Oregon Ducks Football Recruiting: Thomas Tyner and Johnny Ragin

The Oregon Ducks received the surprising news of four-star running back Thomas Tyner’s decommitment just two days ago, but he has recommitted to Oregon today after it was previously stated that he would be taking an official visit to UCLA and reweighing his options. It looks like he has already weighed things, and Tyner’s quick recommitment is almost as surprising as his decomittment.

To be honest, I wasn’t surprised that Tyner decommitted a couple of days ago, because he committed incredibly early on in the process; that’s something you don’t see very often from a top 40 recruit. Oregon State and UCLA would have been two major players in his recruitment as well had Tyner not recommitted today, and he likely opened up his recruitment due to Chip Kelly’s rule that a recruit must decommit in order to take other visits.

Scott Olmos-US PRESSWIRE

I’m glad Tyner took the time to reassess things, because he made a life decision awfully early in the process and deserves the right to take a look at things. I’m just surprised it took zero visits and just a couple of days in order to do so, but this is likely the event that cements Tyner’s standing as a Duck. I couldn’t be happier.

Continuing the in-state recruiting news, the Nevada Wolfpack offered talented outside linebacker Johnny Ragin, who is one of the top players in the state and 247Sports 50th-ranked OLB in the 2013 class. Ragin was offered by the Colorado Buffaloes a few days ago and is already high on both of his recent offers. He’s also been interested in the Beavers for quite some time now, and he visited both in-state programs last month.

Just this past weekend, Ragin took an unofficial visit to Eugene but has not received an offer from the Ducks yet. BYU, Wyoming, and Portland State comprise three of his six offers, and he has also received interest from two other Pac-12 schools in UCLA and Cal.

The 6’2″, 210 pound linebacker is off to a great start this season for Wilsonville, and I think the Ducks should offer him. They have received a commitment from Tyrell Robinson at the position, but the only uncommitted prospect that they have offered is Mike Mitchell, who had a big visit last weekend to Norman when the Oklahoma Sooners demolished their arch-rivals. Oregon is still heavliy in the mix, but they have definitely lost ground to Oklahoma and are reportedly behind Ohio State as well.

Ragin would be a nice in-state addition for them and a good backup plan to Mitchell, and it isn’t too late to join the picture. He is high on OSU, but he’s also considering offers from CU and the one from Nevada heavily. There is still room for the Ducks to land the three-star OLB who is rising on recruiting boards.

But the big news involves Tyner and, whatever the story, it’s great to have him back.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.