Oregon Football: Top National Signing Day Targets

The Oregon Ducks are starting a new under head coach Willie Taggart. Entering 2017, they look to close out on a few targets to close out in the top 25 in recruiting.

The Oregon Ducks had an abysmal 2016 season which culminated with head coach Mark Helfrich being fired. Enter Willie Taggart, former South Florida head coach who went 10-2 this past season, leading the team to its best record in school history.

The Ducks haven’t done too poorly on the recruiting trail as National Signing Day approaches. With 19 total commits so far in this year’s class, they rank 24th overall, according to 247 Sports. They have a lot of defensive help on the way, three defensive tackles and two cornerbacks, for instance on a unit that wasn’t very good all season.

The Oregon Ducks’ defense ranked 126th out of 128 teams in terms of scoring defense, allowing 41.4 points per game. They went 4-8 overall, allowing over 50 points in four games last season. Things got ugly against Washington when they lost 70-21 as well.

All is not lost, however, as senior running back Royce Freeman returns, excited to play for Willie Taggart and company.

With Taggart, the Ducks look to get back on track. First order of business is closing out their recruiting class. They haven’t lost too many commitments but they’ll need to earn back a key one entering National Signing Day.