Heading into the start of the 2023 college football season, Oregon's 2024 recruiting class is getting full. That means the staff will need to be selective with who they take commitments from moving forward.
One player we know is high on Oregon's board is Seattle (Wash.) O'Dea running back Jason Brown Jr. He's next up on our new series "Prospect Pulse," where I weigh in on the schools in contention for a certain recruit and what I think of Oregon's chances.
The 5-foot-10, 205-pound ballcarrier has cut his offer sheet featuring more than 20 schools down to just three.
The Oregon Ducks, Michigan State Spartans and Washington Huskies will battle it out for the nation's No. 11 running back and the No. 2 recruit out of Washington (according to 247Sports).
Let's discuss each of the contenders here.
Starting off with Michigan State, head coach Mel Tucker and the Spartans have done a solid job in this recruitment. They're the only school that's hosted Brown on an official visit--that trip came back in June.
Their class ranks No. 52 nationally and already has one running back in the fold in Anthony Carrie from Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day. While Michigan State hasn't exactly been a recruiting power in recent cycles, they're consistently in the running for blue-chip talent (see Dylan Williams and Kamar Mothudi).
My pulse on this recruitment is that is that Michigan State is running in second for Brown's commitment.
Now let's talk about Oregon. The Ducks have hosted Brown on numerous trips throughout his recruitment, most recently getting him on campus for their Saturday Night Live camp. The coaching staff also has a great connection to Team FSP, Brown's Seattle-based 7-on-7 team and training program.
That may not seem like a big factor on the surface, but it's worth mentioning. Troy Franklin, Keith Brown and Ashton Cozart are a couple of current players that had ties to FSP proceeding their Oregon careers.
Furthermore, Carlos Locklyn has proven to be one of the best recruiters on this staff, and has developed a very strong relationship with Brown. It's also worth noting that Oregon saw one of their top running back targets this cycle Nate Frazier, commit to Georgia recently, which makes Brown that much more of a priority.
I'm hearing from sources that Oregon will continue to stay involved there, but he's expected to take his official visit to Athens in the fall and lock things in from there.
Current Duck running backs Bucky Irving and Noah Whittington both have great shots at going pro after the 2023 season, which only strengthens Oregon's need for bodies in the running back room.
Lastly let's mention Washington. I think the Huskies are poised to get some recruiting momentum sometime soon after the Big Ten move, but the fact of the matter is the school hasn't done a good job recruiting in-state talent.
I think they're mainly still in the mix because they're the hometown school, so I don't think they're much of a threat here.
Brown has yet to set a decision date, but one would think official visits to Oregon and Washington are the likely next steps as he nears a commitment.
As the season gets closer, I'm feeling like I may be ready to put in a prediction for the Ducks to land Brown, so his is definitely a recruitment to keep tabs on.
Jason Brown 2022 Film
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