ended up at No. 9.

Top 15 classes have been rare, but that appears to be a real possibility at this point, especially if they can add a four-star recruit late in the process.

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While the Ducks ultimately didn’t land another 4-star recruit, they are bringing in one of their most highly regarded groups.

Oregon is one of the best programs in the country at recruiting specifically for its system. The Ducks are also very well-known for their ability to coach up their players and have found a ton of success in recruiting 3-star athletes and turning them into stars. Look no further than Marcus Mariota, who was a 3-star recruit coming out of high school.

The Ducks have once again done a great job of adding speed on both sides of the ball and have even brought in some great size with guys like Kaumatule and Okun.

Oregon isn’t ready to let go of its stranglehold on the Pac-12 just yet. The Ducks are not rebuilding; they’re reloading.

Statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com unless otherwise stated. All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.com. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated.

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