Can Oregon football wrestle 4-star LB Jaylen Sneed away from Notre Dame?

Jaylen Sneed is going to be one of those guys who makes a name for himself in college as one of the best linebackers in the country.

The four-star from Hilton Head Island, S.C., is a top-100 prospect according to the composite and he’s being pursued by a number of top programs, including Oregon football. The elite linebacker has Notre Dame and Tennessee — along with the Ducks — among his finalists with a July decision approaching.

Sneed’s first official visit was to Oregon, he’ll be at Notre Dame this weekend, and he’ll be in Knoxville to check out Tennessee on June 18 to round out his travel schedule.

Unfortunately for Oregon right now, Notre Dame looks like the clear leader for his services but the first official “set the bar high” for the other schools, according to Sneed.

He spoke highly of Oregon and the Ducks are giving him one heck of a pitch.

Being told by a coaching staff of a national title contender that you’re the missing piece to the championship puzzle has to be both intriguing and eye-opening. Any young recruit would love to hear that kind of love from a coaching staff.

But will that be enough to wrestle him away from Notre Dame?

Oregon football got first impression visit

There are two visits that usually stand out to recruits: the first and the last. Most schools don’t want that middle visit because they can easily be forgotten, but Oregon got the first impression and Notre Dame will get the last. Both will be duking it out for his services.

Sneed, the No. 70 overall prospect and eighth-best linebacker in the nation, is going to compare every visit to his Oregon trip and he already admitted Mario Cristobal and the Ducks set the bar extremely high.

Can the Ducks wrestle him away from the perceived favorite? It’s not going to be easy, but they made up some serious ground with his visit. If he goes to Notre Dame and the trip doesn’t compare to the Eugene visit, he could have a decision made that will shock everyone.

Plus, who wouldn’t want to play for a program that values linebackers like Oregon — just look at what the Ducks are building with Noah Sewell and Justin Flowe.

I’d say the two finalists right now are Oregon and Notre Dame with the Irish holding a slight edge but an average visit could change that.