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The Oregon Ducks are hoping to land some of the nation's top recruits on Wednesday - National Signing Day for college football.
The departure of Tosh Lupoi from Cal to Washington might have had an unintended consequence: One of his biggest recruits that Lupoi was looking at will be going to neither school and will end up at perhaps the biggest rival in all the conference. Joe Davidson of the Sacramento Bee reports.
Arik Armstead made his announcement a few hours, and made his commitment to Oregon over an impressive list of schools, which included Cal, Washington as well as Auburn, UCLA and USC. Armstead really liked the sports business program and the Nike connections, and appreciated the lack of negative recruiting from Chip Kelly.
Armstead will enroll for the spring quarter in March and should be able to participate in spring practice, and he'll figure to compete for playing time on the defensive front. Armstead also wants to play hoops, and he should be in the mix to be on Dana Altman's squad.
To talk about Armstead and Oregon football recruiting, head on over to Addicted to Quack.
Pleasant Grove high school lineman Arik Armstead has been one of the very top prospects in the country for a while now. The senior stands at 6-foot-8 and weighs 295 pounds.
Armstead had made a commitment to USC prior to his junior season, where he was expected to follow in the footsteps of his older brother Armond Armstead, who is currently a member of the Trojans. However, in November 2011, Arik rescinded that commitment, possibly due to Armond butting heads with head coach Lane Kiffin and becoming disillusioned with the USC football program.
Despite Arik's de-commitment, Kiffin visited the Armstead home as one of many school representatives hoping to gain Arik's services in the fall. Among the suitors who paid a visit to Armstead are the Washington Huskies and the Oregon Ducks.
The latest news, according to Joe Davidson at The Sacramento Bee, is that Armstead is expected to announce his final college decision on Sunday. It is unclear what the chances are for the Northwest Pac-12 teams to wind up with Armstead, but if either of them do it would be a major coup.
For all news and information regarding the Washington Huskies and their various recruitment options, please visit UW Dawg Pound. For updates and perspective on the Oregon Ducks, head on over to Addicted to Quack.
National Signing Day 2012: Thomas Johnson Recruiting Announcement Time, TV Schedule And More
It's National Signing Day 2012, and Thomas Johnson, a consensus 4-Star recruit, will announce his decision this morning, live on ESPNU at 9:20 am, as to where he plans to play college football next season. Johnson, who played for Skyline High School in Dallas, Texas, will likely choose between Oregon, TCU, Texas A&M, and Cal.
The 6'0, 180 pound receiver is the fourth ranked WR in the nation and the 34th ranked player overall, according to Rivals, and famously de-committed from Texas earlier this year. He caught 59 passes for 1,077 yards and 13 touchdowns his senior season, and has been compared to the Colts' Reggie Wayne in style and size.
Though he was verbally committed to Texas for nearly a year, the relationship became frayed. At the time he de-committed, a source told ESPN: "Genuinely I think he just wants to see some other universities. Wherever he goes they are definitely getting a dynamic impact player," the source said. "Thomas is a kid that could line up and play safety or corner too. He is the type of kid you see in a program once every 10 years."
Oregon fans will be on the edge of their seat awaiting this announcement.
For more on Oregon Football, check out Addicted to Quack, and to learn more about National Signing Day 2012 and where the nation's top recruits are headed, make sure you stop by SBN's College Recruiting Headquarters.
Feb 01 5:00a by Danny Kelly