Oregon senator Peter Courtney isn’t happy about it.
“It bothers me. It just does for whatever reason,” Courtney said Friday, per The Oregonian. “Are we to believe there’s not one high school senior who plays football in this state good enough for Oregon?”
Oregon and head coach Mark Helfrich, an Oregon native, brought in nine prospects from California, three from Washington, three from Hawaii and two from Georgia. The Ducks pulled a prospect from each of Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee and Florida, too. None from Oregon.
The program’s success on the field allows for it to pull in recruits from across the country, but Courtney says it’s important to represent Oregon as well.
“Helfrich grew up in Coos Bay,” Courtney said. “He went to Marshfield High. If anyone should get how important that is, it should be him.”
In Helfrich’s defense, he didn’t exactly have a ton of in-state talent to sort through for this recruiting cycle. According to the Oregonian, only seven players from Oregon signed with FBS programs for the 2015 (Rivals.com lists five). According to Rivals, only one of these players – four-star Stanford signee Cameron Scarlett – had an offer from the Ducks.
By comparison, the state’s other FBS program, Oregon State, signed just one Oregon product – three-star offensive lineman Blake Brandel.
Courtney’s point is certainly understandable, but in four years prior, the Ducks signed a combined 10 players from Oregon, so it’s not like Helfrich has been ignoring the state’s high school football talent altogether. Still, Oregon needs a wide scope in order to continually compete on a high-level in the Pac-12 and nationally. If the talent isn’t there in Oregon, there is no sense in extending an offer to an in-state kid just because he’s local.
“I think part of it is just the Oregon brand and as that’s grown the Pac-12 recruiting footprint is the world now. We’ll go anywhere,” Helfrich said last week after calling it “unfortunate” that no in-state players were joining the program.
The 2015 class could just be an aberration. Looking ahead to 2016, the Ducks already landed a verbal commitment from four-star recruit Brady Breeze, a safety from Portland’s Central Catholic. Additionally, three-star athlete Lamar Winston, also from Central Catholic, has a scholarship offer from the Ducks.
That should be music to Courtney’s ears.
For more Oregon news, visit DuckSportsAuthority.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - Oregon senator upset Ducks' 2015 class has no in-state signees
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