Jordon Davison commits to Oregon; Ducks land elite California running back
The Oregon Ducks hosted a star-studded collection of official visitors over the month of June, setting the stage for what could be an historic 2025 recruiting class for the program.
Oregon got the ball rolling with a bang Friday, landing two of the top targets on its board.
Shortly after noon, Folsom (California) four-star prospect Josiah Sharma, the nation's No. 7 defensive lineman, committed to the Ducks over Alabama, Texas and Washington.
But Oregon wasn't done.
Just minutes later, Dan Lanning and his coaching staff landed another key piece, as Mater Dei (California) four-star running back Jordon Davison announced his commitment to the Ducks over fellow finalists Alabama, Michigan and Ohio State.
The 6-foot, 216-pound athlete is rated the nation's No. 6 running back, but is the top ball-carrier West of the Mississippi River.
Davison is also the highest-rated running back commit for the program in a decade - Taj Griffin, class of 2015, No. 60 overall.
Admittedly, Davison was quite close to previous Oregon running back coach Carlos Locklyn, who moved on to Ohio State.
Despite that move, new running back coach Ra'Shaad Samples and the rest of the Oregon staff weathered that storm.
"They did a good job," Davison said. "Coach Lanning, he kept recruiting me. There was no drop off. It really hurt (when Coach Lock left), but they stayed consistent throughout my whole recruitment."
As for Coach Samples, Davison has quickly clicked with his future position coach.
"He's a good guy," the Mater Dei star said. "He's got some experience from being at Arizona State, for sure."
For Oregon, the Davison commitment is a massive feather in its cap.
Not only did they stave off official visits and heavy pursuit from Alabama, Michigan and Ohio State, but he has been somewhat of a rising superstar around the nationally-renowned Mater Dei program even before he attended high school.
247Sports' Greg Biggins delivered an in-depth analysis of the star running back:
"Davison is a big, physical power back who we’ve been tracking since Middle School. Strong inside runner who can pick up tough yards after contact but has enough speed and burst to make plays outside the box as well. Natural feel for the position in terms of his vision, how to set up a defender and when to make his cuts. More of a one cut and go back then a dancer who’s going to try and juke his way down the field. A decisive runner who is tough to bring down one on one and has excellent contact balance. A very good receiver out of the backfield, not just on screen but can line up in the slot and make plays down the field. Suffered a lower body injury during his junior season and was never 100% the rest of the year so senior year will be big to see where he’s at physically..."
Further, Oregon has quickly made Mater Dei a pipeline program.
Headling into Davison's decision, the Ducks already had a commitment from Mater Dei elite edge-rusher Nasir Wyatt and landed a pair of Monarchs last cycle - five-star defensive lineman Aydin Breland, wide receiver Jack Ressler.
ANDREW NEMEC