Since Head Coach Willie Taggart and his new staff stepped foot in Eugene, they have been recruiting at a level that Duck fans have never seen before.
The 2018 Oregon recruiting class currently stands as the fifth-best in the nation according to the 247sports.com composite team rankings.
If the Ducks were to finish the recruiting season inside the top ten, it would be Oregon Football’s best class.
The new staff has brought passion and excitement back to the program. They have started a rebuild by attempting to reinstate the Ducks as a national brand by recruiting the best players all around the country.
One of the top recruiting members of the new coaching staff is Safeties Coach Keith Heyward.
Heyward became a part of Taggart’s staff at Oregon after being a safeties coach at the University of Louisville for the 2016 season.
Before that, he was an assistant coach at Oregon’s in-state rival Oregon State (2008-2011), Washington (2012-2013), and USC (2013-2016).
He had the most success at USC, where he helped secure the commitments of many notable top recruits, including recent NFL wide receiver draftee Juju Smith-Schuster.
Other than one season at Louisville, Heyward has spent his entire coaching career on the west coast. Those connections that he has built have built over the past decade are now paying off for the Ducks.
With a full year to recruit, Oregon fans are seeing the recruiting potential that Heyward brings to the staff.
Oregon Duck Football coming to a HS near you! #FreeCoachWoodie #GoDucks #DoSomething pic.twitter.com/D65SXxAoUG
— Coach Keith Heyward (@CoachHeyward) May 1, 2017
So far, Heyward has helped land the commitments of five highly-ranked recruits, including stud safety Steve Stephens (Fresno, CA) and dynamic athletes Braden Lenzy (Portland, OR) and Tre’Shaun Harrison (Seattle, WA).
All of Heyward’s success on the recruiting trail has him ranked ninth in the 247sports.com composite recruiter rankings.
So what makes him such a successful recruiter?
"He’s a good man. He seems like he would do anything for me if I ever needed it.2019 running back recruit Taron Madison (Banning, CA)"
Madison continued, “You will be in contact with him daily while he is recruiting you. He shows high interest which makes you show high interest back. If I were to commit there, Heyward would play a big role in that.”
He is also the primary recruiter for many notable Oregon targets, including stud wide receiver Devon Williams (Lancaster, CA).
The highest ranked class the Ducks have ever achieved was 11th back in 2011. That class included De’Anthony Thomas and a little-known recruit out of Hawaii named Marcus Mariota.
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Oregon is currently on track to surpass that ranking. If they do, Heyward will have played a major role in doing it.
Quotes obtained through phone interviews with recruits.