Mario Cristobal Hire Helps Maintain Oregon Football Recruiting Momentum

It has only been a couple days since former Head Coach Willie Taggart shockingly spurned the Ducks to head to Florida State, but it looks like Oregon has found the man to lead their program in  Co-Offensive Coordinator Mario Cristobal.

Before Taggart left, Oregon had the top-rated class in the nation according to Scout and had Duck fans dreaming of unprecedented recruiting success. When he left, however, the 2018 class began to fall apart, with five former Oregon commits re-opening their recruitment to other schools. In Taggart’s absence, Cristobal was named the interim head coach.

He was tasked with getting Oregon ready for the Las Vegas Bowl, along with keeping this stellar recruiting class intact.

The players and recruits quickly rallied around Cristobal, going as far as starting the #CristobALLIN twitter campaign, and starting a team petition to get Cristobal hired as the permanent Oregon head coach.

The support clearly paid off, as Cristobal was officially given the job on Friday morning.

The reaction from the players and recruits has been nothing but positive.

“He’s the man I wanted to be the head coach. I’m glad they’re finally going to name him as the new head coach,” Randazzo said. “He is an excellent O-Line coach, he praises the system he teaches, and works relentlessly.”

Randazzo was not the only one taking to social media offering their support.

Before being named the head coach at Oregon, Cristobal spent the past year as the offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator under Willie Taggart.

He is part of the vast and successful coaching tree of Alabama head coach Nick Saban, having been the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator for four years.

During his tenure with the Crimson Tide, they made three consecutive playoff appearances and won a national championship in 2016. A major factor in Cristobal’s hiring is his tireless recruiting ability. In 2015, he was named the national recruiter of the year by 247sports.com. Cristobal also brings experience as a head coach, having turned around the worst program in the nation into a bowl team at FIU.

Spurned by Taggart leaving for Florida State, the 2018 Oregon recuriting class could have completely collapsed. It seems the opposite has happened so far.

“If anything, Taggart leaving pulled us more together. We all love Oregon. Some pieces may go elsewhere, but I am sure the majority will stay,” Randazzo said.

The 2018 class might be salvageable under Cristobal, but it also appears that future recruits are excited.

“It was a great decision making him head coach,” 2019 running back target Jaren Mangham said. “I am very close with him. We have a great relationship, and they are one of my top schools.”

Even Oregon’s youngest commit, 2020 wide receiver Donnovan Moorer, is excited about the decision.

“I love it. He is a great guy and Is loyal, which is exactly what Oregon needs right now,” he said. “He’s all for the players. In my eyes, I am happy we took this route.”

With Cristobal now reportedly at the helm, the recruiting “juice” that Taggart brought with him appears to have returned.

Next: Mario Cristobal Named Head Coach

Cristobal will lead the Ducks against Boise State on December 16th in the Las Vegas Bowl, his first game as the permanent Oregon Football head coach.