Ducks Digest

WATCH: Oregon Signee Rodrick Pleasant Opens Outdoor Track Season

The Ducks cornerback signee is the fastest high school sprinter in California and is ready to take that speed to Eugene.

Max Torres

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Rodrick Pleasant isn't your average high school football recruit.

After signing with the Oregon Ducks as one of the top cornerbacks in the 2023 class, he didn't take the path that many of his future teammates took and enroll early at Oregon.

He decided to stay in high school for one more semester to finish out his high school track season and chase more history at Gardena (Calif.) Junipero Serra. 

Pleasant holds the California state record in the 100 meters with a wind-legal time of 10.14 seconds, which he set last May at the Southern Section Masters Meet. As a senior he's looking to run a time under 10 seconds to cap off an amazing prep career before heading to Eugene. 

Over the weekend Pleasant ran for Serra at the Pasadena Games, making his outdoor debut in the 200 meters with a time of 21.88.

Pleasant isn't the only future Duck running at Serra, as Oregon also signed Brazil "Redd" Neal in the 2023 class, who holds personal bests of 11.57 in the 100 meters and 23.68 in the 200 meters.

Pleasant is expected to run track in addition to playing football for the Ducks once he arrives in Eugene as a summer enrollee--a tradition that's somewhat fallen off in recent years after players like Devon Allen, De'Anthony Thomas, LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner all starred as two-sport athletes.

There's been some chatter that Oregon running back Noah Whittington could be a football player to watch out for on the track in the future. 

Rodrick Pleasant chose Oregon over USC on February 2 in one of Dan Lanning's most dramatic recruiting wins since taking over the Ducks program in Eugene, stealing one of Southern California's top recruits out of the Trojans' backyard.

He'll join Demetrice Martin's cornerback room alongside 2023 signees Daylen Austin, Solomon Davis, Cole Martin and Collin Gill and compete for snaps in a secondary that struggled to defend the pass last season.

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Max Torres
MAX TORRES

Max Torres is the publisher and lead editor of Ducks Digest. He's covered the Oregon football and recruiting beats for four years. He's based out of Long Beach, CA and travels around Southern California and the country covering top high school football prospects.

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