Oregon football: Grading Ducks 2021 recruiting class

Grading the Oregon football 2021 recruiting class as Mario Cristobal has hopes of making the Ducks a legitimate National Championship contender.

It was always a longshot for Oregon football or any Pac-12 team to make the College Football Playoff given how abbreviated their season was, but the Ducks have fallen short of expectations. With the talent on the roster, Mario Cristobal’s team should’ve gone unbeaten, but that hasn’t been the case.

At the same time, the expectations for Oregon under Cristobal are big because the head coach and his staff have continued to recruit at an elite level. And the evidence of that is right there with a stellar 2021 class.

With that, let’s have a look at this Ducks recruiting class for 2021 and give Oregon football a grade for the class. Note: All rankings are via the 247 Sports Composite.

Biggest Oregon football commit for 2021: Ty Thompson, QB

There is hope that Tyler Slough can develop for the Ducks, but if not, Oregon has a great contingency plan with Thompson entering the fold. The 4-star prospect has an elite arm but can dial it in when asked to. He doesn’t have the athleticism of a player like Justin Herbert, but his passing prowess could be on a similar level and it shouldn’t be surprising to see him starting sooner rather than later in Eugene.

Strengths, weaknesses of the 2021 Oregon football recruiting class

It’s definitely a general statement to say that the Oregon offense was a big winner from this class, but it’s the truth. With all five of the Ducks’ top-100 recruits all on that side of the ball (two tackles, two receivers and one quarterback), the offense should be in a good spot moving forward.

At the same time, the lack of running back depth in this 2021 class is notable. They signed just one back, and while Seven McGee is the No. 3 all-purpose back, he’s not a top-150 player, and the Ducks have long thrived off of utilizing their backs.

Diamond in the rough of the 2021 Oregon football class: Jeffrey Bassa, S

Bassa is listed as both an athlete and a safety, but his raw tools are enticing. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, the prospect from Salt Lake City has the length and frame to be a playmaker on the back end, especially with Oregon’s recent track record of developing toolsy defensive backs.

Where does Oregon football rank in the 2021 recruiting cycle?

You can’t knock Cristobal on the recruiting trail, and this class is evidence of that. Oregon is again the top class in the Pac-12, but they are also the No. 6 overall class in the country after the early signing period.

Oregon football recruiting grade: A

Coming in as the best recruiting class in the Pac-12 and with a strong set of top-100 recruits, the Ducks are going to have plenty of horses to make a Playoff run.

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