Oregon Ducks Football Recruiting: Top Remaining 2015 Recruits, Class Predictions

How does a team that came within one victory of a national championship and then lost its Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback pick up the pieces and move forward? 

Securing a top-notch class on national signing day would be a good place to start.

That is exactly what Oregon hopes to do Wednesday as the faxes come rolling in and various recruits pledge their talents to different schools. The Ducks have the No. 15 class in the country in 247Sports’ composite rankings, but they are involved in a handful of national signing day battles that could bolster the class to top-10 range if they break the right way.

With that in mind, here is a look at some predictions for the top remaining targets for the Ducks.

Semisi Uluave

Semisi Uluave is a 4-star prospect and the No. 22 guard in the country, per 247Sports’ composite rankings, and would bolster the Oregon offensive front as a 6’5”, 315-pound blocker.

Texas Tech and UCLA are both listed as schools of interest and figure to be the toughest competition for Uluave, although he visited California this past weekend as well.

Whichever school lands Uluave will get a player who could step in right away and create running lanes with his sheer size and power. He is a mountain of a prospect who will simply physically overpower opponents, even as a freshman. After a couple years of college coaching and weight training, he should be an absolute beast up front. 

Few teams in the country rely on offensive linemen more than Oregon considering how many plays it runs with its quick tempo and the read-option looks it uses every game. Marcus Mariota would have never won a Heisman Trophy were it not for solid blocking throughout much of the season (when the line was actually healthy).

Uluave commented the success of the Ducks this season, via Andrew Nemec of The Oregonian:

"

It's tough, because you see all the success that they are having and you want to be a part of success, but I feel like with the success they are having now all credit goes to those guys. None of that credit should go to the guys that are being recruited by them. That is going to be a different journey for us. When I see it, I'm happy for them and all their success, but they are doing that without me. I want to be able to, if I'm on that team, give as much as all of them are giving to make it that far as well.

"

Oregon has seemingly come on strong late in this race, and its on-field success by reaching the national championship game certainly doesn’t hurt in the eyes of high school recruits. Uluave even mentioned that it “is going to be a different journey for us,” which has to be encouraging for those Ducks fans reading between the lines of that quote. 

Ultimately, Oregon represents the best chance for Uluave to compete for championships right away, and he will respond accordingly by choosing the Ducks.

Josh Smith and John Houston

Remember when Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott was making mincemeat of the Oregon front seven in the national championship game? Well, the Ducks’ best chance at remedying their issues at linebacker is by hitting the recruiting trail hard.

Nemec, in a separate piece from the one linked above, didn’t paint a pretty picture for Oregon when it comes to the position: “The biggest area of concern on the current roster, aside from replacing Marcus Mariota, is the linebacker position. Oregon was miserable during the college football playoff and doesn't seem to have a true impact man in the middle.”

Naturally, Oregon has its eyes on a couple of linebacking prospects on national signing day.

Josh Smith is a 4-star prospect and the No. 3 inside linebacker in the country in 247Sports' composite rankings, but he also happens to be a Vanderbilt commit. John Houston is also a 4-star recruit who checks in as the No. 6 outside linebacker in the country on 247Sports' composite rankings.

Landing both would give the Ducks elite players at the inside and outside linebacker spots and provide the defense with more depth and versatility than it had down the stretch of the season. Perhaps that will make a difference against strong running teams in the immediate future (that September date at Michigan State jumps out).

However, Nemec noted that Houston “seems like a future Trojan,” and it is difficult to overlook the fact that Smith already gave a verbal pledge to Vanderbilt. Sure, Oregon represents a better chance to win than Vanderbilt, but Smith is from Tennessee.

Credit: 247Sports

There is something to be said for playing close to home.

While the Ducks made some late noise with both of these recruits and could really use them as part of their linebacking corps, they will be left on the outside looking in on national signing day. Fortunately for Oregon, it will win enough recruiting battles to still land a top-15 class this year. 

All recruiting rankings and information courtesy of 247Sports.

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