On Saturday, the Oregon Football Program took a big step in the recruiting world hosting their first ever Camp for over sixty athletes from around the country.
The event was more laid back for fans and the media. There were no interviews. There was no interaction with the student athletes, but there were some great catches and battles on the field. The only words to fans came from Defensive Coordinator Jim Leavitt in thanking everyone for being there.
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As the athletes took the field, they received a standing ovation from the fans that were in attendance. While Oregon would have loved to have eclipsed the 7000 fans that Nebraska had at their camp earlier this summer, the numbers were decent and filled the lower bowl on one side of Autzen Stadium.
Oregon Football picked up for commitments on Saturday, three before players took the field. One big key to recruiting is building relationships. It is clear that Head Coach Willie Taggart is big on this approach. Aside from the Classes of 2017 and now a highly ranked Class for 2018 the Ducks hosted a few players who are still finding their positions on the field. There were a few players from the Classes of 2020 and 2021 on hand.
While the amount of talent on hand was impressive, what was even more substantial was that in just a six week time span, the Oregon Football Coaching Staff was able to even put the event together among recruiting trips, vacations and travel schedules of not only themselves, but the students involved in the process.
Fans had the chance to cheer the talent they saw on the field, and there was plenty to go around. For those that were there, they were witnesses of the beginning of something not done in Eugene before.
Next: Garrett Cleavinger Traded To Philadelphia
Football is in full swing with Fall Camp starting on Monday and the first game set for Saturday September 2nd vs Southern Utah(5:15pm PT, Pac-12 Network)