Oregon football named one of two finalists for 4-star DB Jahlil Florence

Four-star defensive back Jahlil Florence has named two finalists ahead of a Jan. 31 decision date and it’s down to USC and Oregon football.

Nearly two months after decommitting from Oregon football following the departure of Mario Cristobal to Miami, four-star defensive back Jahlil Florence has set a commitment date.

According to Greg Biggins of 247Sports, Florence is going to be announcing his commitment on Jan. 31 at 2 p.m. PT on CBS Sports Network. What makes this development even more interesting is the fact that Florence is choosing between just two schools: Oregon and USC.

After canceling his remaining January visits, it seemed likely that he would be down to the schools that he had already visited and that means Oregon and USC stood out. But would the Ducks have enough to lure him to Eugene despite not being as familiar with the new coaching staff as he was with Cristobal? It’s hard to say.

Florence is high school teammates with Oregon’s top signee in the 2022 class in Jalil Tucker and that connection might help Dan Lanning land the four-star, top-100 defensive back.

Another good sign was the fact that the staff made sure to pay him a visit the second (literally) the dead period was over a couple of weeks ago — they made it to his house at midnight.

Lanning giving him a call as he walked off the field after winning the national title with Georgia was also a chess-not-checkers move. In the biggest moment of his coaching career, he was showing Florence that he was thinking about him joining his new program as a crown jewel of the 2022 class. That leaves a lasting impression on a recruit.

Oregon is hoping it doesn’t lose another key player to USC this offseason (Travis Dye’s transfer still stings). We’ll find out on Jan. 31.