Devon Williams, Oregon Ducks near-miss and former No. 1 athlete nationally, enters transfer portal

Devon Williams

Class of 2018 wide receiver/athlete Devon Williams nearly chose Oregon, but had a late change-of-heart and committed to USC using this graphic.

USC sophomore wide receiver Devon Williams, formerly the nation’s No. 1 athlete and a key near-miss for the Oregon Ducks during the 2018 recruiting cycle, has entered the transfer portal, according to multiple reports.

Given the backstory, it stands to reason that his re-recruitment will be one to watch for Duck fans.

During the 2018 recruiting cycle, then-Oregon coach Willie Taggart modernized the program’s approach and reaped the rewards immediately, entering the mix for a number of the nation’s best prospect.

Oregon’s biggest need then? Wide receiver. And Taggart and his staff left nothing to chance, at one time securing the commitments of four-star pass-catchers Tre’Shaun Harrison (Florida State), Miles Battle (Texas A&M), Michael Ezeike (UCLA), Devin Culp (Washington), Warren Thompson (Florida State) and Braden Lenzy (Notre Dame).

But in the transition from Taggart to Mario Cristobal, the Ducks saw a complete overhaul at the position and largely struck out, outside of troubled U.S. Army All-American Jalen Hall (not in school) and four-star pass-catcher Isaah Crocker and sleeper J.J. Tucker.

Arguably the most painful recruiting miss at that time was Williams, who actually had Oregon commitment art made up before changing his mind at the last minute and committing to USC in February.

In fact, the 6-foot-5, 191-pound pass-catcher, out of Antelope Valley High School (Lancaster, California), had joined the Oregon recruiting class group chat prior to his public announcement, which shocked fans and potential future teammates in Eugene alike.

Oregon once again finds itself short on impact wide receivers, highlighted by the absence of Juwan Johnson, Mycah Pittman and Brenden Schooler due to injury.

Could Oregon jump back in the “Devon Williams sweepstakes”?

It will be worth keeping an eye on as his second recruitment develops.

-- Andrew Nemec


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