Thomas Tyner Decommits From Oregon

Not necessarily something that pertains directly to Husky football, but I think it is worth mentioning that Thomas Tyner, the Beaverton, OR running back and former University of Oregon verbal commit has reopened his recruitment. If you recognize the name, but you aren’t quite sure where from, it’s likely you heard about his monster 643 yard, 10 touchdown performance back in September. That’s the third highest yardage total in any recorded high school football game in the United States.

Apart from that game, Rivals has Tyner as a four-star player, the sixth best running back in the class of 2013, and the number one player in the state of Oregon. Once he committed to Oregon back in November of last year, it seems like most recruiters backed off of him. I definitely stopped thinking about his recruitment at all. A 6’0″ 200 pound halfback that runs a 4.38 forty-yard dash and hails from Oregon’s backyard seemed like a sure thing for the Ducks.

Jan 2, 2012; Pasadena, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks coach Chip Kelly reacts during the 2012 Rose Bowl game against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Rose Bowl. Oregon defeated Wisconsin 45-38. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Now that he has decided to reopen his commitment and take some visits, it sounds like UCLA is the main school that kept pursuing Tyner all year long, despite his verbal commitment. In particular, the main guy keeping in contact with him was UCLA assistant and former Husky quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo.

I don’t know of any particular interest Tyner has shown towards Washington, but the fact that he is no longer committed to a school obviously increases the chance of him coming to Washington from zero to a complete mystery. Still, I believe it would be preferable for such a talented player to go anywhere but the Pac-12 North, where the Huskies will have to face him once a year. More info as it comes along.