The No. 1 recruit in America has just made his decision. Kayvon Thibodeaux, a five-star defensive end from Thousand Oaks, California, has elected to commit to the Oregon Ducks. Thibodeaux made the announcement at halftime of the New Mexico Bowl.
#ESPN300 No. 1 overall @kayvonT8 commits to #Oregon over #Alabama #FSU #Gators pic.twitter.com/xcBchxaw04
— Gerry Hamilton (@HamiltonESPN) December 15, 2018
As you can well tell from the hashtags, Mario Cristobal and the Ducks scored a big recruiting victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Florida Gators of the SEC. Thibodeaux also committed to the Ducks over the Florida State Seminoles (which probably has Oregon fans smiling a bit, considering who their coach is).
Thibodeaux ranks No. 1 in the nation on ESPN and is No. 2 on 247Sports Composite. There’s really no denying that he’s a blue-chip talent and while ‘Bama is still marching on with the nation’s best recruiting class (with more elite talent coming their way probably) it still probably stings just a little bit. Probably more so for Dan Mullen and the Gators, as getting a player of Thibodeaux’s caliber would’ve really made a splash.
Kayvon is now Oregon’s greatest commit ever per 247Sports’ All-Time Recruits rankings, beating out Haloti Ngata, Jonathan Stewart, De’Anthony Thomas and Arik Armstead, among all others to step foot on their campus. He should make an instant impact for Oregon, a program that is absolutely trending upward. They are on pace to have their best recruiting class since 247Sports began tracking recruits, as they sit 5th in the nation right now.
Best of luck to Kayvon Thibodeaux in his career at Oreogn.