How Will Mario Cristobal's Departure to Miami Affect Oregon Recruiting?

The Ducks are in line to see some attrition on the recruiting trail. How and when they act will determine how impactful that attrition will be.

Here we are. 

Mario Cristobal's decision to leave Eugene to become the next head coach at Miami has been official for just over 24 hours and we've already seen Oregon lose three commitments. 2022 quarterback Tanner Bailey, linebacker TJ Dudley, and offensive lineman Kelvin Banks all reopened their recruitments following the news on Monday.

Banks was the headliner of Oregon's class, so it stands to reason that his loss hurts the most, especially since he was the face of the program's efforts to push back into Texas. Bailey and Dudley are commitments that you hate to lose as well, seeing that they're in the Southeast and the staff has worked hard attempting to entrench themselves as one of only a handful of West Coast teams with a presence out there. That said, these loses don't come as much of a surprise seeing that they're all in the South, particularly Bailey and Dudley.

Cristobal likely leaned on his connections in the Yellowhammer State to reel those guys in, and now Oregon doesn't hold any commitments east of Texas. 

So what might we see in the immediate future? 

For starters, more decommitments should be expected. I'm not trying to be a pessimist by any means, that's just the nature of the beast and the reality that comes with being a program in transition (see USC and Oklahoma).

Figuring out a new head coach soon is obviously an immediate priority, but you can't make that decision solely in the name of hanging on to this 2022 class. Putting all your chips on one cycle isn't logical and it isn't worth sacrificing the long-term health and future of the program. 

With Lincoln Riley taking over at USC, Oregon now has a legitimate recruiting rival in the Pac-12. USC was always the biggest rival, but Clay Helton hardly sniffed the full potential of recruiting success in Los Angeles, save the commitment of the country's top prospect Korey Foreman in the 2021 cycle. 

Riley's presence in Southern California only further drives home the point that in order to win the Pac-12 and have any hope of pushing beyond that into college football playoff, the next Oregon head coach needs to prioritize the City of Angels. It's the biggest hotbed of talent within Oregon's reach and needs to be priority No. 1, behind the obvious of keeping top in-state talent home when there are players that project to be future starters at Oregon. 

The Ducks have named Bryan McClendon the interim head coach for the Alamo Bowl, but it remains to be seen if he'll end up being who they stick with full-time.

Whoever gets hired needs to prioritize getting face time with the current 2022 commits and then prioritize three things. 

1. Figure out the quarterback

True freshman Ty Thompson tweeted out "Stay the course" following Cristobal's departure on Monday, but only he really knows where his head is at. It probably goes without saying that he's the biggest name to watch on this team. Even if he does stay and win the starting job, there's no proven depth behind him in that room, and that's a direct result of Oregon playing in close games all year and not pulling Anthony Brown last game. I will say though, Thompson has played three games already, so if you play him in the Pac-12 title, you lose his redshirt the second he takes a snap in the Alamo Bowl. 

That's why you need to bring in another quarterback, either from the high school ranks or the transfer portal. It's been very difficult for Oregon, potentially more than any other program in the country, to hit on this position in recent cycles and find someone who ends up having success in Eugene. 

The only names you can point to having success throwing the ball are Vernon Adams Jr. in 2015, a one-year rental, and Justin Herbert from 2016-2019. That can and should be attributed to luck more than anything else seeing that he was a virtual unknown on the recruiting trail and had no other major offers. 

The best teams in the country all have difference makers at quarterback, and you need to keep swinging and adding players to the roster to give Oregon the best chance to be competitive next season. A grad transfer is the less ideal option due to continuity, but it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if he can be successful.

Everyone should be expected back on offense with the exception of George Moore, Johnny Johnson III and Jaylon Redd, although we'll have to monitor the transfer portal with Cristobal's departure as well as the NFL decisions of running backs C.J. Verdell and Travis Dye.

On paper this looks like a great situation for any player that is handed the keys, but nothing is certain with the program in limbo.

2. Find a speedster at wide receiver

I don't know how many more times we need to say it, but Oregon has been lacking speed at wideout for the longest time. That's not to say there aren't fast players on the roster at the position, but I'm talking about Jameson Williams, Xavier Worthy, and Christian Leary type of speed. Former Oregon commit Isaiah Sategna, track star level speed. 

Those guys are rare and they can make an offense lethal. Maybe it's too late to find someone like that in the near future for the 2022 class, but you have to try. One name I've liked and may be worth circling back on is sprinter Dominique McKenzie out of Pine View High School in Utah. It won't be easy, as he and his twin brother are committed to Virginia, but he's someone Oregon was speaking with a fair amount earlier and could be more realistic. 

Read more: Ducks pursuing 2022 speedster Dominique McKenzie

3. Continue pursuing big, athletic prospects at DL

For as good a recruiter as Mario Cristobal is, one of the main critiques fans had was his caliber of defensive line recruiting. Let me be perfectly clear, Kayvon Thibodeaux was obviously a HUGE addition and the crown jewel of his efforts in Eugene, but he's really been the only serious contributor on the defensive line aside from Brandon Dorlus from Florida. 

Dorlus has been a good player at Oregon, but what I'm saying is you need an entire defensive line full of guys like him. Popo Auamvae, Keyon Ware-Hudson and Jayson Jones have all been solid, but the depth isn't where it needs to be from a two-deep perspective. 

Cristobal showed us all how important it is to win the line of scrimmage. For Oregon, they were winning at the point of attack more so on offense than defense during his time in Eugene. With the Ducks' strong reputation at offensive line, it seems apparent that consistently landing solid offensive linemen is easier than adding them on defense. Big names to watch that are still on board include Anthony Lucas (Scottsdale, AZ) and Nyjalik Kelly (Fort Lauderdale, FL).

I'd say they're both longshots at this point, with Texas A&M trending for Lucas, and Mario Cristobal in a prime position to swipe Kelly after setting up shop right in his backyard.

Lastly, whoever takes over following Cristobal should utilize the transfer portal. There are only a handful of truly elite recruiters in the entire country, so a shrink in national reach should be expected. 

That's not to say Oregon won't keep trying in the South and Southeast, but if a coach with West Coast ties is brought on the blueprint gets a bit smaller. How Oregon can offset this is by adding players from the transfer portal. 

With the portal absolutely exploding amid the coaching carousel, it gives serves as a viable option to add players from across the country with experience as Power 5 starters. Players that might otherwise be out of Oregon's reach as recruits with Cristobal's expected domination in Florida and the South.

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