Top 10 Schools With Most to Gain on National Signing Day

Jan 12, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Mark Helfrich speaks during a press conference after losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2015 CFP National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

9. Oregon Ducks

Number of Rivals 100 Players Still Chasing: 3 (3 5-Stars)

We have spent the past few weeks since the national championship game calling Oregon a gadget program that wins by a cutting-edge system and not necessarily with cutting-edge talent. But the outlook is a bit different this year.

Sure, Oregon has had great classes before, but right now they have the No. 14 ranked recruiting class and are in serious contention for three elite prospects. Iman Marshall is in play for them on the defensive side of the ball as is Soso Jamabo, but the big prize for the Ducks would be California linebacker John Houston. And they appear to slightly be in the lead for him.

Should they pick up all three, this becomes a Top 5 class, and picking up Houston would help debunk the theory of Oregon not building around physical players. One or two pickups could move this class into the Top 10 depending on how everything else plays out. But at least Oregon is remaining in play for these guys. Perhaps the program is simply going to get better after all.

Next: No. 8 Ranked School With Most to Gain in Recruiting