AutzenZoo Top 5 of 2014: #5, Oregon Ducks 2014 Signing Day Miss

In 2014 there were over 304,000 page views on AutzenZoo. We would like to thank all of you who stopped by, if even for a moment, to get caught up on the Oregon Ducks. We are going to take a look at the top five stories of the year and we will begin at number five. Coming in at just over four-thousand page views the piece we wrote on the likely recruitment of Safety John ‘Juju’ Smith comes in at number five.

National Recruiting Day came and went and Oregon did not land Smith. He created some bad ‘juju’ for Oregon fans and signed with the USC Trojans(sorry, had to). Below is the what we wrote then on Smith. A very talented athlete who we will have the opportunity, possibly, to see in the Fall of 2015 when USC will visit the Oregon Ducks.

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(Previously Written – February 2nd, 2014)

More from Autzen Zoo

• Oregon football: Ducks and Coach Prime playing it cordial leading up to Saturday
• Oregon Basketball: Non-conference slate features Michigan coming to Eugene
• Oregon football: Ducks find complete game effort in win vs Hawaii
• Oregon Ducks must get run game going against Hawaii
• 8 Pac-12 teams represented in Associated Press Top 25 after Week 2

Now that the Super Bowl is over there is another type of ‘holiday’ that is upon us. February 5th is National Signing Day, the day that high school athletes all over the country are allowed to sign National Letters of Intent to play college football. With a program such as the Oregon Ducks there are needs this season when it comes to the 2014 class, but with ten of eleven players returning on Offense for 2014 the main focus has been on Defense, with the Defensive Tackle spot needing some help, as well as at Wide Receiver where Justin Hopkins at 247Sports are reporting that the Oregon may be the favorite to pick up John Smith, a five star athlete who plays both sides of the field. On Offense at Wide Receiver and on Defense at the Safety position.

Recruited by Secondary Coach John Neal, the 6’1″ 200 pound Smith will likely be looked at to play defense for the Ducks. The Long Beach California native is ranked 2nd in the State of California at the Safety position. He is also considering Notre Dame, Arkansas, as well as follow Pac-12 schools USC and UCLA. According to certain recruiting circles Smith would be the first five star for the Ducks in the 2014 Recruiting Class if he signs with Oregon on Wednesday. KPNW Sports and Autzen Zoo will have full coverage of National Recruiting Day for Oregon throughout the day Wednesday and Thursday.