So, with the commitments of Vorhees and now Honigford, two players who, at different times, were thought to once be leaning Oregon's direction, it seems the OL recruiting this year is a bit 'odd' in comparison to normal years.
Early on, all seemed straightforward and Alijah Vera-Tucker was one of the early offers for the Ducks (last October). The Duck coaches were in constant contact and it seemed almost a foregone conclusion to some that he would be a Duck.
Then, contact stopped. He was left scratching his head as were many people. While it would be great to sit here and proclaim that our thoughts are 'almighty truths' always emanating from inside sources, the truth is, that sometimes there is a bit of guess work involved. When we see new offers going out to offensive linemen and contact stopping to another, speculation makes it seem clear that something has either changed, or our initial interpretations might have been inaccurate.
When we put our thoughts on the board, it is by no means meant as some sort of gospel in every occasion. When it comes to Vera-Tucker, we are about as enlightened about his recruiting has he - that is to say that we know not much more than him. I think it seemed clear that the coaches liked Vorhees a bit more. I think the offer to Honigford makes it appear as if maybe that was someone the coaches liked better.
What we really do not know is why contact stopped with Vera-Tucker. But that is what he told the Oregonian some time ago.
We originally projected that the Ducks would take 3 or 4 OL this class and it seems as if maybe the Ducks are aiming for the low side of that number. they have a couple already with Forsyth and Vaka, with at least one more spot to fill.
The longer this plays out with the Ducks, and if the staff decides to offer someone else, I think that would probably tell us all we need to know. I really thought that the hot and heavy pursuit of Honigford kind of gave away that the staff has moved on, and maybe they come back to Vera-Tucker and swoop in to steal him into the Flock.
To me, the key will be simple, if Greatwood goes fishing for yet another prospect, it should put this stuff to rest. Recruiting! It's a crazy guessing game sometimes!
