Arik Armstead Commits to The Oregon Ducks

Arik Armstead held his announcement ceremony at his local church to show support for his family and friends that have helped along his journey. He had six hats and 1 placard on the table as it came down to Washington, Auburn, USC, CAL, Oregon, Notre Dame, and UCLA (Auburn was the placard).

His decision was kept pretty close as only rumors were swirling around beforehand but no significant evidence that he was going to choose one school over any of the others. There were rumors that Cal had a good shot, that Oregon was the front runner, and that even Armstead’s mother was wearing purple (for UW).

In the end, Armstead chose Oregon. At his press conference he praised the Nike connections and the Sports Business program at their University. Chip Kelly had an opportunity to pitch him one last time a few days ago and told him that he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t leave for the NFL but still wanted the best for Armstead. The honesty was much appreciated by Armstead.

He never took an official visit to Washington even though they were listed as amongst the finalists for Armstead. He loved coached Tosh Lupoi and that is what made him switch his decision off of what was rumored to be Cal for a long time and placed Washington in the mix.

Armstead is rated as the number one prospect in the country at the offensive tackle position but he has said that he wants to play on the defensive side of the ball. And with that much talent coaches will let him play where he wants. High School Scouts also reference him as one of the best defensive lineman in the country. Regardless of which side of the ball he plays on, he is a steal for the Ducks.

Armstead also plans to play basketball in college and that weighed into his decision to choose the Ducks. He is very talented on both ends of the court and Lorenzo Romar, Mike Montgomery, and Dana Altman were all known to have contacted him and recruited him specifically for basketball too. However, I am sure all of the above schools did, considering how big it was for him to play both sports.

This commitment puts a little more pressure on Cal to land Shaq Thompson. He will announce signing day and Cal could end up with neither after assuming they had both locked up to play for the Golden Bears. Thompson is down to UCLA, UW, Oregon, and Cal.

Stay tuned, February 1 is signing day.