Former Oregon football 5-star announces commitment to SEC school

DUCKSWIRE.USATODAY.COM

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Former Oregon Ducks commit, 5-star EDGE Richard Wesley, announced his commitment to an SEC school on Sunday.

 

😬

Oh well. His loss.

I saw a few comments on another site saying he was reclassifying as well. But I haven't been able to follow that up anywhere. 

 

But this one feels like it's a closer to home and a bigger payout was at play. It feels like Oregon never really had either parent fully recruited and both were wanting either more money (dad presumably) or closer to home (mom). 

 

This recruiting cycle has really become a bidding war. Yes, previous cycles had this aspect about it but this one really feels like players are going wherever the largest payout is coming from. 

 

I think Oregon will bring in a fine class but less flashy than it could have been with some of this crazy spending. 

Would be interesting to see a list of decommitments, or close but not successful commitments, the Ducks have encountered in the last six months.

 

Is there a trend, aside from presuming a player was offered a higher NIL?

 

Here's some I can recall:

Wesley to Austin

Greene to Seattle

Topui to Los Angeles

Williams to Los Angeles

Mulitalo to Salt Lake City (Provo)

Tofi to Bay Area

Tafa to Seattle

Colman-Brusa to Seattle

 

I'm sure there are other names, particularly in the close but not cigar category.   But, looking at that list the one common thread is city size.

On the other hand, Brandon Arrington chose Tex A&M, which is 90 miles to Houston.   College Station/Bryan may be more diverse, but not dissimilar from Eugene in size.

 

And, four-star defensive lineman David Schwerzel, the No. 2 recruit from Washington joins the Bruins class one week after the No. 3 recruit in the Evergreen State, Ramzak Fruean, committed to UCLA

I do believe this recruiting cycle is indicative of many programs NIL programs waking up and realizing they have money they can throw at players. 

 

Washington has loads of alumni with money and the same goes for USC. Both seem to be throwing money at recruits because they discovered they could do that.

 

So they are really working with a 2022 framework of NIL and it is disrupting the whole system. 

 

Additionally this is year 4 of NIL and all these recruits in the 2026 cycle have been watching NIL pay out since 8th grade and they all want their turn at the big paycheck. And many believe they are worth more than they are... But right now there are plenty of programs happy to pay them out for the recruiting win. 

 

And interesting convergence of circumstance.

On 6/22/2025 at 4:18 PM, HDuck said:

Wesley to Austin

Greene to Seattle

Topui to Los Angeles

Williams to Los Angeles

Mulitalo to Salt Lake City (Provo)

Tofi to Bay Area

Tafa to Seattle

Colman-Brusa to Seattle

 

 

So it all comes down to development.  I like our strategy.  These kids need to show me they're legit.

 

You get paid when you perform.  

 

There are too many 4&5 star misses to be throwing away money on hope and a prayer. 

 

I am so glad I don't have to tolerate people expecting me to pay them based on their potential.  

 

 

I like Dan Lanning’s free agency strategy. Pay those who have proven themselves at the collegiate level.

On 6/22/2025 at 6:20 PM, Mike West said:

So it all comes down to development.  I like our strategy.  These kids need to show me they're legit.

 

You get paid when you perform.  

 

There are too many 4&5 star misses to be throwing away money on hope and a prayer. 

 

I am so glad I don't have to tolerate people expecting me to pay them based on their potential.  

 

 

I'm going to trust you and some others I've seen pushing this, it is a bit nerve racking to see so many recruits going to other programs though.  I know I need to trust Lanning and others on this since they haven't really steered the program wrong so far. 

I truly believe that Dan and his staff will not overpay for talent in the near future which may change over time. 
 

However if there is a dire need to over spend for a no-miss recruit then that might change their approach. 
 

The team at the present time is very solid and I expect that to continue although we may be forced to use the portal pretty heavily in the next couple of years. 
 

I have no problem with A&M training these kids and overpaying to buy a team. How well has that worked for them so far.

 

Go 🦆🦆🦆s

I used to live and breathe HS recruiting, but I barely pay attention now.

One basic premise that is completely out of date IMO is how volume impacts the team rating system. USC has recruited 30 players out of HS for 2026 and has the #1 class….cool story bro. What if your program is in a good place and only needs 13 HS players for 2026?
 

If your coach has been around a while and you still need 30 HS players, that is not a positive in 2025.

Edited June 23Jun 23 by JabbaNoBargain

I like the strategy, but what happens when a school like ATM, USC, or osu2 does both?  They throw money at HS kids AND throw money to the transfer portal.  

On 6/23/2025 at 1:23 PM, GeotechDuck said:

I like the strategy, but what happens when a school like ATM, USC, or osu2 does both?  They throw money at HS kids AND throw money to the transfer portal.  

So far, looking at those 3 schools to date, what happens on the field is very mixed results!

Edited June 23Jun 23 by JabbaNoBargain

On 6/23/2025 at 1:23 PM, GeotechDuck said:

I like the strategy, but what happens when a school like ATM, USC, or osu2 does both?  They throw money at HS kids AND throw money to the transfer portal.  

It comes down to the coordinators, the HC, and locker room chemistry and player leadership. 

 

FSU threw a ton of money at the portal for last year's team. Everyone (pundits) was raving how in 2024-5 FSU was in contention to win it all in rather dominant fashion. 

 

Fast-forward to the season and it turns out they didn't have a team and the wheels came off in week zero and it never recovered. 

 

Ohio State has been throwing money but has been losing to Michigan quite consistently. They had 2 losses last year! They lucked out with an expanded playoff and had a chance of redemption and credit to them they seized it. But in any previous year they wouldn't have made the playoff. 

 

Watching Ohio State this year is going to be an interesting tell as to how productive this practice is year after year. 

On 6/23/2025 at 4:33 PM, David Marsh said:

Watching Ohio State this year is going to be an interesting tell as to how productive this practice is year after year. 

Osu2 interesting is a stretch for me. Osu2 has been the model of "reload, not rebuild" and should they falter this season. as you noted, they really faltered last season but ended up with the Natty anyway, I don't think it will be due to their spending habits.

 

I hope he cannonballs directly onto and is impaled by Bevo's rack. 💩 🤓