Recruiting high school athletes to play collegiately can be a very time consuming and risky project. Statistics do not bode well for being successful with every player. Some players are better than expected; some players are exactly what the coaches think they are, and some do not live up to whatever expectations may have been placed on them, be it by coaches, fans or both.
Today we begin a look at past recruiting classes and delve into each player from the class. We will work it defensive players one article then offensive players in the next article. We begin today by looking back at the class of 2005. When signed Rivals had Oregon pegged as the 5th best team in the Pac-10 conference and 28th nationally. Considering that the Ducks signed just three players that were ranked as four-star or better, and seven that were rated two-star players, the ranking seems a little high. However, the ranking was improved by one of those four-star or better players, Jonathan Stewart.
Today, let’s look at the 11 defensive players that the Ducks signed in 2005. Some will look at the commitment list and say that the Ducks signed 12, however, due to Oregon listing Matt Bramow as a wide receiver on the 2005 roster, we have included him as an offensive player for this class.
| Name | Position | Stars | Games Started |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jairus Byrd
Impact: Jairus Byrd, just a two-star rated player out of high school, showed how rankings can be flawed in the best way possible. After a stellar career at Oregon which saw him become second all time at Oregon with 17 interceptions during his career, Byrd opted to leave as an early entry draft candidate. Drafted in the second round, Byrd became a sensation recording 9 interceptions and making the Pro Bowl. | DB |  |
37/39 |