The Hotline is delighted to provide West Coast fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports.
He submitted the following report on July 3 …
Here come the Ducks
It was bound to happen.
After body blow after body blow this spring, losing commits to USC and Washington, Oregon started its usual late-summer run.
This week has been a good one in Eugene.
It started with a low-key, under-the-radar flip of offensive lineman Koloi Keli, a top-10 prospect from Hawaii, who flipped from Cal to Oregon.
Later that day, offensive tackle Tommy Tofi, Cal’s top commitment, backed out of his pledge. Two days later, he committed to Oregon, which had been the favorite before his stunning decision to commit to Cal last month.
That was just whetting the appetite for Thursday, when the Ducks landed the No. 1 interior offensive lineman in the country according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Rankings: Immanuel Iheanacho, a five-star prospect from Maryland.
But they weren’t done. Shortly thereafter, Florida safety Devin Jackson, a four-star recruit, picked the Ducks.
A year after the Ducks grabbed the No. 1 receiver in the country, Dakorien Moore, on Independence Day, fireworks were once again on the menu for coach Dan Lanning, whose success this week catapulted Oregon into the top 10 in the national recruiting rankings.
Big week for the Utes
After spending last week watching rival Brigham Young glow about landing five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons, the No. 1 recruit in California, Utah got to celebrate, as well.
That includes winning a fierce battle for the No. 1 recruit in Idaho, four-star tackle Kelvin Obot. He picked the Utes over Michigan, Nebraska and Oregon.
Who helped the Utes? His coach, Jordan Gross, was a Utah star before becoming a first-round draft pick of the Carolina Panthers and spending over a decade in the NFL.
Utah, which already has another stellar Idaho lineman in the starting lineup, Tanoa Togiai, would love to keep that same momentum with Obot.
But it got better for the Utes, and doubly so.
Former UCLA-pledged twins Jaron Pula and Kennan Pula announced that they would instead stay in-state and picked Utah, giving the program a four-star in Jaron and a high three-star in Kennan.
Jaron is the No. 5 recruit in Utah, Kennan the No. 8.
The Utes may not be finished: The No. 1 recruit in the state, athlete Salesi Moa, is essentially down to Utah, where his father, Ben Moa, played, and Tennessee. A decision is coming on Saturday.
State(s) of the Pac-12
The addition of Texas State completed Pac-12 expansion with the Zags and the ‘Eight States,’ as the Bobcats joined Pac-12 mainstays Washington State and Oregon State, fellow newcomers Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State and Gonzaga.
While Texas State is likely to keep its focus on in-state recruits, and for excellent reasons, their arrival does open up more opportunities for the other Pac-12 schools to recruit the Lone Star State.
Of course, one of Oregon State’s greatest players, Jacquizz Rodgers, is a Texas native. And Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty called Texas home, as well.
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But now, the Pac-12 has finally planted a flagpole in Texas, and that could help the profile in Texas with recruits.
Commitments of note
Oceanside (California) linebacker Ezaya Tokio picked Washington in a duel of former Pac-12 schools: He chose the Huskies over Cal, UCLA and Arizona State.
UCLA picked up a commitment from the No. 3 recruit in Colorado, athlete Toray Davis. The son of former Buffaloes defensive back Elton Davis, the younger Davis opted for UCLA over Utah.
Arizona beat the Bruins for a recruit from their backyard, snagging quarterback Oscar Rios out of Downey High School in Southern California. The Elite 11 finalist and four-star prospect went with Seth Doege, the Arizona offensive coordinator, over the hometown Bruins.
Colorado has been relatively quiet in high school recruiting this spring and summer, but the Buffs collected their fifth commitment from the West in Sammamish, Washington linebacker Colby Johnson.
While Cal lost Tofi and Keli to Oregon, it wasn’t all bad for the Bears: They pulled in Mason Lewis, who had the fastest 40-yard dash at the Under Armour Next Camp in Southern California and is the son of former NFL safety Michael Lewis.
Lastly, Brigham Young snagged the No. 7 recruit in the state of Utah in Kaue Akana, a safety from Orem and cousin of new Texas transfer Tausili Akana, who enrolled at BYU in the offseason.
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