4-Star Safety Prospect Steve Stephens Commits to Oregon Ducks

Oregon picked up another commitment for its 2018 recruiting class Sunday from defensive back Steve Stephens.

The player announced his decision at Passing Down, a seven-on-seven competition:

As Andrew Nemec of the Oregonian noted, the commitment is the Ducks' sixth in the last 24 hours.

Stephens is a 4-star prospect who carries the No. 41 overall ranking for the 2018 class, according to Scout.com. He's also listed as the third-best safety and the top player at the position from California among the incoming group.

His stock has surged whenever he's had the opportunity to put his talent on display against fellow coveted recruits. He was named Most Valuable Player of the Under Armour All-American Camp Series stop in Mission Viejo, California, in February.

"Stephens has added size and strength in the last year while looking every quicker and plays with advanced technique," Scout's Greg Biggins wrote in his event recap. "The game is changing and everyone is looking for safeties who can cover and Stephens looks to have the best pure cover skills of all the safeties out West."

The Edison High School standout owns an intriguing set of tools. He reads the play well, makes consistently good judgments about when to break on the ball and has the recovery speed necessary to avoid getting beat over the top on most occasions.

Stephens' ability to read and react was put on display by the Pag Meter:

His technique still needs some work when it comes to dropping into the box to help in run support, and he could benefit from adding a little more power to his frame. But he's already well on his way to becoming an impact player at the next level thanks to his terrific skill set.

All told, there's no doubt this is a rock-solid addition by Willie Taggart and the Ducks. Stephens is an ideal prospect because he's advanced enough to make a quick impact, if needed, but he also has plenty of room to grow as a player during his time in college.

It will be intriguing to see how quickly he can crack the defensive backfield rotation at Oregon. It's a crowded group, but there's still a little room for new talent looking toward 2018. Once he does get involved, he'll keep climbing the ladder until he's a stalwart in the secondary.