Oregon Football Recruiting: Five Star Running Back Royce Freeman Commits to Ducks

Dec 29, 2011; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich at press conference for the 2012 Rose Bowl at the Marriott Los Angeles Downtown. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

Mark Helfrich received a phone call recently that ended up being his biggest commitment to date. Five star running back Royce Freeman(Imperial, California) will play football for the Oregon Ducks. Freeman is part of the 2014 recruiting class and will ensure the Ducks with another quality piece at the running back position after Four star incoming Freshman Thomas Tyner this season. He is the first rusher in the 2014 Recruiting Class.

247Sports recently profiled Freeman, who they now list as the #2 Running Back in the country for next year. Recruiting Editor JC Shurbett talks about the lastest edition to the 2014 class:

"“Freeman is a player that we’ve heard a lot about and seen at camps, but we wanted to get a good look at how he compared physically in an environment like The Opening and he passed the test with flying colors…There are college coaches that think he’s a better pure running back than [Joe] Mixon and he compares favorably to former Oregon and current NFL running back Jonathan Stewart. He’s 6-feet tall, 227 pounds, runs 4.58 consistently and has excellent feet.”"

According to AddictedtoQuack.com, the Ducks coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for identifying Freeman’s talent early and extending him an offer before powerhouse programs like Alabama, USC, and Florida came along. Freeman is the kind of bigger back that Oregon has been known to covet for some time and a player who can make an instant impact given his size and powerful running style. Comparisons to former Ducks Jonathan Stewart and LeGarrette Blount are apt.

Royce Freeman Video Highlights

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