Willie Taggart’s abrupt departure to FSU couldn’t have come at a worse time for Oregon Football with the inaugural early signing day only weeks away.
Sitting pretty with the top-rated recruiting class in the nation before Taggart left, Duck fans were nervous that it would all collapse. While there have been de-commitments, new head coach Mario Cristobal and the Oregon staff, which was largely kept intact, have done an impressive job keeping the class together.
It was a successful day, as Oregon signed 13 of their 20 current commits. It all started early Wednesday morning.
5:35 am
Early signing day was taken literally by running back commit Jamal Elliott, who sent in his Letter of Intent to Oregon at 5:35 am.
One aspect of Willie Taggart that Duck fans enjoyed was how he ringed in a new signee or commit on Twitter. Cristobal looks like he will be continuing the tradition
THE BACKFIELD JUST GOT FASTER! FIRED UP TO HAVE @jamalelliott JOIN THE DUCK FAMILY! #GoDucks #brOtherhood18 pic.twitter.com/TBwFqlUueJ
— Mario Cristobal (@coach_cristobal) December 20, 2017
Elliott, rated 13th in the nation at his position, became the first signee of the Cristobal era. He remained strong in his commitment despite the loss of Taggart and running back coach Donte Pimpleton.
Elliott is one of two running backs committed to the Ducks, along with Travis Dye.