Oregon Ducks, Willie Taggart now a recruiting thorn in the side of Arizona Wildcats

For a two-year stretch, the Arizona Wildcats tormented powerhouse Oregon.

It was 2013 when the Wildcats spoiled Oregon’s chances at the Rose Bowl with a 42-16 win that saw UA fans storm the field when the game ended.

A year later, the Wildcats traveled to Eugene and beat the Ducks again, this time by seven points, at a packed Autzen Stadium.

Arizona won the Pac-12 South that year, and Oregon took the north. Both teams were riding high.

Now it’s 2017, and the Ducks are getting their revenge.

Blame Willie Taggart.

• • •

Arizona and Oregon rarely battle for the same recruits.

The Ducks have mostly been able to take their pick of the best players available. Arizona has countered with strategy: Wildcats coaches typically offer scholarships early in recruiting cycle, push for commitments and do everything to keep them.

In March, Arizona reeled in four-star Greg Johnson, the top-rated athlete in the West, and the momentum gained by his commitment carried the Wildcats to 22 commits by late July.

When defensive lineman Austin Faoliu verbally committed to Arizona in late-September, the Wildcats’ class was at 27 players. He chose the UA over Nevada, Hawaii and Colorado State.

“At the same time, my phone was blowing up,” said Bruce Rollinson, Faoliu’s coach at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. “Even I said, ‘I’m not sure you should’ve done that so fast, kid.’”

Michigan State soon offered Faoliu a scholarship, as did Texas, Oklahoma and, most recently, Oregon.

On Jan. 11, Faoliu decommitted from Arizona. Ten days later, he committed to the Ducks.

“Recruiting is an interesting, interesting dynamic,” Rollinson said. “You have the schools that over-commit, you’ve got the schools that the commitment ... really has some juice behind it.”

This week, UA coach Rich Rodriguez visited Mater Dei — Arizona also has a commitment from safety Xavier Bell — and spoke with Rollinson. The two talked recruiting.

“In Austin’s case, I think it might’ve been a little too fast, too soon,” Rollinson said. “I talked about it to RichRod and he even said ‘Yeah, I thought this kid’s was going to be a long process to sign him, then it goes and it turns out we’re not going to sign him.’”

• • •

Oregon’s Dec. 7 hiring of Taggart, the head coach at South Florida, was well-received — especially after the coach laid out his recruiting plan.

“We’re going to get after it, we’re going to recruit the best of the best — and you should here at the University of Oregon,” Taggart said at his introductory press conference.

“We don’t have to settle for anything. I look at our football program, and the University of Oregon is a national brand. And we’re going to go over the entire country to find the best of the best.”

Arizona had no idea what it was in for.

On Dec. 9, Oregon offered UA commit Darrian McNeal a scholarship. The speedy receiver from Seffner, Florida, already had a relationship with Taggart.

On Dec. 11, McNeal flipped to Oregon.

After a recent official visit, McNeal tweeted this about Oregon: “I now see why coaches don’t want ... kids to come out here. I been to a lot of schools. The big 3 in Fla. can’t touch this.”

The big three he was tweeting about? Florida, Florida State and Miami.

This was just the beginning.

Oregon then went after nearly every talented UA recruit.

Ducks coaches have offered a scholarship to Johnson, who decommitted from the UA in December. They successfully flipped four-star cornerback Thomas Graham, who was a “silent commit” to Arizona. Graham committed to the Ducks on Dec. 16.

Then, the Ducks stole Arizona’s quarterback of the future.

Braxton Burmeister committed to Arizona as a sophomore in high school, reopened his recruitment in March, and recommitted to Arizona in May.

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Oregon offered Burmeister a scholarship on Jan. 4.

The four-star recruit planned to enroll early at the UA.

That Saturday afternoon, Burmeister’s parents told the Star he’d enroll at Arizona. Later that night, rumors swirled that Burmeister was going to flip to Oregon. Burmeister officially committed to Oregon on Jan. 13, leaving Arizona without the centerpiece of its 2017 class.

Oregon isn’t stopping, either.

UA cornerback commit Tony Wallace tweeted this weekend that he was “100 percent” committed to Arizona. Less than a day later, Wallace — who has an offer from Oregon — deleted the tweet.

Receiver Brian Casteel, another UA commit, says that Oregon’s coaches have been talking to him recently.

The same goes for offensive lineman Cody Shear. The Eugene native reportedly met with Oregon’s staff this week.

Arizona is reeling.

And Oregon?

“I think they’re making a ton of noise,” Scout.com’s Blair Angulo said.

• • •

It’s not as if Oregon is only targeting Arizona recruits. It’s that the Ducks are casting a wider net.

Taggart has filled his staff with accomplished recruiters. He hired co-offensive coordinator Mario Cristobal, the nation’s top-rated recruiter according to 247Sports.com, away from Alabama.

The Ducks then lured Washington State assistant coach Joe Salave’a, an Arizona alum beloved in the Polynesian community with connections ranging from America Samoa and Hawaii to Nevada and Utah. Safeties coach Keith Hayward, formerly of USC and Louisville, joined the staff, too.

Taggart’s staff is a far cry from that of Helfrich, which included many Oregon lifers.

“They’ve done a great job of being active and building off a disappointing end to the Helfrich era, selling a new vision,” Angulo said. “They have some assistants that are some big-time guys.”

Not everyone is convinced just yet.

Lane Johnson is the coach at Sheldon High School in Eugene. He coached both Shear and current Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert.

It’s the same old song and dance, he said.

“I think any time there’s a big change like that, everybody’s fired up … until the (expletive) hits the fan,” Johnson said.

“They’ve already had some issues … and they haven’t even practiced yet. They thought Mark Helfrich was the neatest thing since sliced bread. Now all of a sudden he’s a piece of crap since they went 4-8, so who knows?”

Shear wasn’t recruited by Oregon’s previous staff and has yet to receive an offer from the new one.

“Most kids who kids who grew up in Eugene, I think their dream is to play for Oregon,” Johnson said. “I told Cody (that) he needs to go where he’s wanted. Arizona’s been on him fairly early and I’ve never talked to a coach from Oregon about Cody. Since the new staff’s been here, I haven’t heard anything.”

• • •

It’s been three years since the last time Arizona and Oregon battled for an elite recruit.

Back in 2014, wide receiver Jalen Brown, a four-star prospect, liked both programs. The Phoenix Mountain Pointe product ultimately chose the Ducks over a group of programs that included the Wildcats, Oregon State, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt.

Now it’s 2017, and Brown is transferring. He is considering Arizona as his final college destination.

Arizona and Oregon will meet this season for the first time since that 2014 Pac-12 Championship game. They’ll meet again in Tucson in 2018.

By then, most of the recruits the Wildcats lost to Oregon should be ready for playing time.

For Arizona, it will be a look at what could have been.