Cody Shear has long been one of Arizona's most passionate commits in its 2017 class.
The three-star offensive lineman has been committed to UA since early July and had given no indications of a change of heart. As the Feb. 1 Signing Day approaches, though, that might be changing.
Shear is from Eugene, Oregon, and with its new coaching staff, the Oregon Ducks have expressed interest in the 6-4, 285 pound offensive tackle. Shear reportedly met with Oregon coaches this week, though the Ducks have yet to offer Shear a scholarship.
"Most kids who kids who grew up in Eugene, I think their dream is to play for Oregon," said Lane Johnson, Shear's coach at Sheldon High. "I told Cody, 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."
Oregon's new staff, led by South Florida transplant Willie Taggart, has been making noise on the recruiting trail, and Arizona's once-touted recruiting class has, in turn, paid the price.
Since Taggart was hired in December, Oregon has flipped three Arizona commits in receiver Darrian McNeal, quarterback Braxton Burmeister and defensive lineman Austin Faoliu, reeled in a top Arizona target in cornerback Thomas Graham, is a favorite for former four-star UA commit Greg Johnson, offered UA cornerback commit Tony Wallace and has been talking to UA receiver commit Brian Casteel. Check back to Tucson.com tonight for more on Arizona's recruiting war with the Oregon Ducks.
But about Shear — his high school coach isn't exactly convinced that everything in Eugene is hunky dory just yet for the new Ducks staff. Johnson, who sent quarterback Justin Herbert to Oregon last year, has seen this before.
"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. Everybody around here is jumping on the Ducks bandwagon. They thought (former head coach) Mark Helfrich was the neatest thing since sliced bread. Now 'he’s a piece of crap' since they went 4-8. Who knows? I try to stay out of it as much as I can."
Check back to Tucson.com later tonight and in tomorrow's daily print edition for more on Shear and Arizona's recruiting battles with the Ducks.
