Amidst a football season that was, to put it mildly, disappointing, November 12, 2016 carried a particular sting for the Oregon Ducks. The team suffered a crushing home loss to Stanford, and four-star legacy recruit Elijah Molden committed to Washington, the team that hung 70 points on the Ducks.

Many were left wondering what future Oregon, a school which has never recruited a top-10 class even when they dominated the Pac-12, could secure after such a disaster of a season.

Enter Taggart. He brings charisma, and connections to Florida, but is that enough?

It seems the answer is a resounding yes. Per 247sports, The Ducks hold the fifth-ranked class nationally and the best class in the Pac-12 with 15 total commitments. Nine of those 15 are four-star players, including coveted All-American safety Steve Stephens from Fresno, California.

When Taggart arrived in Eugene, the task that lay ahead of him was daunting. Recruits had pulled commitments after the firing of previous head coach Mark Helfrich, and others seemed deterred by a program with little stability.

Now the Ducks show no sign of slowing down, and it would be no surprise to see the team climb even higher in the national rankings. On June 27, Taggart secured the commitment of Tre’Shaun Harrison, a four-star athlete from Garfield High School in Seattle, right in the Huskies’ backyard.

While the true test of the Ducks’ recruiting prowess will come when they open their season in September, Taggart has provided the spark the team needed. In his brief tenure in Eugene, he has managed to pull the Ducks out of a tailspin, giving the program a newfound sense of confidence for the upcoming season. The question is no longer can Taggart recruit on a national level. Instead, the country is wondering just how high this man’s ceiling is.

Follow Aaron Alter on Twitter @aaronalter95

The post In his first season, Willie Taggart is building what could be Oregon’s greatest recruiting class ever appeared first on Emerald Media.

The Eugene Emeralds (8-5) won their sixth straight game Tuesday night, cruising to a 5-2 victory over the Hillsboro Hops (6-7).

The game started off well for Hillsboro with shortstop Camden Duzenack reaching first after an error by Emerald first baseman Gustavo Polanco. Duzenack would go on to score off of a sacrifice fly by Bryan Araiza.

For two innings, the score was frozen at 1-0, and the Emerald’s offense struggled to get going.

However, the Emerald’s broke the game open in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs and one runner on, shortstop Aramis Ademan crushed a home run over the right field wall, giving the Emeralds the lead.

Jhoan Duran, the starter for the Hops, never recovered. He walked the bases loaded and walked in a run before being pulled. Luis Castillo replaced him, but the pitching change wasn’t enough to turn the tide for the Hops. Emeralds DH Miguel Amaya hammered the team’s second home run of the game over the left field wall in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The Emeralds would go on to score two more, while their pitching staff held the Hops to only one more run. Rookie Ems pitcher Javier Assad pitched five innings and only gave up one run to secure the win, while relievers Manuel Rodriguez, Mark Malave, and Junior Marte closed out the game.

The Emeralds will look to collect a sweep when they face the Hops for the final game of their three-game series Wednesday night at 7 p.m.

Follow Aaron Alter on Twitter @alterboy95

The post Emeralds extend winning streak, top Hops 5-2 appeared first on Emerald Media.