Top 5 Recruiting Classes by New FBS Coaching Staffs in 2017
By Zach Bigalke
After remarkable continuity within Oregon’s coaching staff over the past several decades, the termination of Mark Helfrich led to a wholesale house cleaning. In came Willie Taggart, who was signed from South Florida on December 7. After leading the Bulls to a 10-2 regular season, Taggart managed to reel in a strong class on his first National Signing Day in Eugene. The two dozen recruits put Oregon in the top 20 in recruiting for the third time in five years.
Included in that mix was dual-threat quarterback Braxton Burmeister, who Taggart’s staff managed to flip from Arizona in January. He was one of five different four-star recruits landed by the Ducks this year. One, top-ten cornerback Thomas Graham, is already enrolled on campus for winter term. In total Oregon landed a trio of four-star cornerbacks, bolstering a secondary that ranked outside the top 100 in passing efficiency defense in 2016.