Josh Conerly commitment pushes Oregon to No. 13 class nationally

The final major piece of the 2022 recruiting cycle is off the board, and it’s very good news for the Oregon Ducks. Friday night, four-star Seattle (Wash.) Rainier Beach offensive tackle Josh Conerly shocked the recruiting world when he chose Oregon over USC, the presumed favorite.

Conerly, the No. 40 overall prospect in the 2022 class, immediately becomes the Ducks’ highest-ranked commitment in this cycle. He joins a group that came into the night ranked No. 17 nationally, according to the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings. His commitment, though, bumped UO all the way up to No. 13, jumping Tennessee, Missouri, Clemson, and Kentucky.

Josh Conerly finishes off big recruiting cycle for Oregon

The 6-foot-5, 283-pounder gives the Ducks their 11th four-star prospect in this class, an impressive feat given what transpired after former head coach Mario Cristobal left for Miami.

No other program nationally had its recruiting class decimated by a head coach’s departure more than Oregon. The Ducks lost more than a dozen commits when Cristobal bolted, including five-star offensive lineman Kelvin Banks and top-50 wideout Tetairoa McMillan. Not to mention the fact that new head coach Dan Lanning couldn’t fully devote himself to the Ducks until January 11, when Georgia’s season was finally over.

But Oregon’s new staff hit the ground running and made up for lost time in a hurry. Lanning and Co. reeled top-100 cornerback Jahlil Florence back in, flipped running back Jordan James from Georgia, and managed to grab four other prospects ranked in the top 500 nationally over the past month. The result is the Ducks having the Pac-12’s No. 1 class despite a huge coaching change, even with a number of other programs looking to pick off their commits.

Conerly’s commitment is just the cherry on top of a Herculean effort. Especially since it came at the expense of the Ducks’ biggest conference competition in USC.